Tonight, my piano recital(钢琴演奏会) was the most important thing in my family. My grandparents were coming by plane to hear me play. Even my busy Aunt Dianne, who is on TV every night reading the news, was coming.

    But one thing was for sure. I would never win an award for my piano playing. And that's just because the more I practiced, the more nervous I got. So there I was，on the stage， in my beautiful dress，and I sat down at the piano. But when I started to play，I hit a wrong note. I told myself to start over. But then I hit the wrong note again. It was as if I hadn't practiced at all.

    Finally the disaster was over. I ran off the stage. I couldn't understand why audience(观众) were clapping. But they were. My mom and dad had flowers for me and we were all supposed to go out for a nice dinner, but I couldn't. I just wanted to go home and cry and never go anywhere again. After we went back home, Aunt Dianne just came in and sat down on the side of my bed.

    “It was my first night on the air,” she said. “I had never been on television before and I made a mistake. I mispronounced my name and the name of the news show. And you know what? No one even noticed but me. Just like tonight, no one noticed—just you.” Aunt Dianne was right. I think we are harder on ourselves than anyone else is. Maybe I will leave my room. And maybe I'll play the piano again.

    Some time ago, I discovered a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the char that had a broken leg. I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair.

    The second shop, although slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth — so I thought that my approach must be wrong.

    I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes. How much do you want do it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “Ok,” he said, “I'll give you twenty pounds.” “It has a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that; it's nothing.”

    Everything was going according to the plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I'll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You've just sold it to me.” he said. “Yes, I know but I've changed my mind. I'm sorry. I'll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “You must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You're right.” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, ‘Would you mend this chair for me?'” “I wouldn't have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don't do repairs, not enough in it and too much trouble. But I'll mend this for you, shall we say for five pounds?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.

    There are lots of insects that farmers hate. But there also are some they like. They protect crops against damage from other insects. A good example is the lady beetle, which is also known as the ladybug(瓢虫)．

    Lady beetles are a natural control for aphids(蚜虫). Lady beetles are red, orange or black. They often have black spots, though some have light colored spots. Different kinds of lady beetles have different numbers of spots. There are lady beetles with four, five, seven and fourteen spots.

    Many of the well-known kinds of lady beetles come from Asia or Europe. They now are common throughout the United States.

    American scientists imported one kind of lady beetle, the multicolored Asian lady beetle, as early as 1916. They released them as an attempt to control some kinds of insects. Over the years, the beetle has become established, possibly helped by some that arrived with imported plants on ships.

    Experts say over 450 kinds of lady beetles are found in North America. Some are native to the area. Others have been brought from other places. Almost all are helpful to farmers.

    The Asian lady beetles now in the United States probably came from Japan. The Asian lady beetle eats aphids that damage crops like soybeans, fruits and berries.

    In the southern United States, Asian lady beetles have reduced the need for farmers to use reskilling poisons on pecan trees. This popular tree nut suffers from aphids and other pests that the lady beetles eat.

    But some people say the Asian lady beetle has itself become a pest. They worry that the lady beetles may eat their late autumn fruit crops.

    Experts say Asian lady beetles may appear in large numbers in some years. But they say the insects are too helpful to be considered as pests.

    Have you ever considered all the English expressions that include words about clothes? Let's have a look.

    People wear pants to cover the lower part of their bodies. We sometimes say that people who are nervous have ants in their pants. Sometimes, people may get caught with their pants down. They are found doing something they should not be doing. And, in every family, one person takes control. Sometimes a wife tells her husband what to do. Then we say she wears the pants in the family.

    Pants usually have pockets to hold things. Money that is likely to be spent quickly can burn a hole in your pocket. Sometimes you need a belt to hold up your pants. If you have less money than usual, you may have to tighten your belt.

    I always praise People who can save their money and not spend too much. I really take my hat off to them. Yet, when it comes to my own money, I spend it at the drop of a hat, which means I instantly spend it.

    Boots are a heavy or strong kind of shoes. People who are too big for their boots think they are more important than they really are. I dislike such people.

    My father is an important person. He runs a big company. He wears a suit and tie, and a shirt with sleeves that cover his arms. Some people who do not know him well think he is too serious and never shows his feelings openly. But I know that my father wears his heart on his sleeve.

    The booking notes of the play “Sherlock”

    Price: $10

    BOOKING

    There are four easy ways to book seats for the performance:

    in person

    The Box Office is open from Monday to Saturday, 10 am—8pm

    by telephone

    Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card (Visa and MasterCard).

    by post

    Simply complete the booking form and return it to Box Office.

    --online

    Complete the online booking form at www.Satanfiedtheatre.com.

    DISCOUNTS:

    Saver: $2 off any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday. Saver s are available for children up to 16 years old, over 60s and full-time students.

    Supersavers: half-price seats are available for people with disabilities and one companion. It is advisable to book in advance. There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show.

    Standby: best available seats are on sale for $6 from one hour before the performance for people suitable for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers.

    Group Booking: there is a ten percent discount for parties of twelve or more.

    School: school parties of ten or more can book $6 standby tickets and will get every tenth ticket free.

    Please note: we are unable to exchange tickets or refund money unless a performance is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki has become the first female artist in the Arab world to be nominated (提名)for an Academy Award, or Oscar.

Labaki directed the film Capernaum, a film about a Syrian refugee (难民) boy and a Kenyan baby who live without parents on the streets of Beirut. It was nominated for best foreign language film.

Labaki wil1 be one of the few female directors to compete for an Oscar this year. She told the Associated press "I wish there were a lot more women filmmakers this year represented, nominated in the Oscars. But I am sure in a few years we won't be having this problem anymore."

Unlike in the West, women filmmakers are industry leaders in Lebanon.

Capernaum received a 15-minute standing ovation (热烈欢迎) at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It won the Jury Prize—the third-highest award given at Cannes.

The United Nations has publicly praised the film. Lebanon's Foreign Minister said.

Capernaum put a Lebanese touch on the international film industry.

The Oscar nomination of Capernaum is the second for Lebanon in two years in the film group. It demonstrates the country's rising star power.

Labaki called making the movie a life-changing experience. She said Capernaum helps humanize the real struggles of refugees only briefly talked about in the news.

We can't help but acknowledge that there is a fear of refugees in general around the world and there are these walls we are building, and this fear that keeps growing," Labaki said.

Capernaum will compete against four other films for the Oscar, including awards season favorite Roma. Directed by Mexico's Alfonso Cuaron, it earned 10 Oscar nominations, including for best picture.