Classic Is Never Gone

    Every year hundreds of films are produced, yet how many are forgotten after six months? Movies come and go, as throwaway as popcorn bags left on the floor of a cinema. But of those few films that people do remember, there is one that is truly “evergreen”(常青).

    Whether you are young or old, or where you are in the world, the 1939 classic Gone with the Wind never seems to become unpopular. Last year the film celebrated its 75^th birthday.

    The movie comes from a best-selling book of the same name by US writer Margaret Mitchell. Hollywood was soon interested in turning the novel into a movie.

    The story is set in the periods before, during and after the American Civil War (1861-1865). It is about relationships between members of high-class families living in the south of America.

    The Civil War period piece highly rewarded the time and effort of the filmmakers who worked on it. Over twenty years, no studio went beyond it in making the most money of any film ever made. It's the kind of movie that every studio dreams of making.

    You may think that inventions are far away from your everyday life. But in fact, almost everyone can invent. It's just that they do not realize that their idea could be the start of an invention. Once inventors see their ideas have some practical value, they don't let them run away.

    For example, the inventors of the dishwasher, American Josephine Cochrane, loved to give dinner parties. But she found it took too long to wash her dishes by hand. She decided that a machine could do the job faster. So, in 1886, she began to make one for herself.

    Here are the steps to create inventions. The first and most important step is to find the problem. Start by looking at what is wrong with things you see now and ask people around if they remember ever saying, “I wish someone would invent something for...” Then you might notice situations(情况) or things in need of improvement. The next step is to think about possible solutions. An invention is a new way of solving a problem. So think of many and unusual ways. You can often come up with a solution to a problem by looking at it from a different side.

    The hardest part of inventing is coming up with a problem and finding a solution. Once you have an idea, you can always get help building your invention. This problem-solving technique can also work in your everyday lives. So, why not try it in your studies, in your relationship with others, or even in the way you look at the world?

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}People used electric streetcars to travel in cities. On weekends, they rode the streetcars to parks. Young people liked roller coasters（过山车）.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}The first movie lasted only one minute. Soon, however, movies got longer. In the 1920s, movie theaters sold millions of tickets each week. In 1927, movies finally had sound.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Many people stayed at home when they were free. They listened to another new invention-the radio.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}People in cities worked indoors on weekdays, so they wanted to be outdoors on weekends. Bicycling became a popular activity.

Now with more time, money and inventions, people have many{#blank#}5{#/blank#} during their spare time.

A.      B.   C.    D.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}⑴Enjoy beautiful scenery on Turkey's Turquoise Coast. The water is clear and calm with temperatures of 25°～28°in July and August. You don't need any previous kayaking（独木舟）experience to enjoy this trip. However, you do need to be quite fit, as you will be on the water for 4~6 hours a day.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}⑵Experience diving and sailing in the Indian Ocean in March and April. Enjoy warm, clear water and white, sandy beaches. Spend all of your stay on one of our yachts（游艇）with first-class service and excellent food. Explore remote and unspoilt reefs, and see a wonderful range of underwater sea life.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}⑶Would you like to discover the underwater world of the dolphin? Join us in July or August in the clear waters around the Azores. You will receive training from expert guides（专业导游）to gain confidence in the water with the animals. We often see eight different species of dolphin during our trips.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}⑷Come to Iceland in summer to see the biggest waterfall in Europe. Gauifoss, the "Golden Waterfall" is a truly spectacular（壮观）sight. The water from the River Hvítá and water from glaciers come together and fall 32m in two stages. You can follow a path quite close to the falls, which provides wonderful opportunities（机会）for photos and videos. Warm clothing is essential（必要）.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}⑸If you enjoy nature, you will love lake Balaton.

Much of the area around the lake is part of a protected national park. We have expert guides with knowledge of local plants and animals. That will take you on long walks around the park. The marsh area of the lake is home to a wide number of bird species.

    Have you ever ridden a Ferris wheel lately? Can you imagine the flying feeling as you are pulled up to the top and then moved down to the bottom quickly again?

    Today a Ferris wheel is usually 40 to 60 feet tall. That seems very high when you are on the top looking down. But the first Ferris wheel was 264 feet high- taller than a twenty-story building! Can you imagine the view from the top of that?

    The first Ferris wheel was built for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The people who planned the fair were looking for an attraction that would bring people to Chicago. George Ferris handed a drawing of a giant wheel that people could ride on. At first everyone laughed at his strange idea. But Mr Ferris did not give up, and finally the idea was accepted. The ride opened in June of 1893.

    Today's Ferris wheels have 12 to 16 seats, which each carry 2 or 3 people. But that first one had 36 enclosed cars, each holding 60 passengers. When filled, it carried 2,160 people. During that summer in Chicago, about 1.5 million people rode the Ferris wheel.

After the fair, the ride was moved to a nearby amusement park built especially to show off the wheel. In 1904, it was moved again一to St. Louis for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. After the fair there, the wheel stood unused. In 1906, it was finally sold to a company for scrap metal(废金属).

    Luckily a Chicago bridge builder, W.E. Sullivan, figured out how to make a smaller Ferris wheel that could easily be taken apart and put together. In 1906, he started the company that still makes many of the Ferris wheels used today.

    But, whenever you ride one, remember that it all began with George Ferris's strange idea!