Good afternoon, and welcome to England. We hope that your visit here will be a pleasant one. Today, I would draw your attention to a few of our laws.

    The first one is drinking. Now, you may not buy wine in this country if you are under 18 years of age, nor may your friends buy it for you.

    Secondly, noise. Enjoy yourselves by all means, but please don't make unnecessary noise, particularly, at night. We ask you to respect other people who may wish to be quiet.

    Thirdly, crossing the road. Be careful, the traffic moves on the left side of the road in this country. Use pedestrian crossing(人行横道) and don't take any chance when crossing the road.

    My next point is about rubbish. It isn't lawful to drop rubbish in the street. When you have something to throw away, please put it in your pocket and take it home, or put it in a dustbin.

    Finally, as regards smoking, it is against law to buy cigarettes or tobacco if you are under 16 years of age.

    I'd like to finish by saying that if you require any sort of help or assistance, you should contact the police, who will be pleased to help you. You can call, write or directly go to any policeman.

    We bet that on cold winter days, many of you love to stay in your warm home and, every now and then, come out into the kitchen for a snack. Unfortunately, plenty of small insects like to do the same thing! Winter is the time when small insects enter your house without an invitation. The season can be difficult for such creatures. In winter the air is cold, the ground is hard and many trees have no leaves. So small insects do what they have to do to survive.

    Monarch butterflies head south to warmer climates. Ants crowd in deep underground colonies and eat food they have been storing all year. Many insects go into a deep sleep called diapauses. There're different kinds of diapauses, but all are similar to hibernation, a time when bigger animals become inactive in the cold. Insects go into an inactive period, too, but it often isn't when the temperature drops.

    They rely on more dependable signals in the environment. For example, many insects can tell how much sunlight there's each day. They use that to tell themselves when to shut down. Insects are cold-blooded, meaning that their inside temperature is the same as the outside. They can't move much when it gets below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. So they search for any warm place.

    They're looking for protection. These guys have been doing this for 300 million years, so they don't really know they're coming into your house. The home is a recent event in terms of their evolutionary (进化的) behavior. They enter through tiny cracks or come in unnoticed on your clothes or shoes. Remember that they may be entering your homes for warmth and food, but they don't care about humans.

    Though pigs may never fly, a two-year-old pig in Franschhoek, South Africa is proving they sure can paint! Meet Pigcasso, the world's first known pig artist whose masterpieces are selling for thousands of dollars to benefit Farm Sanctuary S. A. , Africa's only registered shelter for rescued farm animals.

    Joanne Lefson, who saved Pigcasso from a slaughterhouse(屠宰场) two years ago, discovered the animal's artistic talent accidentally. The South African activist says, of the numerous toys presented to keep the then four-week-old piglet entertained, it was the paintbrushes that seemed to attract her the most. "They were the only thing she didn't eat," Lefson quips.

    The rescuer decided to present the pig with canvas and paint and see what happened. To her delight, Pigcasso began creating works of art that can best be described as "abstract expressionism". Now weighing a hefty(重量）450 pounds, the celebrated pig, who loves to paint the area's scenic landscapes, has a dedicated "studio" at Farm Sanctuary S.A. where she resides. Lefson says, "I do not force her to paint. She paints when she wants to."

    Pigcasso's artwork, which has thus far been sold online, is currently on display at Cape Town's picturesque Victoria ~ Alfred Waterfront. Dubbed "Oink", the pop-up exhibition will run through March 5before heading to London-Paris-Berlin, and Amsterdam. Lefson says its main aim is to highlight the effect of animal agriculture on the planet and inspire change.

    While Pigcasso is the first pig and first nonhuman to headline an exhibition, she is not the first animal to create masterpieces. Elephants, sea lions, and even penguins have shown similar artistic talent--in exchange for some treats, of course!

    I always felt sorry for the people in wheelchairs. Some people, old and weak, cannot get around by themselves. Others seem perfectly healthy, dressed in business suits. But whenever I saw someone in a wheelchair, I only saw a disability，not a person.

    Then I fainted(昏倒) at Euro Disney due to low blood pressure. This was the first time I had ever fainted, and my parents said that I must rest for a while after first aid. I agreed to take it easy, but as I stepped toward the door, I saw my dad pushing a wheelchair in my direction! Feeling the colour burn my cheeks, I asked him to wheel that thing right back to where he found it.

    I could not believe this was happening to me. Wheelchairs were fine for other people but not for me. As my father wheeled me out into the main street, people immediately began to treat me differently.

    Little kids ran in front of me, forcing my father to stop the wheelchair suddenly. Bitterness set in as I was thrown back and forth.

    "Stupid kids! They have perfectly good legs. Why can't they watch where they are going？"I thought. People stared down at me，pity in their eyes. Then they would look away, maybe because they thought the sooner they forgot me the better. "I'm just like you!" I wanted to scream "The only difference is that you've got legs，and I have wheels."

    People in wheelchairs are not stupid. They see every look and hear each word. Looking out at the faces, I finally understood: I was once just like them. I treated people in wheelchairs exactly the way they did not want to be treated. I realized it is some of us with two healthy legs who are truly disabled.

    Elizabeth and I are 18 now, and about to graduate. I think about our elementary school friendship, but some memories have blurred(模糊). What happened that day in the fifth grade when Beth suddenly stopped speaking to me? Does she know that I've been thinking about her for seven years? If only we could go back, and discover what ended our relationship.

    I have to speak with Beth. I see her sometimes, and find out school is "fine". It's not the same. It never will be. Someone says that she's Liz now, what happened to Beth?

    I can't call her. Should I write? What if she doesn't answer me? How will I know what she's thinking?

    Yes, I'll write her a letter. These things are easier to express in writing. "Dear Be-," no, "Dear Li-" no, "Dear Elizabeth," I begin. The words flow freely, as seven-year-old memories are reborn. I ask her all the questions that have been left unanswered in my mind, and pray she will answer. I seal my thoughts in the perfect white envelope, and imagine Beth looking into the mailbox. Will she know why I'm writing? Maybe she once thought of writing the same letter.

    As the mailman takes my envelope from me forever, I wonder if I've made the right decision. Do I have the right to force myself into Beth's life again? Am I simply part of the past? I have taken the first stop. Beth has control of the situation now.

    One day has passed. Are my words lying on the bottom of the post office floor.

    Two days are gone. I'm lost in thought and don't even hear the phone ring.

    "Hello? It's Elizabeth"