Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

    Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

    Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quite! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

    Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster's office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!

    In 1943, when I was 4, my parents moved from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to Fairbanks, Alaska, where adventure was never very far away.

    We arrived in the summer, just in time to enjoy the midnight sun. All that sunlight was fantastic for Mum's vegetable garden. Working in the garden at midnight tended to throw her timing off, so she didn't care much about my bedtime.

    Dad was a Railway Express agent and Mum was his clerk. That left me in a mess. I usually managed to find some trouble to get into. Once I had a little fire going in the dirt basement of a hotel. I had tried to light a barrel(桶) of paint but couldn't really get a good fire going. The smoke got pretty bad, though, and when I made my exit, a crowd and the police were there to greet me. The policemen took my matches and drove me home.

    Mum and Dad were occupied in the garden and Dad told the police to keep me, and they did! I had a tour of the prison before Mum rescued me. I hadn't turned 5 yet.

    As I entered kindergarten, the serious cold began to set in. Would it surprise you to know that I soon left part of my tongue on a metal handrail at school?

    As for Leonhard Seppala, famous as a dog sledder(驾雪橇者), I think I knew him well because I was taken for a ride with his white dog team one Sunday. At the time I didn't realize what a superstar he was, but I do remember the ride well. I was wrapped(包裹) heavily and well sheltered from the freezing and blowing weather.

    In 1950, we moved back to Coeur d'Alene, but we got one more Alaskan adventure when Leonhard invited us eight years later by paying a visit to Idaho to attend a gathering of former neighbors of Alaska.

    Nothing could stop Dad. After he was put on disability for a bad back, he bought a small farm in the country, just enough to grow food for the family. He planted vegetables, fruit trees and even kept bees for honey.

    And every week he cleaned Old Man McColgin's chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料).The smell really burned the inside of your nose. When we complained about the terrible smell, Dad said the stronger the manure, the healthier the crops, and he was right. For example, just one of his cantaloupes filled the entire house with its sweet smell, and the taste was even sweeter.

    As the vegetables started coming in, Dad threw himself into cooking. One day, armed with a basket of vegetables, he announced he was going to make stew(炖菜).Dad pulled out a pressure cooker and filled it up with cabbages, eggplants, potatoes, corns, onions and carrots. For about half an hour, the pressure built and the vegetables cooked. Finally, Dad turned off the stove, the pot began to cool and the pressure relief valve sprayed out a cloud of steam. If we thought Dad's pile of chicken manure was bad, this was 10 times worse. When Dad took off the lid, the smell nearly knocked us out.

    Dad carried the pot out and we opened doors and windows to air out the house. Just how bad was it? The neighbors came out of their houses to see if we had a gas leak!

    Determined, Dad filled our plates with steaming stew and passed them around. It didn't look that bad, and after the first wave had shut down my ability to smell, it didn't offend the nose so much, either. I took a taste. It would never win a prize in a cooking competition, but it was surprisingly edible, and we drank up every last drop of soup!

    After many considerations and years of heated argument, gray wolves were brought back to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.

    Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.

    The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources for the wolf — grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park's red foxes, and completely drove away the park's beavers.

    As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.

    The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolves. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.

    If you're short on cash, you don't have to pay for an expensive gym membership to get in shape. Below are some choices for you! And the best is that they don't cost a penny!

    Nike+Running club and Nike+Training Club

    Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, various locations Nike's free run club of coaches and pacers open to anyone who wants to learn how to run like the professionals. Besides, there's the Nike Training Club for all health levels, covering boxing and other exercise. It's not one for men, though - the classes have a women-only policy. Call up in advance for participation!

    Our Parks

    Monday, Wednesday and Friday

    This brilliant program works with local communities to bring free health group classes across the city. They're led by qualified instructors and you can join anything from the body-building club at the Olympic Park to yoga in Victoria Park - just remember to register online and book ahead.

    Sweaty Betty's in-store classes

    Daily, various locations and times

    With over 70 classes to pick each week, it's no wonder mums crowd into Sweaty Betty to keep their health. But to sign up for a class, it's fastest fingers first -- places can be booked up to a week in advance so simply register online and watch out for a free spot.

    Sweat Shop running community

    Sundays to Thursdays, various locations and times Running can be a lonely old task. Sweat Shop's run clubs, held at branches across London, aim to make it a little more social. We'd recommend this for more experienced runners - the entry level distance is 5 kilometers - but a pace keeper at the back means you won't be left behind. Ready to work up a good sweat? Just go to the events listed on their Facebook page!

    At 1,345 meters above sea level, Ben Nevis is not the world's most difficult mountain to climb. But things get considerably tricky if instead of hiking shoes you put on a pair of 5-inch high heels, especially if you're a guy. One English teenager recently proved that it was not impossible.

    Ben Conway, a 19-year-old art student from London, recently took up the challenge as a way to stand out in an application for a scholarship for the School of Communication Arts in Brixton. He started his unusual high-heel climb at 8 a.m., on June 27, and was joined by Callum MacKenzie Allen, a friend from his art foundation year, who videotaped the whole thing for a two-minute video that was used as his application project. The whole climb took five hours and wasn't the smoothest experience.

    Halfway up Ben Nevis, one of his shoes broke, so he had to tape the shoes to his feet to make sure they stayed on. The weather didn't make it easy for him either, as he claimed that it rained pretty much the whole time, and he had to go against 40 to 50 miles an hour winds. Due to these difficult conditions, Ben and his friend had to turn back after reaching 900 meters up the mountain.

    Besides providing a unique art school application project, the high-heel climb also allowed the 19-year-old to raise some money for worthy causes (事业), like Sal's Shoes, which provides footwear for barefoot children around the world.

    "Raising money for charity brings happiness to people's lives and if I can do something ridiculous and bring someone happiness, then that's what it's all about." Ben said.