My name is Chen Lan. My home is in Gulangyu. Where is Gulangyu, do you know? It is in Xiamen. It is near the sea (海). Gulangyu is a small place(地方), but it is very nice and clean. There are no cars, buses or bikes. People only walk. So it is very quiet (安静的). My house is in the center of Gulangyu. Behind my house there is a big old tree. My grandfather tells me the tree is very old. There are many birds in the tree. We call it a "bird tree". My house is near the sea. The sea is big and blue. There are many fish in the sea.After school, I often go there and catch fish with my friends. It is very interesting. I like eating and catching fish.

    Have you heard of the story of The Legend of White Snake (《白蛇传》)? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It's a love story between White Snake and Xu Xian. It has a connection (联系) with the Dragon Boat Festival in China.

    Once upon a time, there were two snakes, White Snake and Green Snake. They had magical powers and turned into two beautiful young ladies. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} White Snake quickly fell in love with him. They got married soon and lived happily.

    The Dragon Boat Festival came. On that day, people drank realgar wine (雄黄酒). {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If she drank the wine, she would turn into the snake again. However, Xu Xian didn't know anything about it, so he asked his wife to drink realgar wine. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} When Xu Xian entered the room, he couldn't find his wife. He only saw a huge white snake on the bed. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Later, White Snake recovered (恢复). In order to save her husband, she went to steal the magical herb (药草). In the end, the god was so moved by her true love that he saved Xu Xian. What a moving love story!

    An 11-year-old blind girl is proud of walking alone every day to and from school. Why? She has to walk past so many barriers (障碍物) in her way. The girl's home is near the school, yet her mother follows her without letting her know.

    The case of the girl shows the barrier-free facilities (设施) are not enough in her city. Many other cities are short of barrier-free facilities as well. There's no well-designed path for the blind. In fact, in the early 2000s, some cities started to build barrier-free facilities for disabled people. However, almost 20 years later, only a few large cities have had facilities of high quality.

    It's common that sidewalks are taken up with barriers. Few workers are sent to move them away, so it's dangerous for the blind to walk on them. Also, some other barrier-free facilities are badly destroyed（毁坏）. Only a few workers are assigned (分配) to do the task of repairing the broken ones.

    Some ideas can make a difference-build more barrier-free facilities and employ more of them require money. In a word, more money is needed to carry on with the work. It's our duty to make life easy for disabled people, so that they can live without barriers some day.

    Most of us probably dreamed about becoming an astronaut when we were little. But how many of us have actually become one, or are at least working toward it? It's true that the advice" Always follow your dreams" is something that is typically easier said than done.

    But still, this is the one piece of advice that Alyssa Carson wants to share with her peers. This 17-year-old girl from the US has become one of the candidates (候选人) for NASA's 2033 project to go to Mars. If everything goes well, Carson will be one of the first human beings to ever set foot on the red planet.

    Carson began to dream of going to Mars when she was only three years old. After watching an astronaut-themed cartoon and hearing from her father that humans had only been to the moon but not Mars, Carson decided that she wanted to be the first one to do so.

    To realize her dream, she has worked hard toward it. At the age of 12, Carson became the first person to attend all three NASA space camps, and she sat with real astronauts to discuss the future of Mars missions. Now 17, Carson is continuing with her space training while still taking on her high school work like a "normal " teenager, except that she studies all her subjects in four languages - English, French, Spanish and Chinese.

    "I don't think there's anything specific that makes it easier for me or makes it something that others can't do," Carson said in an interview," I've just really focused myself on what I want to accomplish."

    Besides, Carson is willing to make sacrifices (牺性) for her dream, She's fully aware of the danger of the mission and the possibility that she might never be able to come back. She also accepts the fact that she can't get married and start a family because any loved ones left on Earth may be a distraction for her and for the mission, But Carson believes that it's all worth it, summarizing her view with this ancient Greek proverb she once quoted," A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they'll never sit in."

    While some people's dreams may sound out of this world, Carson is on her way.

Hip Hop Class

    The Fullerton Community Centre is putting on an exercise class set to the sounds of hip hop music! It's great fun for anyone who wants to get fit to hip­hop！We'll exercise to disco and funk music as well. Classes are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7 to 8 and cost 30 euros a month.

Kids' Talent Competition

    Are you good at dancing, singing, playing a musical instrument or making people laugh? The kids who are 10—16 years old are invited to take part in an exciting talent competition at 2 p.m. on Saturday, 6th August at Clearwater Shopping Centre. It's free to enter and the first prize is a trip to New York!