In the library, I found my way into the “Children's Room.” I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.

       There on the book's cover was a beagle which looked identical（相同的） to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.

Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.

       My mother's call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.

       I never told my mother about my “miraculous” (奇迹般地) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.

A

San Francisco Fire Engine Tours

San Francisco Winery Tour

   Running: February 1st through April 30th

   This delicious tour goes through the city on its way to Treasure Island where we will stop at the famous Winery SF. Here you can enjoy 4 pours of some of the best wine San Francisco has to offer.(Included in tickets price)

  Departing from the Cannery: Tell time upon request.

  Duration(时长)：2 hours

  Price: $90

Back to the Fifties Tour

  Running: August 16th through August 31st

This tour transports you back in time to one of San Francisco's most fantastic periods, the 1950s! Enjoy fun history as we take you through San Francisco for a free taste of ice cream.

  Departing form the Cannery 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm

  Duration:2 hours

  Price:$90

Spooky Halloween Tour

  Running: October 10th through October 31st

  Join us for a ride through the historical Presidio district .Authentic fire gear （服装）is provided for your warmth as our entertainers take you to some of the most thrilling parts of San Francisco

  Departing from the Cannery:6:30 pm and 8:30 pm

  Duration :1 hour and 30 minutes

  Price: Available upon request

Holiday Lights Tour

  Running: December 6th through December 23nd

This tractive four takes you to some of San Francis's most cheerful holiday scenes. Authentic fire gear is provided for your warmth as you get into the holiday spirit.

  Departing from the Cannery 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm

  Duration: I hour and 30 minutes

  Advance reservations required.

    You probably know who Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is, but you may not have heard of Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell if you are not interested in foreign literature. Of the outstanding ladies listed below, who is your favorite?

    Jane Austen (16 December, 1775-18 July, 1817)

    Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was born at Steventon, Hampshire. She began writing early in life, although the prejudices (偏见) of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously (匿名).

    She wrote many books of romantic fiction about the gentry (贵族). Her works made her one of the great masters of the English novel. Only four of her novels were printed while she was alive. They were Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and (1816).

    Charlotte Bronte (21 April, 1816-31 March, 1855)

    She first published her works, including Jane Eyre, under the false name of Currer Bell. Her first novel, The Professor, was rejected by many publishers. It was not printed until 1857. She is famous for her novel Jane Eyre (1847), which was very popular when it was printed. Jane Eyre was a strong story of a plain, brave, clever woman struggling with her passions, reasons, and social condition.

    Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (8 November, 1900-16 August, 1949)

    She was an American author and journalist, a lifelong resident and native of Atlanta, Georgia. One novel by Mitchell was published during her lifetime, the American Civil-War-Era novel, Gone with the wind, for which she won the National Book Award for Most Distinguished Novel of 1936 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937. In more recent years, a collection of Mitchell's girlhood writings and a novel she wrote as a teenager, Lost Laysen, have been published. A collection of articles written by Mitchell for The Atlanta Journal was republished in book form.

    From now, if all goes well, a high-tech spacecraft will land in the South Pole of the moon. There, it will drill 66 feet down into the surface(表面) and collect samples of the mantle(地幔样本) to bring back to the earth.

    But before it leaves, it will have a two-part time capsule(时光胶囊): a public part, full of the Earth's history, and a private part, full of digital(数码的) memory boxes created by individuals(个人). These memory boxes can hold digital files — records of family trees, videos or actual DNA in the form of human hair. Not everyone can have a digital memory box, though. The boxes are only delivered for the people who donate the money to the project.

    The project, called Lunar Mission One, has already raised more than half of its ￡600,000 goal since its launch(启动) just a few days ago. The founders thought that it would succeed because of the attraction of both exploring the moon surface and leaving a time capsule behind. The mission was a technical action, but it was also an emotional one, bringing the excitement of knowing that something humans built on the Earth reached somewhere else in space.

    Still, it does seem risky(冒险的) for a person to donate￡60 to keep a digital memory box for a project that won't come true until 2024. What if the project never takes off? What if the technology isn't good enough? What if those digital memory boxes break on the moon's surface? And how will anybody ever even know if that happens? Ian Crawford, a professor at Birkbeck College in London and scientific advisor to the mission, says it is not necessary to worry about these. The plan to leave a time capsule on the moon isn't really about physically leaving something on the moon — it's more an opportunity to encourage people's interest in space.

    When school started on that warm August day, I threw myself into everything I did, including playing volleyball. I decided to become beautiful, or at the very least, skinny. I stopped eating completely. Soon I began losing weight, which thrilled me, and I even grew to love the tiredness and lightheadedness( 头晕)that came with my poor diet, for those feelings meant that I was winning.

    As the season progressed, things had become tense between my head volleyball coach, Coach Smith, and me. She felt that something was wrong with my health. She talked with me about my eating and was angry that I wouldn't listen to her when she tried to make me eat. She tried to persuade me in a determined way and so we fought constantly. Then my hunger started to affect my performance. I was so tired that practice and games were becoming a struggle. One afternoon, with hurt in her eyes, Coach Smith asked me what I had eaten and I told her nothing yet. She looked at me, disappointment in her eyes, knowing she couldn't make me stop, and walked away.

    A couple of weeks later I attended a formal dinner for our volleyball team. I stood there as my coach managed to say something nice about me. I realized then that I had ruined my senior year by being disrespectful, and I had probably ruined hers as well. So that evening I wrote her a letter apologizing and thanking her.

    Then one Saturday, as I was reading in the library, I felt someone gently take my arm and say softly, “Lynn Jones, how are you doing?” I looked up and saw the familiar face. “Thanks for the letter,” she said. “It meant a lot.” When I think of a coach, I think of someone above me, someone who gives instruction — not a friend. But Coach Smith is different, and, like any other good friend, she dealt with my problem in a determined way even when I hated her for it at that time. I didn't deserve her kindness, but she gave it anyway. I will forever be grateful for her help, and now for her friendship.

Recently, my dad and I decided to take a day trip to the Florida Keys, a coral cay archipelago located off the southernmost coast of the US. I was super excited because I had not been able to go anywhere within the past nine months because of COVID-19.

With masks and hand sanitizer, we began our fun journey before sunrise. The Keys are about two hours away from where I live in Florida, so we would get there early to see the sun coming up over the ocean. On the road, we got to enjoy the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.

When we stopped by Curry Hammock State Park, I was really amazed. The park contains 1,000 acres of land, which protects mangroves, rock land and seagrass beds that are important to the ecosyst (生态系统) in the Keys. During our time there, we were able to see some hawks flying by, and they followed the Gulf coastline of the Caribbean, migrating (迁徙) from Canada and as far south as Peru. These hawks put their wings out, "floated" up in the wide sky and then glided for long distances. After flying for thousands of miles, they still kept their fast flight patterns.

After that, we went to Key West and visited some iconic (标志性的) stops, like Duvall Street and Mile Marker 0. It was really cool because it is the very beginning of US 1, which is the longest road that runs from Key West to the Canadian border.

It was an amazing trip to the Florida Keys, and it was thrilling to have a change of scenery.