— Twenty minutes'walk.

—            . I'm a stranger myself.

— ____________________.

    MONTANNAH RENNEY is a seven-year-old American girl. She made history this March. She became the girl to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro（乞力马扎罗山）.

    However, setting a world was not what Kenney wanted. She did it to be closer to her late father. When she knew that Mt. Kilimanjaro was above the clouds, Kenney had an idea: climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to be closer to Dad in heaven? So she asked her mother to climb the mountain together with her.

    Kenney's mother is a professional athlete. To help her daughter, she became her trainer. Kenney trained four to eight hours at weekends. She hided shorter distances school days. She also practiced swimming, basketball and to prepare for the hard trip.

     “The higher I go, the closer I am to him in heaven.” This idea inspired Kenney to make the climb. After she reached the summit（山顶）, Kenney blew kisses to the sky and waved. She hoped her father would see her.

    Kenney's story shows us the power of love.

The 15-year-old boy with his parents now.

He Chaoqiong（何超琼）, one of He Honshen's（何鸿燊） seventeen children, is the marvelous family business.

In our daily life, few students dial 110 to call the police, ?

does Megan practice playing basketball?

Teachers'Day

    People in many countries celebrate World Teachers' Day on 5 th October, but in Argentina（阿根廷） it is on 11 th September—the anniversary（周年纪念日） of the death of former president, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento in 1888. Sarmiento believed passionately in the importance of education: he wrote “Schools are the very basis of civilization.” Children traditionally write poems for their teachers and give them an apple, make a cake or buy flowers. In Vietnam（越南）, Educators' Day is in November. Everyone has a day off school, and many students visit their former teachers in their homes to give them presents, or give news about themselves. And at some schools in India, senior students become teachers, and teachers become students for the day!

World Book Day

    In many countries, Book Day is on 23 rd April every year. It originated（起源于） in Catalonia（加泰罗尼亚） in 1923 when booksellers decided to honour the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes who died on that day in 1616. In 1995, World Book Day became an international event, celebrating books and reading. People exchange presents – usually a book and a rose. There are also events such as writing competitions, and in Madrid（马德里） there is a public reading of Cervantes's greatest work – Don QuijoteSSS – which lasts 48 hours! In the UK and Ireland, all schoolchildren receive a one-pound book token（购书券）, and many children now dress up as their favourite character from fiction!

Respect for theAged Day

    Grandparents' Day is popular in many countries, but in Japan—a country where nearly 30 percent of the population are over 60 – people treat older people with special respect. The third Monday of September is 'Respect for the Aged Day' （Keiro-no-hi） which became a national holiday in 1966. Everyone has a day off school or work and people organize celebrations for the older people of the village or community where they live, Young people dress up in traditional clothes. They sing and dance and they either prepare a special meal for the older people, or eat out as a family. Nowadays, people also visit relatives and the older people in their families, for a three-day weekend.

    Some Americans are poor at speaking foreign languages. It's a fact. In any city around the world, you can find American tourists asking for the restaurant menu in English. At best, they will try to say a couple of phrases they 1 from a phrase book, but they will stop making an effort the moment they discover the waiter knows a little English.

    I read a survey once that found that only 20 percent of Americans could speak a language other than English in their own homes. So 2is this? I think laziness is possibly the key factor（因素）. There is a general feeling among Americans that “Everyone speaks English nowadays, so it's not worth learning other languages.” In multinational companies（跨国公司）, English is often the official language of communication within the company. 3, Americans who live abroad can always find other American people to talk to or to watch American TV with – all reasons for never bothering to learn the local language.

    The situation in American schools doesn't help. In 1997, about 75 percent of American public middle schools offered foreign languages. Today, that number has 4to 58 percent. And even the few students who study foreign languages at school don't spend as many 5of classes as students in other countries. I think it is also a 6that American children don't study English grammar any more, which makes it more difficult for them to learn the grammar of another language.

Karl's Blog

    Saturday 12^th April

    Well, today was another disaster! I was really, really late for work—again!

    First, I slept late （as usual!） so I didn't have time for b. Why is it difficult to get up in the morning during the week? I put on my suit and r to the bus stop. There was a lot of rain last night and the road was wet. Well, I ran very fast and I fell over – it's OK, I wasn't hurt – but my suit got wet! So then I ran home to c.

    Later, I went back to the bus stop and the bus came – but it was full of people and there was no space for me. Then I had a fantastic idea – get a taxi! It took me all the way to my office – FANTASTIC! Then the driver asked me for 10 pounds, but I didn't have any money. Why didn't I take any money with me? I haven't done that b! No problem, I said to the driver, I've got a cash card. So the taxi driver took me to the cash machine at the bank near my office. Well, I put the card in the machine but it didn't come out. It was terrible! F, I went into the bank and they opened the machine and gave me my card （and some money）.

    Of course, w I got to the office, my boss was there. I was TWO HOURS late for work – she was really angry with me!

    The place is perfect, the weather is wonderful, but if you're with the wrong person, a vacation can be a disaster!

Joe 28, a flight attendant

    Last October, I went on vacation to Thailand for two weeks with my girlfriend, Mia. The vacation began well. We spent two days in Bangkok and saw the Floating Market and the Royal Palace. But things went wrong when we left Bangkok. I wanted to stay in hostels, which were basic but clean, but Mia said they were too uncomfortable. So we stayed in very expensive hotels. I wanted to experience the local atmosphere, but Mia just wanted to go shopping. I thought I knew Mia well, but you don't know a person until you travel with him or her. It was awful! We argued about everything.

    For our last four days we went to Ko Chang, a beautiful island. It was like being in paradise. The weather was beautiful and the beaches were wonderful, but we just sunbathed without speaking. We spent our last night back in Bangkok, and we met some travelers from Australia. They were really friendly, and Mia started flirting with one of the boys. That was the end.

    When we arrived at O'Hare International Airport the next day, we decided to break up. I took hundreds of photos, but when I got home I didn't show them to anyone.

Laura 26, a nurse

    Last spring, my best friend Isabelle and I booked a vacation in Costa Rica（哥斯达黎加）. We rented a small house for a week with a fantastic view of the ocean. At the last minute, another friend, Linda, asked if she could come, too. We felt sorry for her because she had problems with her boyfriend, so we said yes.

    Costa Rica was magical and the weather was perfect, but the vacation was a disaster for one simple reason: Linda was so cheap! She has a good job so she's not poor, but she just didn't want to pay for anything. When we went sightseeing, she didn't want to go on any cruises or do any nature activities that cost money. When we went on a zipline tour, she complained that it was too expensive. When we went to have lunch or dinner, she always wanted to go to cheap restaurants or she bought a sandwich and ate it in the house. But the night I invited her and Isabelle out on my birthday, she chose the most expensive food on the menu! The worst thing was that although Isabelle and I paid for the house, Linda never once bought us a coffee or a snack.

    I'd love to go back to Costa Rica one day … but without Linda!