— It must be Carla's. She loves volleyball.

Trees play an important role in our environment. For a start, they make air (更干净的) for us to breathe. The older a tree is, the more important it is to us. Why not look at ancient trees (仔细地) around you and find out more?

For the past (十五) years, a charity called the Woodland Trust has been recording ancient trees in the country. It has created a database (数据库) about these trees.

Since the database was set up, the Woodland Trust has (添加) over 180, 000 trees, but it believes there are many more to be found. It's hoped that all (成员) of the public will help to locate them-including you.

You can take an (积极的) part in the Woodland Trust's project. Perhaps when you next go for a walk with your family, you can examine the trees you pass to see (它的) age. If you find one that you think could be very old, record (确切地) where it is using an online map. If you want to record the tree, you should take a photo. Don't (忘记) to make sure you are allowed to examine it closely if the tree isn't on public land.

"Ancient trees are as much a part of our heritage (遗产) as works of (艺术) , " explains Jeremy Evans of the Woodland Trust. "But they don't get the same protection. The good news is, you don't have to be a tree expert to take part".

At 7 am, we got on the state-of-the-art Fuxing Hao train at Shanghai Railway Station. We stored our (背包) and found our seats. Unlike other trains which start with a shake and much 5 (噪音) , this train felt so smooth that if you were not looking out of windows, you could (几乎不) tell we were moving. Yet, within minutes, we were passing over the rails at speeds of more than 350 kilometers an hour.

Soon, the towns of (东部的) China were rushing by. I saw my wife smiling and (指向) to a coin she had balanced on the table She took another coin and balanced it next to the first, and then another, until she had a (行) of coins. They stood there on the table for more than 20 minutes before one finally fell over.

After that, we (两个都) went back to reading and enjoying the beauty outside. We felt quite (放松的) . Then, before we knew it, we heard the announcement that we were arriving in Beijing. For 1, 318 kilometers, we (花费) only 4 hours and 38 minutes. Thanks to high speed trains, we can travel in China much more conveniently. No (疑惑), they will also bring the people of the country closer together, and in time bring about deep social changes, the full nature of which no one can fully guess.

Edgar Snow(1905—1972)was an American reporter. He is best known for his books and (文章) on Communism in China and the Chinese Communist revolution.

Snow came to China in 1928. He spent over 10 years (旅行) widely in China and trying to understand its people. At the same time, he tried to show what he learned to the rest of the world.

For (例子) , Red Star Over China, which came out in the1930s, is known as the first book that introduced China's revolution to the west. In it, Snow (收集) firsthand information on the Long March, as well as on the work and lifestyle of members of the Communist Party of China in Shaanxi Province.

Many Westerners were introduced to the Party through his book. Norman Bethune, a (加拿大的) doctor, came to China after reading Snow's book. He worked (努力地) to save the lives of Chinese soldiers during World War I.

"When the (整个的) world had forgotten us, Snow came to see us and told the world what had happened. We will remember Snow's great help to China forever, " Chairman Mao said during an (采访) with a German reporter in 1938.

Snow's spirit is still needed now, as well as in the (将来) , according to People's Daily. "No writer has spoken more (强烈地) about Sino-US relations than Edgar Snow. And no matter the era, people around the world always need some sort of link, "the paper said.

Until recently, Ajayi had never gone to school. Now fifty, she attends a school in Ilorin* Nigeria, wearing the same pink dress as two (百)other girls at the school. She studies with the students nearly forty years younger than she is.

Ajayi runs her (自己的)business making and selling bags, but she believes it is (仍然) necessary for her to learn to read and write.

In class, she answers questions (积极). She plays, talks and  (讨论)together with her classmates.

She is good at (烹饪). Children all like the food she makes. They enjoy (她们自己)at school.

Ajayi's (女儿) used to feel embarrassed about their mother's attending school with children. But now. they choose (支持)her efforts.

She plans to continue her (教育)for four more years, saying it will help her business.

In different countries and cultures around the world, free time is spent in different ways.

Several years (以前), researchers made a couple of surveys on how people spent their free time. The results (显示) that reading was the most popular activity in the United States, followed by watching TV. In UK, watching TV and videos was the most popular, and listening to the (收音机) came second. For Japanese, eating out was their favourite activity in their free time. And they also like (驾驶) around.

There were also differences in what people liked to do outdoors (在……之中) the three countries. The most popular outdoor activity for (美国人) was gardening while in Japan it only came (第九). For British people, going to the pub was their first choice, followed by visiting the cinema.

 (虽然) people around the world may enjoy doing some similar things in their free time, their interests are changing. In the US, for example, the interest in (电脑) activities is increasing. More people are spending their free time going online, or playing video games. As reading becomes much (更容易的) on the Internet, online reading will be as popular as other online activities.

Things Spotter

If you often lose things, you'll be happy with a new (发明) called Things Spotter. It'll look like a small key tag that can be put on your objects. The tag will (连接) to your mobile phone through BlueTooth technology. When you find something missing, don't (担心) !Just press a button on your mobile phone and a map on your screen will tell you where to look.

Fire Recharger

It's really fun to (扎营) in the wild! But what can you do if the batteries (电池)  on your mobile phone are empty? Some (工程师) are working on a Fire Recharger. It (生产) electricity from the heat of fire. This means you can use a small fire to charge (充电) your mobile phone. It is very useful and will be  (广泛地) used in the future.

DigGoggles

Those lively underwater photos are so beautiful, but not easy to take. Besides, underwater cameras are not (便宜的) enough. But soon you will have the (机会) to buy a pair of DigGoggles. That's the name of a (特殊的) diving mask that can take photos. Open and close your eyes twice and your camera will go 'click'!

A large store had a big sale day. Ads had been placed in the（当地的）newspapers several days before. The sales were so good that people rushed to the store that day. The opening time was 9 a.m., but people had got together at the store as（早地）as 7 a.m. , waiting for the door to open.

A small man looked at the long line and tried to make his way to the （前面）．The crowd became angry and people started shouting at him. They （推）him in order to force him back to the end of the line. （尽管）the people in the crowd were angry, still the man tried walking to the door a second time. Many people near the door were （更强壮的）than him but he still made it.

"Hey!"someone shouted in the crowd. "Is that you（又，再）？When will you leam to wait in line?" They got him to the back of the line and three big（女士） said they would watch him and stop him going forward. "That will make him think twice!" they thought.

The small man （摇动） his head. "This is too much for me to deal with!"he said. He wanted to open the store, but he thought that it would serve these rude （顾客） right if he went home and didn't open the store at all that day!

Thailand Literacy Program

Omkoi is one of the mountainous areas in Thailand. It is an area of (北方的) Thailand. There are neither schools (也没有) libraries there and people cannot read or write. The government of Thailand hopes to change that with a program. It (包括) bringing books to the villages.

A number of these villages can be reached only on foot, and there is always a very long rainy (季节) in Thailand. So how do the villagers get books that they need most, especially (在……期间) the rainy days? Of course, teams of (大象)!

Now there are several teams carrying books in Omkoi. They spend almost a month covering (七) or eight villages. These special teams make it possible to provide education for almost two thousand people in Omkoi.

In Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, there's a program called "Train Library for Young People", The train serves the homeless children on the (街道). Years ago, the railway police of Bangkok realized that those children (真正地) needed a good place for learning and they began to act immediately. Now they have cleaned up and (修理) some old railway cars. These cars are turned into libraries for the children.