This year, 25,310 students who have accepted places in higher education institutions have put off their entry until next year, according to statistics on university entrance provided by the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS).

    That is a record 14.7% increase in the number of students taking a gap year. Tony Higgins from UCAS said that the statistics are good news for everyone in higher education. “Students who take a well-planned year out are more likely to be satisfied with, and complete, their chosen course. Students who take a gap year are often more mature and responsible,” he said.

    But not everyone is happy. Owain James, the president of the National Union of Students (NUS), argued that the increase is evidence of student hardship – young people are being forced into earning money before finishing their education. “New students are now aware that they are likely to leave university up to￡15,000 in debt. It is not surprising that more and more students are taking a gap year to earn money to support their study for the degree. NUS statistics show that over 40% of students are forced to work during term time and the figure increases to 90% during vacating periods,” he said.

Show Biz Summer 2018

Location: Rosewood Center for Family Arts

Important Information:

* Tuition paid on the first day of class. No tuition refunds（退款）.

* DCT reserves the right to cancel any class; refunds made for cancelation.

* Please accompany students the first day of class.

* Registration begins one-half hour before class time.

How To Register:

* Mail: fill out the form in this brochure.

* Be sure to list the class and group that you want.

Drama Days: $ 175

Entering Grades:

Group A: 1st—2nd; Group B: 3rd—5th.

Time: June 2—June 6

* Create the situations and scenes.

* Showtime—invite family and friends to your Friday Showcase!

* Bring a sack lunch and drink each day!

Laugh Out Loud: $ 175

Entering Grade: 5th

Time: June 23—June 27

* Tell a joke! Learn why old jokes can be the best!

* Work with your class to put on a Comedy Show for family and friends!

Acting—Just Acting: $ 225

Entering Grades: Group A: 1st—2^nd; Group B: 3rd—4th

Time: August 4—August 8

* Start with the characters: Who are you? Be the Star of your Dreams.

* Work with your class to create the plot.

Summer Scenes: $ 225

Entering Grades: 5th—6th

Time: August 11—August 15

* Do you want to be an actor?

* Improve your skills with instructions from professional actors & directors.

    You may have seen many pumpkins in posters and TV shows recently since Halloween came on October 31.

    Lanterns made of pumpkins, also known as jack-o'-lanterns, are often seen during Halloween. Many people in the U.S. like to make them and put them in front of their houses. People hollow out（挖空）a pumpkin, carve a face on one side and place a candle inside to make the pumpkin glow. The lanterns can look funny or scary.

    This is not the only way in which pumpkins are part of American culture.

    During the Thanksgiving holiday, pumpkin pie is a common food. It is made from pumpkins and has some delicious spices to give it a nice flavor. People often put some cream on top of it before serving it. It is one of my favorite things to eat during Thanksgiving.

    There is also “pumpkin chucking”. It's a competition where people build machines to throw pumpkins through the air. The person whose pumpkin flies the farthest wins the competition. The world record for pumpkin chucking was set in Utah in 2010. The distance for that world record was about 1.69 kilometers!

    Finally, there are also pumpkin growing contests. For these contests, farmers try to grow the biggest pumpkins they can. The person who has the biggest pumpkin will win the first prize.

    Last year, I lived in Chile for half a year. I lived with a Chilean family and had the responsibilities of any Chilean teenager. I had good days and bad days I didn't understand.

    Chuquicamata, my host community, is a mining camp. When I arrived there, I was scared. It was so different from what I was used to. There were lots of dogs on the streets, and there was no downtown, few smoothly paved streets, and little to do for entertainment. Rain was not seen very often, earthquakes and windstorms were frequent.

    I had studied Spanish for two and a half years and was always one of the best students in my class. But in my first week in Chile I was only able to communicate and needed one person to whom I could explain my shock. I couldn't speak the thoughts in my head and there were so many.

    Most exchange students experience this like me. Culture shock presents itself in everything from increased aggression towards the people to lack of appetite (食欲). I was required to overcome all difficulties.

    As time passed, everything changed. I began to forget the words in English and to dream in Spanish and love Chilean food. I got used to not depending on expensive things for fun. Fun in Chuquicamata was being with people. And I took math, physics, chemistry, biology, Spanish, art, and philosophy.

    But the sacrifices were nothing compared to the gain. I learned how to accept and to succeed in another culture. I now have a deeper understanding of both myself and others.

    If you are in charge of a project, the key to success is getting everyone to want to help you. As a director, I point, I suggest, I gently push the actors in the direction I want them to go. In the 1986 movie, "Nothing in Common", Jackie Gleason's character, Max Basner, gets fired from his job as a clothing salesman. The scene, shot on a boat, shows Max's despair about being out of work. I was looking for some gesture that would allow Max to show his feelings.

    Jackie had far more experience at everything than I did, and at first I was frightened. What could I possibly tell "The Great One" about acting? Out of fear I decided to direct by suggestion, and I sat down with Gleason to talk about the scene. "So Max is sad, right?" I said.

    Gleason nodded.

    "And he's probably still carrying his pens with his name on them—the ones he used to hand out to his customers, right?"

    Gleason nodded.

    "So what would you want to do with the pens after you were fired?"

    He was silent for a moment. "Why don't I throw them overboard?"

    I stood up and turned towards the crew. "Hey, everybody, Jackie has a wonderful idea. Let's shoot it."

    After filming the scene, Gleason called me over and said with a smile. "Garry, what kind of wonderful idea am I going to have tomorrow?"

    You and your team can discover the answers to problems together. When there are no prizes or gold stars for those who get the solution first, you'll all benefit when everything turns out right.

    America is the world's largest food exporter. But the worst drought in half a century is hitting corn and wheat harvests. The drought across the central United States adds to concerns about world food supplies and prices in the coming years.

    Experts say by 2050, the world will have to produce at least sixty percent more food to feed a population growing bigger and bigger. China, a major food importer, is looking for producers around the world to guarantee future food supplies.

    China has invested in food production in Australia and New Zealand. A new source of supply is Ukraine. Ukraine was known as the breadbasket of Europe because of rich corn and wheat harvests a century ago.

    Galyna Kovtok is chief executive of Ukraine's largest agricultural business, ULF. She predicts that within a few months her company will be approved to export corn to China. That will make Ukraine the first country outside the Americas to do so.

    ULF will soon have almost two million tons of elevator storage capacity as it prepares for the Chinese market. Chinese money is financing the building of six grain elevators. But the company's equipment is largely American, including half-million-dollar John Deere combines to harvest wheat.

    ULF'S grain production per hectare (公顷) is now halfway between Ukrainian averages and the high yields of the American Midwest. But farming depends on the weather. Across the Black Sea region—in Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan--drought this year is pushing harvests down by fifteen to twenty percent.

    Traditionally, the Black Sea region is the main source of wheat for North Africa and the Middle East. But this year, on the supply side, Russia may have to stop exports. And, on the demand side, Africa and the Middle East are now competing with China.

    At the same time, a new report says large parts of Asia may face long periods of severe drought within ten years. It says northern China, India, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Pakistan will be especially hard hit. It says other parts of Asia are likely to face longer and wetter monsoon seasons (雨季) because of climate change.