When I was 8 years old, I decided to run away from home after a quarrel with my mother. With my suitcase packed and some sandwiches in a bag, I started for the front door.

     My mom asked where I was going. “I'm leaving home,” I said.

     “What's that you're carrying?” she asked.

     “Some clothes and food,” I replied.

     “If you want to run away, that's all right,” she said. “But you came into this home without anything and you can leave the same way.”

     I threw my suitcase and sandwiches on the floor and started for the door again.

     “Wait a minute,” Mom said. “You didn't have any clothes on when you arrived, and I want them back.”

 This infuriated me. I tore my clothes off — shoes, socks, underwear and all — and shouted, “Can I go now?”

     “Yes,” my mom answered, “but once you close that door, don't expect to come back.”

     I was so angry that I shut the door forcefully and stepped out of my home. Then I noticed down the street two neighbor girls walking toward our house. I was so shy that I saw the big spruce (云杉) tree in our yard and jumped under the low-hanging branches. A pile of dried-up brown needles were beneath the tree, and you can't imagine the pain those sharp needles caused to my body.

     After I was sure the girls had passed by, I ran to the front door and knocked at it loudly.

     “It's Billy! Let me in!”

     The voice behind the door answered, “Billy doesn't live here anymore. He ran away from home.”

     Looking behind me to see if anyone else was coming down the street, I said, “Mom! I'm sorry. I'm still your son. Let me in!”

     The door opened and Mom's smiling face appeared. “Did you change your mind about running away?” she asked.

     “What's for supper?” I smiled back.

    Christmas was coming, I was considering what present I should prepare for my father.My dad never wants anything, for he is a hard person to buy for . I pulled out my phone to read text message from my mom saying that we were leaving for Christmas shopping for him when I came across a message on my phone that I had locked. The message was from my father.My eyes fell on a photo of a flower taken in Wyoming，and underneath a poem by William Blake. The flower，a lone dandelion standing against the bright blue sky，inspired me. My dad had been reciting those words to me since I was a kid. That may even be the reason why I love writing. I decided that those words would be my gift to my father.

    I called back. I told my mom to go without me and that I already created my gift. I sent the photo of the cream ­colored flower to my computer and typed the poem on top of it. As I was arranging the details another poem came to mind .The poem was written by Edgar Allan Poe；my dad recited it as much as he did the other. I typed that out as well and searched online for a background to the words of it. The poem was focused around dreaming，and after searching I found the perfect picture. The image was painted with blues and greens and purples，twisting together to create the theme and wonder of a dream. As I watched both poems passing through the printer，the white paper coloring with words that shaped my childhood. I felt that this was a gift that my father would truly appreciate.

    Christmas soon arrived. The minute I saw the look on my dad's face as he unwrapped those swirling black letters carefully placed in a cheap frame，I knew I had given the perfect gift.

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    BEIJING — China's education authority will tighten the widely criticized policy of “extra credits” for the national college entrance examination to ensure a fairer chance for all exam-takers.

    Under the policy, high school students who win awards in national Olympic competitions could get "extra credits', up to 20 points for the national college entrance exam. Students with talent in sports and students who are from ethnic groups can also benefit from this policy. The extra credits have increased these students' chances of being admitted by famous universities. Some parents were found to have helped their children fabricate(伪造)award experiences or falsify qualifications to get extra credits.

    “It has harmed education equality，” the ministry said.

    Xiong Bingqi, vice-chief of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said the policy is designed to help students who have special talents but may be weak in academic performance to have a chance to receive higher education. It will still be needed but it is time to make the rules fairer," he said.

    The ministry said it will reduce the range of competitions whose winners can get extra credits, and limit the winners, privileges.

    The new policy will apply to students who begin high school in 2011, it said.

    Chen Lei, a mother of a 10-year-old girl, said she welcomed the ministry's policy adjustment as she does not want her daughter to become an Olympic competition geek.

    But not all the Chinese parents welcomed the new policy. “It is like a thunderbolt for me. My 13-year-old son has spent so much time studying Olympic math, and participated in so many technological competitions during vacations. It is useless now,” said Dong Wen, a 43-year-old mother.

    A student said, “Many students have changed the current study plan, and they can abandon the competition. I will be interested in learning the courses which can improve my abilities.”

    Yuan Guiren, minister of education, told China Daily that the reform is an attempt to consider the overall quality of an applicant. “But the country will not stop the national college entrance  examination as it is still the most objective way to evaluate talent in China,” he said.

    Everglades National Park (大沼泽地国家公园) is located in the state of Florida. It is the largest wilderness in the entire country and makes up 25% of the wetlands in the state. The park is home to several rare and endangered species. It is also the third largest national park in the US, after Death Valley and Yellowstone. Each year, about 1 million tourists visit the park. On a global level, it has been announced as a World Heritage Site.

    Unlike most other national parks, Everglades National Park was created to protect an ecosystem (生态系统) from damage. In 1947, President Harry Truman spoke at the official opening of Everglades National Park, saying the goal of creating the park was to protect forever a wild area that could never be replaced.

    10,000 different islands make up Everglades National Park. Each of these islands is lived by natural wildlife. The Everglades is home to about 15 species that are endangered. In addition, more than 350 bird species and 300 species of fresh and saltwater fish live within the park. The Everglades is also home to 40 species of mammals and 50 reptile species.

    There are many ways to explore the Everglades. Visitors can see alligators (短吻鳄) while hiking the Anhinga Trail. The Everglades is one of the only places on Earth where freshwater alligators and saltwater crocodiles live in the same area. Visitors using airboats are likely to see large groups of birds. Some visitors might enjoy riding bicycles through Shark Valley. Others may want to move slowly through waters where they can see insects and wildlife closely.

    According to experts, changes to the Everglades are becoming a danger to several different kinds of wildlife. They say it is a result of actions the US government began more than 50 years ago, and settlers began even earlier.

    Earlier this month, 6-year-old Isaac went on vacation to Fort Walton, Florida, with his family. While they were there, his mother Garrett learned about LuLu, a restaurant that offers food to customers with food allergies(过敏).

    At LuLu, Isaac could eat a salad and a bowl of chicken soup with rice. "Isaac looked at me as if asking, 'Is this OK?' " Garrett said. Once his mom gave the OK, Isaac enjoyed for the first time the experience of eating at a restaurant. "That look on his face was like, 'This is the coolest thing I've ever done,' " Garrett added.

    Garrett and her family rarely eat out because of Isaac's food allergies. When they do, she cooks something for Isaac at home before they leave and brings it with her to the restaurant. "It's not fun and it feels unfair," she said.

    Their night at LuLu marked a celebration for Isaac. Garrett shared the moment on the restaurant's Facebook page. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving Isaac this wonderful experience," she wrote in her post.

    Barnett, the restaurant's manager, said, "When customers tell the staff that someone in their group has a food allergy, I assist with the order by passing it to the kitchen, ensuring it's cooked in a separate station and delivering the finished food to the guests. We have been improving this process over the past ten years since our allergy program was started."

    On Garrett's Facebook post, LuLu thanked Garrett for sharing her story. "Thank you for sharing your experience with us," the restaurant wrote in a comment, "We are excited to see your son so happy!"

    Garrett is hoping her post's popularity will convince other restaurants to be more considerate. "LuLu takes it seriously as we take it – nothing could make us happier than that," she said.

    Debby Harris says she would never have started going to the Glastonbury Festival if her friend who runs a food stand hadn't needed a hand a few years ago. "I thought it would just be all noise, and I never liked rock music.^" Now she says she would pay her friend to allow her to work at her stand!^" The tickets sell like hot cakes, so it's the best way of making sure I can get to the five-day festival in June." she points out.

    Nick Hendon likes going to the Cambridge Folk Festival, which takes place over a long weekend in summer at Cherry Hinton Hall. His favourite festival area is the Club Tent where members of the audience, as well as the invited artists, can get up and perform. "My wife usually takes part. She has a beautiful voice," he says proudly.

    Joan Mitchell does her best to get to the International Eisteddfod, a dance and music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Wales. The festival is also famous for the final Sunday Evening Gala concert which usually has some of the biggest names in opera as guest performers.

    ^“I've seen Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, James Galway and Montserrat Caballe, but no one could ever match Luciano Pavarotti. He was truly breathtaking!''

    Graham Crosby tries to get to as many concerts as possible during the eight-week summer season of the Proms festival every year. The Proms is the largest classical music festival in the world." The atmosphere (氛围)is much more relaxing than that at other classical concerts. In fact, the audience sometimes behave more like rock fans, jumping up and down to the music, which is really exciting."