Our room was on the second floor but you could still hear the roar of the ocean and see the stars at night. I used to take long walks along the water. The food in town was wonderful and the people were very friendly. The area was very quiet and peaceful, and fairly deserted.

    The last evening of our vacation, however, we all heard strange footsteps following closely behind us as we were walking up to our room in the holiday centre. We turned around and noticed a fairly young man moving very rapidly across the beach and getting closer to us. He was tall and wore a baseball cap. We didn't have any cell phones on us. I never saw Dad as worried as he was then and knew that something was terribly wrong. The sense of fear started to overwhelm Mom and me. We had had such a good time in town. Now, the night was rapidly turning into a dangerous situation.

    We could hear the man's footsteps getting closer. Dad's face was almost pale. The so-called intruder (侵入者) had moved nearer and nearer when all of a sudden, the nearby vending (自动贩卖) machine started going crazy and spitting out cans of soda! The noise actually scared the intruder and he ran out of sight. My parents were shaking, but we all turned around to see who had put money into the vending machine downstairs, and actually saved us, but no one was around at all.Not a soul.

    It's one vacation I will never forget.

    More and more birds are flying to settle at Qinghai Lake, one of the highest inland lakes in China, thanks to the protection efforts of local governments. Covering an area of over 4,000 square     kilometers. Qinghai Lake is also the country's biggest salt­water lake. Located in Northwest China's Qinghai Province, the lake is famous for the two islands at its northwest point—Cormorant Island and Egg Island. The two islands have plenty of floating grass and various schools of fish, offering rich food sources for birds. The islands have become a paradise for different kinds of groups of birds and have been called“Bird Islands”．

    Each March and April, when ice and snow covering the Qinghai­Tibet Plateau starts to melt, over 20 kinds of birds fly to the Bird Islands to lay eggs.  During the months, flocks of birds cover the whole sky over the islands and birds eggs can be found everywhere. Visitors can hear the singing of birds from miles away. These have become a world famous symbol of the lake.

    To protect this paradise for birds and support calls for ecological protection, China set up the Qinghai Lake Natural Protection Zone at the end of 1997.Meanwhile, the State has pointed out the Bird Islands and Spring bay of the Qinghai Lake as central protection zones.

    Inspection officials and management employees often patrol the lake, improving local residents' knowledge of related laws and spreading knowledge about animal protection to visitors. They are making great efforts to call on people to love and protect the birds. At the same time, they have built special fences around the island area to prevent wolves, foxes and other carnivorous animals, as well as illegal hunters from breaking up the birds' nest­building, egg­laying and breeding. As a result, more and more birds are coming to the islands for sheltering and breeding.

    He is both a great director and a great animator (卡通片制作者). He is Japan's Walt Disney.

    Hayao Miyazaki, the 72-year-old Japanese master of fantasy animation (奇幻动画), one of the most respected animation directors in the world, announced his retirement on September 6. Here are some key words about his films.

Good and evil (邪恶)

    Miyazaki rarely tells stories in simple good and evil. The worlds he creates tend to be complex (复杂的) and unclear. The bad figures often don't seem so bad once you get to know them. Miyazaki has explained that the lack of clear good and evil is because he sees the 21st century as a complex time, in which old ideas need to be re-examined, even in children's films.

Children

    The heroes in Miyazaki's films are usually children or teens, more often young girls. Sometimes they can see the spirit world; they are curious and friendly, even to strange creatures. The stories often deal with growing up.

Sky and water

    Two of Miyazaki's great loves are the sky and water, and he uses them in related ways. Flight is a forever theme — Miyazaki has never done a film without flying of some kind. His imagination seems to fly and leave behind the pull of gravity (重力), a force and control that he feels a bound (束缚) from setting him free.

    Water is another way for Miyazaki to fight gravity. In his films he likes the unexpected floods with crystal-clear water, and objects floating on the surface seem to be supported by magic.

Peace

    Miyazaki's negative view of the war goes far more than surface deep. Violence is usually seen as wrong and painful, and Miyazaki's heroes are often peacemakers.

    A man, who sometimes takes my bus, is in rags. His life seems different from that of the others. He looks exhausted and carries nothing. He appears along a downtown street, seemingly out of nowhere. We sometimes want to know where he sleeps at night.

    A few weeks ago he boarded the bus. A few stops later, a young woman boarded. She swiped (刷) her bus-card, only to find the machine would not accept it. The driver told her to pay the $2.25 fare. “I just bought this card,” she said. “I paid the money...”

    The driver said she could take the card back to the sales office and explain the problem. In the meantime she would have to pay the fare for that day. The woman became confused and distressed. The rest of us just watched, wondering how the problem would be solved. Suddenly the man rose from his seat, dropped a few coins into the fare box.

    “You're lucky,” the bus driver said quietly. “He paid for you.” Silence fell over the bus. The rest of us had watched the woman's discomfort, but he felt it. We lawyers, journalists and business people headed downtown to help fix the world. He fixed her world.

    I haven't seen him since that day. Some people believe angels occasionally drop down and move among us. All I know is that I have a new respect for the simple act of kindness. It speeds us along on our way.

Tour in the Museum

    Experts or folk scholars lead the tour in the museum and throw further light on certain exhibits. Lectures and interactive events will be held to discuss popular scientific topics. Two public themed lectures will be held every month, like "Unlock the Space Station" and "Looking into the Amazing Brain" etc.

    Fan Workshop

    The series of hands-on courses include "WEDO2.0 Robot", "First Step for Robot Design", "Get Creative with Lego", "Space Exploration" and "Science and Technology" etc. Through exploration, cooperation, creation and sharing, the workshop is set to interest students in science, engineering and mechanics.

    Everyone Can Code

    Based on Apple's Swift language and Swift Playgrounds, the courses, such as How an app is produced, Exploration into Face ID and Program for Dash robot are available to fuel teenagers' interest in programming and cultivate their logical thinking. The aim is get people to feel the fun in programming.

    Live Show

    Unlike the traditional teaching mode, a scientific show will present the scientific principles. The public is able to see the show as well as be in the show to feel the charm in a closer place. Fourteen topics are now available, including "the Power of Structure", "Voice and Music" and "Secret for a Polar Bear to Keep Warm".