Elizabeth Mitchell's new “Liberty's Torch” is the fascinating story of how the Statue of Liberty came to be. The Statue of Liberty's rough history is explored in “Liberty's Torch”.

    Frederic Auguste Bartholdi is an all-but-forgotten figure in American history. He was, however, responsible for one of the most enduring symbols of the United States: the Statue of Liberty. A Frenchman from Alsace, he designed and built the Statue of Liberty which stood on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor. How this statue came to be is the fascinating subject of Elizabeth Michell's new book “Liberty's Torch”.

    The power of Mitchell's narrative is convincing(令人信服的). We recognize the Statue of Liberty now as a symbol of hope and opportunity for a nation of immigrants. At the time, though, people could not see that－nor did they even imagine that. Instead, the construction of the statue was born of one man's desire to set up a great monument.

    For this reason, perhaps, “Liberty's Torch” relies on Bartholdi as the connecting thread. Bartholdi went to Egypt to make photographic copies of the main monuments. On the boat, Bartholdi met and began a lifelong relationship with Ferdinand de Lesseps, the man who would build the Suez Canal. Maybe it was this friendship, or maybe it was seeing Egypt's huge monuments, but finally the trip inspired Bartholdi's dream to create the largest statue ever built. Failure to bring this to completion in Egypt, followed by his exile (流放) from Paris, led Bartholdi to sail to America.

    By explaining the Statue of Liberty's hard history and showing Bartholdi's brave spirit, Mitchell has done a great service.

    There is no doubt that to study abroad gives you an excellent opportunity to learn things which are very helpful in your career building. Today Canada has earned a good name in providing quality education and safe healthy environment for its students. That is why more than 130,000 international students enroll (登记入学) every year in famous Canadian universities. It is an ideal education destination and gives students a unique experience education and its versatile (多样的) arts and culture. Canada spends a lot on education and is ranked the highest in G-8 countries.

    To study in Canada is very cheap．These universities are affordable compared to other universities in the world such as in the US, New Zealand and UK where cost of education and living is very high．According to a survey in 2006, “Canada offered the lowest tuition fees (学费) for foreign students compared to UK and Australia.”

    The low rate of crimes and the peaceful safe environment of the country also attract a lot of international students to Canadian universities. Canada has 92 universities and 175 community colleges and university degrees have three levels—Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral.

    A Bachelor's degree in Canada is for three or four years' full-time study depending on the nature of the program you are doing. On the other hand, a Master's degree consists of two years of study. For a Doctoral program in Canadian universities, you require a minimum (最低/小的) of three to four or sometimes five years of research and study.

    You can also find many diploma (文凭) and certification (认证) programs in Canadian universities where the time is generally one year．Some of the Canadian universities are well-regarded worldwide and the degree and diploma obtained from these Canadian universities are recognized globally and promise bright future. After the completion of studies, a person could also find great job offers in Canada itself. International students require a work permit to work on campus.

    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 stone­faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had read carefully, 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 task 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 class, 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 quiet! 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 re­dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not fair, 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 opinion to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!

    While all cultures share the same basic emotions, the body language used throughout different countries of the world varies（变化）greatly. What can mean one thing in one country can often mean something completely different in another.

    For example, in North America and Europe people tend to prefer direct eye contact（接触）. But in some Asian countries longer eye contact is considered rude.

    So when communicating with people, always be aware of different cultural customs that may exist.

    A V sign in the US could mean victory, but in England, it stands for a rude challenge, which has the same meaning as showing the middle finger in the US.

The OK gesture（手势）in America and England is given to mean everything is good or well. But in Latin America is looked on as a rude sign.

    The thumbs（拇指）up sign in America and most of Europe means that something is good or well done, but it is considered rude in many Asian countries.

    Putting your feet on the table is generally not thought to be rude in America and England. However, in Thailand（泰国）it is really rude.

    Telling someone to come to you by curling your index finger（食指）is acceptable in America and England, but this gesture signifies death in Singapore.

    Raising your hand up means stop in America and England. In some Asian countries this gesture is used when asking for permission to speak.

    In most westernized countries it is considered normal for two men to shake hands. In some Asian countries it is quite normal for men to kiss each other, while in most westernized countries men kissing in public would be viewed as homosexual（同性恋）behavior.

    If you would like more information on different cultural gestures all over the world, see this site on non-verbal （口头的）communication.

    February 14th is Valentine's Day! In China, it is only a day for boyfriends and girlfriends. But my teacher and my friends in America told me that Valentine's Day is a public day.

    This was my first Valentine's Day in America. I didn't understand the customs clearly. Maybe I didn't need to send any gifts. I watched others to see what they did, so next time I can understand.

    On that day, when we began the reading class, Mr. Peters gave every student some chocolates and said, “Happy Valentine's Day!” I was very happy. The teacher gave his students gifts and blessings! I never saw that in China. Maybe American teachers are very different. I didn't buy a gift for the teacher, so I owed a gift to the teacher. Anyway, I want to say, “Thank you teacher, and I'm sorry.”

When we had a break, one of my classmates gave me a Pokemon card. It was very funny. I felt we were children. I thought I owed a gift again, but I felt thankful. It was another gift, but it was from my new classmate.

    When we were moving to our grammar class, suddenly I heard someone calling me, “Shelly!” I stopped. Another classmate who had only been in our class one day gave me some chocolates. She said, “These for you and your friends. Have a good day!” I was looking at her leaving and thinking she spoke Arabic. We were in the same class only one day, but now we are friends. That's very good, but I owed a gift again.

    When I came home, my Chinese friend sent some roses and chocolates. I was surprised and happy because I had never received roses in my past life, but I hoped it was the last gift. I didn't want to owe more gifts.

    For many people, the “golden years” are a time to slow down and recall past achievements. Nola Ochs—a Guinness record holder as the world's oldest college graduate at the age of 95—saw age as an opportunity to take on new challenges and satisfy unfulfilled goals.

    Born in 1911 in Illinois, Nola always loved learning. She was a good student who graduated from high school in 1929 and began college via correspondence course（函授课程）from Fort Hays State University in Kansas. After getting the degree of the college, she taught in county schools for four years before marrying her husband, Vernon Ochs.

    Soon, the realities of farming stopped any thoughts of furthering her education, though Nola lived a good, full life on the farm, raising four sons. She always yearned to learn more about the world she lived in, but not until after Vernon died in 1972, did Nola consider resuming her formal education.

    “I just thought something off the farm would be fun,” Nola explained. “Really, I had no thought of ever graduating. For 10 years, I just took classes that were of interest to me, mostly history and composition. And then one of the professors came to me and told me if I would take college algebra, I would have enough credit hours to graduate. And I finally made it.”

    For most people, graduating at the age of 95 with a 3.7 GPA might be enough of an accomplishment, but not for Nola. In May 2010, at the age of 98, Nola Ochs received her master's degree, making her the oldest person to receive that distinction.

By the time Nola passed away in 2016, at the incredible age of 105, she had achieved her goal of writing a book about her life experiences. At one point in the process, when asked for her life advice, she said, “Buy the plane ticket!” She meant that people should take advantage of life's opportunities and not wait until tomorrow.