You may think that sailing is a difficult sport, but it is really not hard to learn. You do not need to be strong. But you need to be quick. And you need to understand a few basic rules about the wind.

    First, you must ask yourself, “Where is the wind coming from? Is it coming from ahead or behind or from the side?” You must think about this all the time on the boat. The wind direction tells you what to do with the sail.

    Let's start with the wind blowing from the behind. This means the wind and the boat are going in the same direction. Then you must always keep the sail outside the boat. It should be at a 90° angle to the boat. Then it will catch the wind best.

    If the wind is blowing from the side, it is blowing across the boat. In this case, you must keep the sail half way outside the boat. It should be at a 45°angle to the boat. It needs to be out far enough to catch the wind, but it shouldn't flap(摆动). It shouldn't look like on a flagpole. If it is flapping, it is probably out too far, and the boat will slow down.

    Sailing into the wind is not possible. If you try, the sail will flap and the boat will stop. You may want to go in that direction. It is possible, but you can't go in a straight line. You must go first in one direction and then in another. This is called tacking. When you're tacking, you must always keep the sail inside the boat.

    Good writing starts with good ideas.If you write about things that you care about,you will write better.If you write about things that you don't care about,you'll be bored and your paper will not have many good ideas.

    Once you have a good idea,the next step is organization（组织）.Think through your paper before you start.Write an outline.You need to know what your main points are before you start your first paragraph.Use 2-4 main points, one paragraph each.

    In your central paragraphs,be concise and specific（简洁具体）.Give examples with details,not just general ideas. If you can say the same thing with fewer words,do it!Don't use big words.

    When you finish writing,look at your outline again.Did you really follow it or did it change as you wrote?Many times you find different ideas as you write.Look at your central paragraphs.What are their main ideas now?Are theses ideas in the introduction?I often write the introduction again to fit the paper after I finish writing.

How Important Is Fashion?

    Is looking fashionable more important than being comfortable? Many people seem to think so, judging by the things they wear. But fashion is not everything. It is more important to be a healthy and good person.

    People go to great lengths to be fashionable. Some people think they have to have a certain body type, so they go on extreme, unhealthy diets in order to change their bodies. In addition, many women wear uncomfortable fashions, such as high-heeled shoes that create blisters（水泡）, tight body shapers that limit blood flow, and sticky false eyelashes. Men and women alike spend time and money on products that change their natural hair color and use hot irons and blow dryers to curl or straighten their hair. Some people spend several hours a day in front of a mirror. Is fashion important enough to spend so much time and effort on changing how you look like?

    If the purpose of fashion is to make a person feel good, it does not make sense that he or she would go through so much discomfort to be fashionable. Fashion should not come first. People should prioritize（优先考虑）being healthy and positive. What people wear does not indicate anything about their personalities. Instead of spending hours choosing a suit, perhaps you should call your friends and do something together! Instead of going on strict diets and starving, why not eat some healthy foods and then exercise? By doing these things, you can keep a healthy lifestyle and truly grow as a person.

    A ten-year-old from Howell, Michigan is being praised as a hero thanks to his persistence (坚持) that led to saving the life of an elderly neighbor. The event happened late in an evening when Danny DiPietro was being driven home from hockey practice by his mom.

    That's when the young boy noticed an open garage (车库) and a figure that he believed was a dog outside an apartment building near his house. Given the freezing cold weather, the young boy got a feeling that something was not right. But instead of dismissing it like most kids his age would have, he insisted that his mother, Dawn, find out what was going on. Dawn tried to make Danny believe that no one would leave a dog out in such cold weather, but he refused to take no for an answer.

    Dawn finally gave in and decided to drive to the area with the family dog and see if there was any truth to Danny's hunch (直觉). Sure enough, as she got closer to the apartment building she noticed a garage that was wide open and someone waving madly for help. Upon getting there, she realized that it was not a dog the young boy had seen, but Kathleen St. Onge. The 80-year-old had fallen down on some ice in her garage and had been lying there for two hours, unable to get up.

    Dawn rushed home to get her husband to help and called 911. The two then returned with some blankets to cover Ms. St. Onge, while they waited for the ambulance (救护车) to arrive. Though still in hospital, the elderly woman is recovering well and forever grateful to Danny, for following up on his hunch!

Christmas in the United States is traditionally a time of gift-giving and family gatherings. But small towns across the country have their own traditions.

Middleburg, a small town in the state of Virginia, is known for its horses. For more than 50 years, Middleburg has organized a yearly Christmas parade. Men and women ride horses through the woods and fields. They follow hunting dogs as they search for a wild fox. But first, these hunters ride in the yearly parade, wearing their bright red hunting clothes and hats.

John Hale, a citizen of Middleburg says many city people visit his town." We have a lot of people from an urban area that come to visit, but it incorporates a lot of the old traditions." The night-time hayride is one such tradition. Small groups gather under the moonlight on an open wagon (四轮马车) filled with hay (干草). The passengers sing as farm horses pull the wagon slowly across the fields.

There are some newer traditions, too. Trey Matheu works at the nearby Salamander Resort. He says a visit to Middleburg is a chance to slow down for a day. He says Middleburg can be a calming, peaceful place without tension.

"Middleburg is an opportunity to take a step back, to take a deep breath, and understand that even though life is moving on at a very fast pace, there's really an opportunity where you're allowed to step off for a little bit."

Parade organizers say more than 13, 000 people attend even in below freezing weather. But if you ask, you will hear many different reasons why people come to watch the parade:

"I come here because I'm from a small town. I like how everybody comes together."

"I live right down that street, right there. And that's my dog."

Middleburg looks its best at Christmastime. That may be why so many people return each year.

The Tokyo Olympics have been postponed until 2021. That delay offers a chance for reflection. The International Olympic Committee wants to make the games more popular with young people. To that end, it is introducing new events, such as skateboarding, surfing and climbing. Why not go further and let national teams compete at video games? Electronic sports such as "Fortnite", are vastly more popular than strange Olympic sports like curling (冰壶). In fact, they are more appealing than most mainstream sports. Only 28% of British boys aged 16-19 watch any traditional live sports; 57% play video games.

Some may complain that e-sports are not proper sports. Many parents, observing their teenagers sitting on the sofa all day shouting "Quick, pass me the shotgun!" at a screen, would agree. Yet video games are highly competitive, with professional teams that play to packed stadiums. There are perhaps only 200 tennis stars in the world who can make a living from playing in major competitions. By contrast, "League of Legends", a fantasy game played by teams of five, supports over 1,000 on good wages. Its World Championship final last year was watched by 44 million people.

Those against e-sports offer moral objections, too. They are addictive. Prince Harry has called for "Fortnite" to be banned for this reason. They are violent. At a time of global disharmony, it is bad idea to make virtual (虚拟的) killing an Olympic sport. The Olympics aim to promote peace.

Neither of these arguments is convincing. The idea that an activity, rather than material, can be addictive is controversial among doctors, as is the existence of a causal (因果的) link between gaming and violence. And the belief that warlike sports have no place in the Olympics is hard to agree with history. Wrestling was introduced in 708 BC. It is still there.