Jenna, a popular girl from Westwood Middle School, had graduated first in her class and was ready for new1 in high school.

However, high school was different. In the first week, Jenna went to tryouts{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(选拔赛) for cheerleaders{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(啦啦队队员). She was competing against very talented girls, and she knew it would be2 for her to be selected. Two hours later, the3 read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart was down as the list ended without her name. Feeling4 , she walked home carrying her schoolbag full of homework.

Arriving home, she started with maths. She had always been a5 maths student, but now she was struggling. She moved on to English and history, and was happy to find that she didn't have any trouble with those subjects. Feeling better, she decided not to6 maths for the time being.

The next day Jenna went to see Mrs Biden about being on the school7 . Mrs Biden wasn't as8 as Jenna. "I'm sorry, but we have enough9 for the newspaper already. Come back next year and we'll talk then." Jenna smiled10 and left. "Why is high school so11 ?" she sighed.

Later in maths class, Jenna devoted herself to figuring out the problems that had given her so much12 . By the end of class, she understood how to get them right. As she gathered her books, Jenna decided she'd continue to try to fit in at her new school. She wasn't sure if she'd13 , but she knew she had to try. High school was just as her mum had said, "You will feel like a small fish in a big pond14 a big fish in a small pond. The challenge is to become the15 fish you can be."

Last weekend I made my first visit to a remote village, home to one of our students, Tombe. Another teacher and I walked for two and a half hours to get there—first, up a mountain from where we had fantastic views, and then down a shaded path to the valley below. When we arrived at the village, Tombe's mother, Kiak, saw us coming and started crying "ieee ieee". We shook hands with all the villagers. Everyone seemed to be related to Tombe.

Tombe's father, Mukap, a man with a strong jaw and a wrinkled forehead, led us to his house, a low, round bamboo hut with no windows, with a door just big enough to get through, and with grass sticking out of the roof—this shows it is a man's house. Such housing is dark inside so it took time for our eyes to adjust. Fresh grass had been laid on the floor and there was a platform for Jenny and me to sleep on. There was a fireplace in the centre of the hut. The only possessions I could see were one broom, a few saucers, a kettle, cups, pans, and a couple of jars.

Mukap built a fire outside and laid stones on it to heat. He then placed the hot stones in an empty oil drum with kau kau（sweet potato）, ripe corn, and greens. He then covered the vegetables with banana leaves and left them to steam. It smelled delicious. We ate inside the hut sitting round the fire. I loved listening to the family talking softly to each other in their language, even though I could not participate much in the conversation. Luckily, Tombe interpreted for us.

Later. I noticed a can standing upside down on the grill（烤架）over the fire. After a while. Tombe threw it out of the doorway. Tombe told me that the can was heated to dry out the leftover food. His family believes that leftovers attract bad spirits in the night, so any leftover food is dried up in a can and the can is then thrown out of the hut.

We left the village the next morning after many goodbyes and firm handshakes. My muscles were aching and my knees shaking as we dragged ourselves down the mountain towards home. That evening I fell happily into bed. It was such a privilege to have spent a day with Tombe's family.

Born in France, but raised in Spain,linguistics and literature professor Juan José Ciruela Alférez from the University of Granada is passionate about Chinese literature and has been doing some research about it. With painstaking effort, his Spanish translation of a Chinese classic was published last year. 

Ciruela said translating the novel was an interesting challenge. In recent years, many Chinese works have been introduced to Spain. However, as most of them had been translated first into English and then from that language into Spanish, much of the originality,was lost. For this reason, when the Spanish publishing house Kailas contacted Ciruela to translate it directly from Chinese, he accepted the mission immediately, even if it presented difficulties like a heavy workload within a short time limit.  

"I encountered various difficulties, especially at the beginning of the task," said Ciruela in an interview. "This novel, in particular, needs a prior reading process in which the translator gets into the plot and the characters, since at first it is difficult to enter the world that the novel constantly raises. So I read the novel first in Chinese, paying attention to all those details and how all of that could be translated in a way that the Spanish readers would understand."

For Ciruela, the most important criterion when translating is fidelity(忠诚) to the original text. While it is true that one cannot always be strictly faithful, he believes translators should not be too far from original texts. For example, the translation of culturemes (expressions of culture in language) is quite complicated due to the cultural gap between Spanish and Chinese. Ciruela believes that these must always be appropriate to the specific function they perform within the text, in each specific case and moment. 

More than 50 years ago, my dad planted {#blank#}1{#/blank#} evergreen tree.He watered it and cared for it.A few {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(year) later, when it grew to about 3 feet tall, he placed its first set of Christmas lights on it.Thus our tradition began.Every Christmas ever since, this tree has lit up our neighborhood corner.

Dad passed away in November 1991.With all the emotions of his {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(pass),Thanksgiving came and went.When the topic of the tree {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(bring) up, Mom said,"Not this year."But my brother, sister and I said,"Dad would want it to be done,"so the following weekend,we {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(decorate) the tree together {#blank#}6{#/blank#} memory of him.

The tree now stands about 40 feet tall, and we have to use a beautiful cherry lift.{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(put) the top lights on.We turn the lights on the evening after Thanksgiving,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} send out light each night until New Year's Day.People drive by slowly, taking pictures or simply {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (enjoy) its beauty.Then in spring we pack the lights {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(safe) away for the next year.

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon. My husband was taking care of our baby girl so that my six-year-old and I could do some yard work, just the two of us. It was sure to be 1 . But soon, the clouds of mosquitos seemed 2 to our bug spray (喷雾). I was sweating, itchy (痒的), and arguing with my son about how to 3 weeds. I had told him the "right" way—getting those weeds out from the bottom, by the roots, 4 them entirely.

However, my son went about things in his own way. He pulled the 5 of the weeds off, moving quickly down the line as he left the remaining part still in the soil. Somehow, I found this to be incredibly 6 . Why couldn't he do it in my way and save me the time of having to 7 his share? Why did he do it at all if he wasn't going to do it properly?

"If you would do as told, we'd be done earlier and promised a longer period 8 we would have to return and pull weeds next time," I said, trying to keep my tone 9 .

"But people do things…10 , Mom," he said innocently.

My fire soon faded, replaced by the 11 realization that I'd just received a valuable 12 from the person that I was supposed to be teaching. While trying to 13 my baby girl, my kindergartener, and the yard work, 14 was a lifeline for me. But my way was, perhaps, not the best way after all. His time shouldn't be 15 . His job was to be a kid and take his time, for as long as he was able.

In San Francisco,a large group of sea lions move themselves out of the bay waters and hang out on PIER 39, which is a popular tourist destination. According to dock（码头） officials, this is the most sea lions seen in the region in 15 years.

"Over 1,000 sea lions have been counted this week," PIER 39 harbor master Sheil a Chandor told many different medias. "The increase in sea lions is usually a good sign of their strong population and healthy living environment," said Adam Ratner, Director of Conservation Engagement at the Marine Mammal（海洋哺乳动物） Center in Sausalito, California.

"California sea lions are sentinels（哨兵） of the ocean," Ratner said. Their population to some extent reflects the health of the ocean. Therefore, seeing a large number of California sea lions is clearly a good thing.

For nearly 35 years, the animals have been a star attraction for visitors. That autumn in 1989, PIER 39 had just been repaired, but the ships had not yet been moved back. At that moment, the sea lions' unexpected arrival not only attracted fans but also created enemies. According to a website, some dock residents and workers were scared away by the strong and very unpleasant smell and noise of their new neighbors, while others saw these animals as a bright spot after the destructive Loma Prieta earthquake.

The officials sought help from the Marine Mammal Center to find a way to deal with sea lions. Ratner said that the final decision is to let the sea lions stay and coexist with humans. "The fact proves that this is really a good thing," he said. "This is just a proof of how we can truly work together and think about how we can share our coasts with marine mammals and other wildlife in a way that benefits all the parties involved."