A Trip to the Forest

    One day Bob took two of his friends into the mountains. They put up their tents and then rode off to a forest to see how the trees were growing.

    In the afternoon when they were about ten kilometers from their camp（营地）, it started to snow. More and more snow fell. Soon Bob could hardly see his hands before his face. He could not find the road. Bob knew there were two roads. One road went to the camp, and the other went to his house. But all was white snow. Everything was the same. How could he take his friends back to the camp?

    Bob had an idea. The horses! Let the horses take them back! But what would happen if the horses took the road to his house? That would be a trip of thirty-five kilometers in such cold weather!

    It was getting late. They rode on and on. At last the horses stopped. Where were they?

    None of them could tell. John looked around. What was that under the tree? It was one of their tents!

    A young man with a large bag on his back came far away for a master (大师). He said "Master, I'm so lonely and so painful that the long trip makes me tired out, my shoes worn-out, my feet cut, and my hands also injured an bleeding .... Why can't I find the sun in the heart?"

    The master asked, "What do you put in you large bag?"

    The young man said, "It is very important to me, inside it including the pain each time I fall, the tears each time I'm hurt, the trouble each time I feel lonely ... Depending on it, I can come to you here."

    So the master took the young man to the river which they crossed in a boat. On the other side of the river, the master said, "Hurry on your journey carrying the boat!"

    "What, carrying the boat?" the young man was surprised, "it is so heavy. How can I carry it?"

    "Yes, my son, you can't carry it," the master just smiled and said, "when you cross the river, the boat is useful. But after crossing it, you will put down the boat and hurry on, If not, it will become a burden (负担). Pain, loneliness and tears—all these are useful to life. They can improve life, but if you don't forget them all the time, they will become the burden in life. Put it down! My son, life can't bear(承受) a heavy burden," The young man put down his bag and hurried on. He walked easily and happily, and much faster than before.

    Mum and dad took my brother, Brad and me to a restaurant last night. Mum told us to wear our best clothes. Brad wanted to wear jeans but mum said no.

    When we arrived at the restaurant, a waiter took us to our table. Our table was next to the window and we could see the river. Then the waiter asked us if we wanted to drink before the dinner. Brad and I both had an orange juice. I spent a long time looking at the menu. It was difficult to choose because there were many things on the menu. After five minutes, I decided to have chicken and a small salad. Brad had beef and mum and dad had fish. We all agreed that the food was delicious, we would like to go there again next time.

    The mystery(悬疑) stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are famous all over the world.

    The detective in his stories is called Sherlock Holmes. He solves mysteries in a most surprising way. Through it all, his assistant, Dr Watson, watches with admiration(钦佩). Watson then writes up the story of the mystery afterwards.

    This is a useful story writing skill. Because Watson is not very clever, the story remains a mystery until the end. The readers can sometimes pick up some clues before he does! Then, to make Watson understand the mystery, Holmes has to explain it all, step by step. So we, the readers, get to see it step by step too. Watson is almost as good a character in the story as Sherlock Holmes!

    The very first time they meet, Holmes greatly surprises Watson. When they are first introduced, Holmes says to Watson, "How do you do? I see you have been to Afghanistan.”

    Watson is too amazed by this to ask Holmes how he knows this. Watson has, indeed, been to Afghanistan. Later, he asks Holmes about it. Holmes explains that there is nothing magical about what he does. He gets to know it all by very, very careful observation (观察).

Observation One

    Watson was introduced to Holmes as a doctor. Yet Holmes thought that the way he stood and walked made him seem like a soldier. So, this meant he was probably an army doctor.

Observation Two

    Watson's face was quite dark skinned. But his wrists(手腕) were pale. So his dark face was probably sunburnt. This meant that he had been to a hot, sunny country. As he was a working doctor, this was not a holiday. He must have gone with the army.

Observation Three

    At the time, the British army had soldiers at bases in many parts of the world. So there were still a lot of places to choose from. However, Holmes saw that Watson looked very tired and he was always holding his left arm, as if it was painful. So, he had probably been with the army to a place where they were fighting. There was only one place where the British army was fighting at that time: Afghanistan.