Lost Underground is a story about four school children who went on a trip to some caves. These caves were very large and people could go into them only with a guide. However, four children decided to explore on their own. They went in the caves with a group, but left the group and walked down the tunnel. They thought it would be fun to explore the cave alone.

    Soon they came to a hole in the wall. They climbed through the hole into another part of the cave. Then they decided to turn back, but they could not remember the way. They were lost in the caves. When the guide led the other children out of the caves, he counted them. He discovered that there were four children missing. He had to go back into the caves to try to find the missing children.

    The children who were lost moved deeper into the caves. The deeper they went, the more lost they became. They were frightened. They started shouting for help, but the guide didn't hear them. How dangerous!

    Soon they came to an underground river. They guessed that the river must flow out of the caves. The water was very cold and deep, but the children kept on swimming. For a long time, they swam in darkness, then they saw a light ahead of them. The river was flowing out of the caves into a big river and the children were able to leave the caves. They climbed out of the river onto the riverbank. They saw the bus with the other children in the distance.

    Do you remember when your grandma told you the story of Snow White? Ah, the happy days of childhood! But did you know that Snow White comes from Germany? It's just one story from the 209 in Grimm's Fairy Tales (《格林童话》).

    The Grimm brothers started to collect fairy tales in 1806. Their first book came out (出版) in 1812. Why are German fairy tales so interesting? Maybe it's because they come from a great place famous for its stories – the Black Forest.

    The Black Forest is in southwest Germany. It's the largest forest in the country – and one of the most beautiful. It's famous for its trees and lovely views. There are valleys and waterfalls (瀑布) there. It's a good place to start a story.

    Don't forget to bring something back if you visit. People there are good at making clocks, musical instruments and watches.

    One can hardly imagine Chai Huilong, wearing glasses and a T-shirt, as a Chinese chive(韭菜) farmer.

    Two years ago, Chai graduated from Tianjin College of University of Science and Technology. He took over his parents' 20,000 square meter plot of land and set up a business: growing Chinese chives.

    But instead of growing Chinese chives in the traditional way, Chai plants them in garden pots and sells them directly to customers through an online sore. Now his family makes 10 million yuan a year.

    Running a business is a dream for many young graduates. Chai is one of those young graduates who have found great career opportunities in rural areas. They make good use of their agricultural knowledge and new skills, and get support form the government.

    When Chai came up with the idea of growing Chinese chives, he was not sure about running his own business. But Youth Business China, a non-profit(非盈利的) program supported by the government which helps encourage youth entrepreneurship (创业精神), gave Chai courage and confidence. The program offers 30,000 to 50,000 yuan in start-up funding to young people who have great ideas. It also assigns(分配) each of them a tutor who provides guidance on spending the money and running the company.

    "My relatives and friends regard farming as a bad job. But being a farmer is just my job," said Chai. So far, his products have been shipped to places as far as Dubai on the Arabian Gulf. Chai is confident that he can make a greater success of this job in the future.

Why Live Near the River?

Imagine pioneers traveling west in the 1800s. In those days, it was hard to find running water and shops where to buy things. As time went by, most pioneers had to make their homes near a river so that they could get water easily.

How did rivers help people live in the past?

Back in the pioneer days, people grew their own food, caught their own fish, and collected their own water.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}People also used rivers as roads, traveling on boats. Traders shipped goods (货物) to people from other areas.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

When building many factories right next to rivers for the water's power to make machines work, some people choose to live near a river for working. They use the river to ship large goods, and some of them work at these factories where power factories provide electricity for homes and businesses.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Who wouldn't want to live near a river?

Some people are nervous about living near rivers because rivers can cause floods (洪水). Every once in a while, floodwaters rise higher than a house, ruining (毁坏) many things in the house.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Such waste causes water to smell bad and pollutes the crops (作物) we eat. Water and crops in polluted areas can make people very sick.

How do people decide where to live?

 {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Rivers can provide jobs and fun activities in a beautiful place. However, those living by rivers should be willing to accept possible problems as well.

It took five tries and forty years for Xia Boyu, an amazing climber, to get to the top of the world.

On his first Qomolangma try in 1975, Xia got frostbite(冻疮) and had to have his feet—and later legs—amputated (截肢).

Xia went back again in 2014, 2015 and 2016. On that last try a strong snowstorm forced him to turn back less than 100 meters from the top.

"It's been a dream of mine for more than 40 years," Xia said. In 2018 Xia finally realized his dream, making him the first Chinese double amputee to summit(登顶) Qomolangma. "This time after 43 years, Qomolangma accepted me, finally," he said.

"Climbing the highest mountain in the world with prosthetics (假体) adds another level of difficulty, because it is difficult to feel the ground. Whatever you are standing on, what kind of roads you walk on, whether it is good or bad, they do not give you any feelings. You have to learn it day-to-day, to find the feeling," said Xia. He also said he had to use his body to keep balance as prosthetics cannot walk up and down like real legs. "I have to be stronger than others," he added.

"I have learned from my journey to the top that you should move forward bravely no matter what conditions you face. Never give up on your dream," said Xia.