Animal Farm by George Orwell

    Animal Farm is probably one of the most popular school reads in the world. George Orwell wrote it as a political allegory(讽喻)and has since then inspired the minds of not only adult revolutionaries but also the younger ones who start feeling the spark of being right and free for all of the humanity in their hearts.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

    This is a wise, funny, and heartbreaking memory of Marjane Satrapi's years growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, and how she dealt with life while experiencing the ruinous effects of the war with Iraq. The mistakes she felt she made opened her eyes and shaped her into becoming the influential individual she is today.

    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Regarded as a masterpiece of literature—-it is no wonder it won the Pulitzer Prize. The plot and characters are based on the author's observations of her family and neighbors, as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 16 years old. The novel is famous for its warmth and humor, despite telling a story of innocent Tom Robinson being accused of raping(强暴)a white woman because he was black.

    The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

    A story showing the absolute courage of a young boy, who was never afraid to speak his mind in the face of injustice and would always defend the helpless. A boy shows us the importance of believing in ourselves and others. Harry Potter reminds us that the true power to defeat any enemy is not found in others, but found within each of us.

    In October, I told the eight-year-olds in the class I teach in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, about my plan. "Since all of you have done extra jobs around the house to earn some money," I said. "Then we'll buy food for a Thanksgiving dinner for someone who might not have a nice dinner otherwise."

    I watched them while they walked up and down the supermarket. "Flowers!" Kristine cried. The group rushed toward the holiday plants.

    "You can't eat flowers."——It was more sensible(明智的) to use any extra money to buy something that could be transformed(转换，转变) into meals.

    "But Mrs. Sherlock," came the begging voice, "we want flowers."

    Defeated finally, I put a pot of "funny" purple(紫色的) mums in the cart full of foods. "She'll like this one," the children agreed.

    An organization had given us the name and address of a needy grandmother who had lived alone for many years. We finally pulled up in front of a small house. A slightly built woman with a weary face came to the door to welcome us.

    My little group ran to get the food. As each box was carried in, the old woman kept on saying "Thanks"—much to her visitors' pleasure. When Amy put the mums on the counter, the woman seemed surprised. She's wishing it was a bag of flour(面粉), I thought.

    We returned to the car. As we fastened our seat belts, we could see the kitchen window. The woman inside waved goodbye, then turned and walked across the room, past the turkey, past the goods, straight to the mums. She put her face in their petal. When she raised her head, there was a smile on her lips. She was transformed before our eyes.

    The children were quiet. At that moment, they had seen for themselves the power they possessed(拥有) to make another's life better. The children had sensed(感到) that sometimes a person needs a bunch of funny purple flowers on a dark November day.

  Dubai Aquarium & underwater Zoo

    Experience
    You will be surprised at the amazing collection consisting of over 140 species including 300 sharks, rays and the largest collection of sand tiger sharks in the world. Walk along the Rainforest, Rocky Shore and Living Ocean environments at the Underwater Zoo and you will find yourself face to face with dangerous piranha, giant catfish, playful otters, a Humboldt penguin colony and more.
    Options
    Basic Pass: With this basic pass, you'll get access to the Dubai Aquarium and underwater Zoo.
    Explorer Pas: If you're looking to get a little closer to the sea creatures, then this pass is for you. Along with the explorer pass you can also get access to the submersible simulator(潜水模拟器)  & big screen theater and a free ride on the glass-bottom boat.
    VIP Line Buster: This pass includes all the benefits of an explorer pass and a tour guide. And you can get to try your hand at fish feeding!
    Timings
    Sunday--Wednesday: 10:00 am--11:00 pm
    Thursday--Saturday: 10:00 am--12:00 am
    Pro Tip
    You can save a lot by buying a combo ticket(套票). This ticket gives you access to Undersea Zoo and Aquarium Tunnel alongside tickets to the observation deck on the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa. Your government ID card has to be presented at the entrance.

    Self-driving cars have been backed by the hope that they will save lives by getting involved in fewer crashes with fewer injuries and deaths than human-driven cars. But so far, most comparisons between human drivers and automated vehicles have been unfair. Crash statistics for human-driven cars arc gathered from all sorts of driving situations and all types of roads. However, most of the data on self-driving cars' safety have been recorded often in good weather and on highways, where the most important tasks are staying in the car's own lane and not getting too close to the vehicle-ahead. Automated cars are good at those tasks, but so are humans.

    It is true that self-driving cars don't get tired, angry, frustrated or drunk .But neither can they yet react to uncertain situations with the same skill or anticipation of an attentive Unban driver. Nor do they possess the foresight to avoid potential dangers. They largely drive from moment to moment, rather than think ahead to possible events literally down the road.

    To a self-driving car, a bus full of people might appear quite similar to an uninhabited field. Indeed, deciding what action to take in an emergency is difficult for humans, but drivers have sacrificed themselves for the greater good of others. An automated system's limited understanding of the world means it will almost never evaluate (评估)a Situation the same way a human would. And machines can't be programmed in advance to handle every imaginable set of events.

    Some people may argue that the promise of simply reducing the number of injuries and deaths is enough to support driverless cars. But experience from aviation(航空)shows that as new automated systems are introduced, there is often an increase in the rate of disasters.

    Therefore, comparisons between humans and automated vehicles have to be performed carefully. To fairly evaluate driverless cars on how well they fulfill their promise of improved safety, it's important to ensure the data being presented actually provide a true comparison. After all, choosing to replace humans with automation has more effects than simply a one-for-one exchange.

    It was a normal school day for senior Solymar Solis until an unexpected visitor arrived. Her dad, Sgt. Carlos Solis Melendez, surprised her by coming home early from Kuwait and visiting her unannounced at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina.

    After serving in Kuwait for nine months, Melendez returned home a week earlier than his daughter expected. He held balloons and flowers in a classroom as he sat at a student's desk to blend in with the crowd. "It came across my mind like, ‘How is she going to react?" he recalled the heartwarming moment. "Is she going to be happy and run to me and hug me, or cry? That was all going on through my mind."

    As unsuspecting Solymar entered the classroom, she was soon overcome with emotion, immediately bursting into tears and covering her mouth. She didn't talk. She was just crying. She was overwhelmed with everything. She thought it was a dream.

    Melendez was a single parent so while he was deployed (调动), he got his sister to live with his daughter. When he was coming back and talking to his sister, both of them came to the conclusion that they should do something special for his daughter. Melendez and his sister got in touch with the school, and they planned this whole being-in-the-classroom thing, and it turned out perfect.

    The two are very much looking forward to some good daddy-daughter time now that he's home. "It means everything," Melendez said of being able to surprise his daughter this way. "After all the sacrifices she's made, she deserves all the special arrangements and special occasions and celebrations. I'll do anything for my daughter. I believe I'm doing good parenting."

    Many students ask for advice about improving their English. There are three basic questions.

    The first question is about real English. Li Hao from Hubei wrote, "I enjoy watching English films and listening to real English songs. But it takes a long time. What do you think?"

    This is a great way to learn English! Talk about the film or song with your friends, and guess the meaning of the new words. Just enjoy yourself!

    The second question is about speaking. Sam, form Suzhou wrote, "Our school has a foreign teacher. But I'm shy and can't speak to her. What should I do?"

    When I visit China, lots of people in the street say, "Hello! How are you? Where are you from? Do you like China?" These are good questions to start a conversation. Many people are shy when they speak English, so before you begin, takes deep breath and smile! Smiling always helps.

    The third question is about vocabulary. Oliver, from Anhui wrote, "I want to remember all the new words. I write them down, but I forget them quickly. What should I do? Try to remember eight or ten words a day. Write them on pieces of paper and place them in your bedroom. Say the words when you see them, and change them every day. And when you're shopping, how about counting the English words, or saying the English names for everything you see?