"You're just in time, Joe．We're going to play cowboys and Indians, and you can be the Indians," one of my cousins said．

    "How many Indians?" I asked．

    "Oh, about a thousand," he answered, and before I could say no, I was pushed out into the night and became a thousand Indians．Two minutes later I was running in the fields with a group of cowboys behind．The shouts of "After them． Let's catch the killers!" and other such TV play language came into my ears as I ran round a corner and hurried into my Grandpa's car．

    "We've got him, boys．Let's go and catch him!"

    But no one wanted to come to get me．All of my cousins except one were always very friendly with．It was quiet outside．And I went out of the car to have a look．

    Just then I heard a shout, "Bring the rope, and we can burn him．"

    "Only Indians burn people．Cowboys．"I stopped just in time． I had almost said, "Cowboys hang people．"

    I was tied to a tree, and the cowboys were looking for some wood when my dear mother called, "We're leaving now．"

    "Untie me," I shouted．"We're going．"

    "Why did Bobby want matches'?" Mum asked when we were in the car．"He was asking Dad whether he had any．"

    "Oh, he was just going to get matches? MATCHES? Are you sure he wanted matches?"

    Mother was quite sure, and I didn't say any more．

    Ron, a teacher at the skydiving school, was surprised when he saw the grey haired man drive up to the airfield. He was more surprised when the man said that his name was Walter and asked if he could take skydiving lessons. Ron asked Walter how old he was and Walter replied that he was 60. Ron explained to Walter that anyone over 50 had to be checked by a doctor before he could learn to jump from a plane.

    "I'm afraid you should have thought about that before coming here." Ron said, "I'm sorry, but I can't let you start learning without a letter from your doctor.

    Walter smiled, "Here's a letter from my doctor. He asked me to take lots of tests and he said that I was fine. "

    So Walter was able to join the skydiving school. He came to all the lessons and worked very hard, although the other students were much younger than him, mostly about 30. Soon it was time for him to make his first jump. Ron asked him if he was feeling OK. Walter replied that he had never felt better. However, he added that there was something he should have told Ron earlier. Ron asked what it was and Walter smiled. Then, just before he jumped, he told Ron that he wasn't 60. Ron asked how old Walter really was and Walter told him he was 75!

    Walter's first jump from a plane was six years ago and yesterday he made his eighteenth jump. "I should have started skydiving a long time ago!" he said.

    Walter has lots of other hobbies. He enjoys riding fast motorbikes and climbing mountains. Last year he was saved by a police helicopter in Wales.

    Walter's daughter Betty worries about him, "I think he should stop all these activities. But my mother says that as long as he's happy, it's OK."

With the development of high technology(高科技), education is changing. The classroom of the future will surely not be the same as the classroom of today. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}So what will the future classroom be like? Let's try to find it out.

To start with, facing the blackboard will be a thing of the past. Students will take    classes by using their touch-screen desks. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}And doing homework, taking down notes, and having exams will be just a click away(点击鼠标即可).教室的墙壁也将会和高科技有关。{#blank#}3{#/blank#} The teachers and students can get any information they want on the walls.

In the coming years, another technology called metaverse(元宇亩) will make learning more exciting. Metaverse is a 3D virtual(虚拟的) world where people can meet, play, and work with others. In the metaverse, people can do things like going to the mall or buying virtual clothing. The only difference is that they will do all these in a virtual environment. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Teachers and students can get into a virtual classroom, but they may sit on the sofa at home real life. The experience will be like being in an actual classroom.

Besides, the classroom of the future has many learning styles for students. They can learn things in the way they want.老师们确信这种教室将会使学生学得更好。{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

When children read to Danny, he never stops them or corrects them. He just sits quietly and listens patiently. Danny is a "listening1 ". He is part óf a reading program for children. The name of the program is R.E.A.D.

This program helps2 children's reading and communication skills in a special way -' reading to dogs, but not any dog. R.E.A.D. dogs are therapy animals (治疗动物). " We all know that learning to read well is very3 . Teachers always ask children to read aloud.4 reading aloud in class is very difficult for some children. They are afraid that other children will5 them," says Danny' S trainer, Tony Nevett. But a listening dog like Danny won't make fun of them. The children will feel safe.It's also fun for them. They even start to6 reading aloud. As a result, their reading gets better.

This program7 helps the dogs. Many of them live in dog shelters and need a home. After some8 , the dogs learn to be comfortable with people they don' t know. This helps them to be9 for adoption (收养）.

The R. E.A.D. program started in the USA."We have many success stories," says Tony. He hopes the program will spread to more places. Children who10 the program learn to love reading. This helps them succeed in school.