What is a hurricane?(飓风)

    You may already know that hurricanes are storms that can cause devastating(毁灭性的) waves, wind, and rain. They happen during “Hurricane Season,'' from June 1st until November 30th in the Atlantic Ocean and from May 15th until November 30th in the Pacific Ocean.

Categories(类别)of Hurricanes

    There are five categories of hurricanes, which are based on wind speeds. The categories help people know how much damage(危害) a hurricane may cause because the greater the wind speed, the more dangerous the storm. For example, a Category 5 hurricane has winds over 155 miles per hour, which are strong enough to break the buildings along the seaside completely.

Hurricane Dangers

    When a hurricane happens together with heavy rainfall（降雨）, there can be a devastating flood. The centre of a hurricane is called the eye. While most of a hurricane has dangerously strong winds, the eye in fact is a calm area in the storm. When the eye of a hurricane passes over land, people might think that it's over, but before long the wind and rain increase(增长) again as the second part of the hurricane moves through.

Hurricane Safety Tips

    There is no way to stop a hurricane or make it change direction, so if you ever find yourself in the path of a hurricane, be sure to stay inside during the storm. You could be seriously injured(受伤) if you go outside.

    How do we know what's right or wrong in English? Languages such as French and Spanish each has an official(官方的) organization that tells you what's correct. But there is nothing like that in English. So what can we do?

    There is, of course, Standard English. This is the kind of English you read in newspapers or in formal letters. It is also the English you learn at school or in textbooks.

    However, Standard English is not official English. And unbelievably, linguists（语言学家） think Standard English is on the same level as all other types of English such as Cockney English, Yorkshire English, South African English, Australian English, Singaporean English… And according to linguists, there is no such thing as Standard Spoken English.

    English is changing all the time. Every year, new words appear and others disappear. Words change too. For example, for many years, the Latin word “agendum” was the accepted singular form and “agenda” was the plural form. However, these days, very few people use the Latin-sounding“agendum”, with “agenda” being the accepted singular form, and “agendas” the plural.

Newspapers each has their own style when they write certain things. For example，The Guardian puts dates like “21 July 2011”(with the day first, followed by the month and no commas). However, the news agency Reuters writes them like this “July 21, 2011”(with the month first, and a comma(逗号) between the day and the year). Other newspapers have different ways of doing it too. So, as you can see, there's no one “correct” way —there's a variety of ways and each one is acceptable.

    Next time someone tells you that something is wrong, tell them that it isn't wrong, It is just English.

(Each answer should be no more than four words)

    Wugang is the political, education, medical health services and cultural center of southwestern Hunan Province. It has a gross area of 1549 square kilometers, with a population of 832,500. The urban area takes 16.52 square kilometers, with 266,000 urban residents.

    This city has a long history and splendid culture. It was a county built in Western Han Dynasty more than 2200 years ago. It has spectacular landscapes, beautiful and natural scenery. Religions are free and prosperous here. Let me show you a few examples, Yunshan mountain (literal means Cloudland Mountain") is not only famous for its vagaries of clouds, but also known as one of the 72 Buddhist Holly Lands in China, Faxiang Carved Stone (A branch of Buddhism which came from Indian), Sun Yat- sen Memorial Hall, Xuanfeng City Gate Tower, Lingyun Tower (Built in 1225). All of these are showing the rich cultural heritage of this ancient yet vibrant city.

    This land is blessed with unsurpassed natural resources. Coal, Manganese, Iron and other 38 kinds of mineral are proved to be highly productive. Especially, Coal reserves account for 70 percent of proved reserves in Southwest Hunan. What's more, the Marinated Food gains great reputation both at home and abroad. Besides, Virus-free orange and corn are also Wugang's local specialties with high-yield and high-quality.

    Welcome to Wugang.

    On her way home from school the other day, Yang Xi found people looking at her with strange expressions.The 15-year-old Shandong girl felt embarrassed, but she knew they were looking at her school uniform.

    There were some pictures and words on the back, such as“Dear Yang Xi, I will miss you after graduation.”Her friends did it in class.And Yang wrote something on her friends' uniforms too after class.

    Like Yang, many students now use the school uniform as if it were a piece of white paper and draw on it.They draw pictures of their favorite singers,athletes and cartoon characters and so on.“I think  (1)   (wear) a school uniform with graffiti is a kind of campus fashion,”said Yang.

    ①As a matter of fact, most schools have strict rules that require students not to draw on uniforms. Otherwise, they will be punished (惩罚).They may be told to clean their uniform or more seriously, to buy a new one.

    ②However,it seems that some students are not afraid of the rules and punishment.“I think there are at least 100 students with  (2)   (paint) uniforms in my school.They walk around the campus ‘proudly'.I wonder if they care whether they will be punished at all,”said Li Fei,13 of Fujian.

    Li Yong,14 of Heilongjiang, had his own view.“I have seen cartoon figures such as Naruto(火影忍者) and Doraemon(哆啦 A梦) that students draw on their uniforms.They are really beautiful and creative.I think graffiti can make students become creative,”said Li.“But it's better not to draw on uniforms.”

    Although he doesn't think his school uniform looks good, Li would never draw on it.It's a strict school rule there, after all.I have to follow the rules.”

Hello, I'm Lisa. I'm a middle school student. What's this on the table? It's a photo of my family. Look! The woman with gray hair is my grandmother. And the man next to her is my father Steve Black. He is a football player. The woman next to my grandmother is my mother Annie Black. She is a teacher. The little girl in front of (在—的前面)my mother is my sister Laura. And the girl in red is me! Oh, I also have a lovely cat. It's black and white. Where is he? It's on my bed, haha!

    Walking through the winter park, I noticed the trees stand cold and bare. The winter has shaken their yellow leaves to the ground. As I keep walking, a noise in the background is becoming louder and clearer. Now, 100 meters ahead, a group of Chinese women gathered at the side of a path. In the cold breeze of winter, they're moving their arms and legs to a rhythm(节奏).They are, of course, the dancing aunties. It seems that if you go to any public place around China, you're likely to see these dancing aunties. When I first came to China, it was one of the things that surprised me. That's because in Britain, dancing in public is not a cultural habit. You won't see any age group swinging their arms and trapping their feet in a park. Usually, they just take a walk for exercise. Now and again the dancing aunties have hit the headlines. Some people find them annoying. But others respect their rights to dance in public. With most of them middle-aged, they finally have some free time to do whatever they like. There is no more work, and their kids have left. Personally, I like seeing these women enjoying themselves. They remind us of the importance of exercise as we get older. Besides, most of them have raised the whole family. Now it is time for them to have fun and enjoy some peace.