One weekend in May 2015, over 48 centimeters of rain fell in Houston, Texas, USA. Soon the city was covered with water. The rising water rushed into the cars on the roads. There were 16 deaths that weekend.

      Changing Weather

      The weather is changing. Over the last few years, heavy rains have caused floods (洪灾) in Brazil, Pakistan, and Thailand. Droughts (干旱) have struck Russia and Australia. Heat waves have killed thousands in Europe. There are more different kinds of terrible wild weather all over the world. In 2011 alone, the bad weather caused the world to lose 150 billion dollars.　

      Warmer and Wetter

      As more wild weather events happen, a worried world is beginning to ask questions like: What is going on with the weather? And why? Many also want to know: Is this natural, or are we to blame (责怪)?

      The answer seems to be: a little of both. Wild weather is natural.   ▲   This global (全球的) warming makes heat waves more likely to happen. The higher temperatures also cause more water to enter the air. This causes much more rain. Some scientists also believe global warming makes some storms stronger.

      This means we're likely to see more wild weather. “But we don't have to just stand there and take it,” says Scientist Michael Oppenheimer. He and other scientists say we need to stop the Earth from getting warmer. We also need to be prepared, to do things that will help save lives.

    Lockheed Martin, American space system company (空间系统公司) has found a really cool way to inspire the young minds of today to the research fields in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

    It may look like a normal yellow bus, but all the magic happens once you get inside. Meet the “Mars (火星) Experience Bus,” part of Lockheed Martin's new “Generation Beyond” national education program to get the kids joining in studying what goes on outside of our home planet. The bus offers a virtual reality (VR, 虚拟现实) experience making the teenagers feel like they are driving on Mars.

    The VR experience was developed by taking advantage of software (软件) created for today's best video games, so you can imagine the picture shown is top level. The kids do seem really excited to see the bus take a virtual trip on the red planet and search unknown places. It's certainly a great way of learning about the universe by virtual reality working on a common bus.

    The Lockheed Martin's bus will start a tour in the United States to allow kids from different parts of the country to take a ride in it. The Generation Beyond project also includes an iPhone app for iOS providing real-time information about weather reports for Mars, and there's also a free deep space course for middle school teachers and students.

    On April 2, we said goodbye to Tiangong I, China's first space lab. According to the China Manned Space Agency (中国载人航天), Tiangong I re-entered the Earth's atmosphere (大气层) and some of its debris (碎片) fell into the South Pacific Ocean.

    There are many spacecraft (宇宙飞船) that are still in orbit

     (轨道) above the Earth. After finishing their trips, they will all re-enter the Earth's atmosphere like Tiangong I.

    There are two types of re-entries: controlled re-entry and uncontrolled re-entry.

    Some satellites and manned spacecraft come back to the Earth in a controlled re-entry. Experts calculate (计算) the path of the falling spacecraft and its speed. Thy can guide the spacecraft to fall in a chosen area.

    Some spacecraft may have problems while in space after a certain amount of time. These spacecraft come back in an uncontrolled re-entry. It is hard to tell when and where these spacecraft will fall until the last few hours. The US space station Skylab came back partially uncontrolled in 1979. Parts of the station fell in western Australia, but no one was hurt.

    During re-entry, most of the spacecraft will burn up while passing through the Earth's atmosphere. Only a small amount of the debris will reach the ground. The debris typically ends up falling into the ocean, China Daily reported.

Double Ninth Festival (重阳节) 2023

Come and have fun with us!

Time: October 23, 1:00 p.m.— 8:00 p.m.

Place: The Youth Park

Things for sale: Chongyang cakes, fruit and drinks

Class: Free cake-making class (call Miss Miller at 4820 2217 to book (预订) a place)

Activities:

1:00 p.m.—4:00 p.m. Mountain Climbing

5:00 p.m.—6:00 p.m. Talk Show

6:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m. Games between the young and old

7:00 p.m.—8:00 p.m. Fire Dragon Dance

Ticket prices:

·$10 for adults (成年人)

·Half price for children under 12

·Free for people over 65

For more information, please visit www.doubleninth2023.com.

My son, Kevin, loved wrestling (摔跤运动) as he was growing up. When he entered high school, he showed a lot of athletic ability. Even as a freshman wrestler, we could see the hope of his future, and he went on to improve each year. As a senior, he'd become the leader of a team that set an unbelievable record. Just as we expected, he went into the state tournament (锦标赛). 

Then he won four matches and ranked number one. Here we were, in the finals of the state tournament, ready to win our championship—we still didn't have a state championship when his high school career was over. 

Unluckily, his last match didn't go well! I felt terrible, and I was unwilling to accept what had just happened and unable to believe it. I painfully watched Kevin as he shook hands with his opponent (对手) and stood calmly as the judge raised his opponent's hand in victory. Then he quietly walked out of the gym. 

A few weeks later, I received a letter from Kevin's school. In the letter, the principal praised Kevin's devotion to his team, his respect to his opponents and his spirit of competition. After I read this, I cried. 

For years, I had watched every single match where Kevin had wrestled in high school, but I hadn't noticed all the outstanding qualities that his principal (校长) mentioned. I always focused on the wins. And when he didn't get that final win, I was especially hurt and disappointed. I'd failed to realize that Kevin was working hard to achieve victories, but always performing with character no matter whether he won or lost. 

At that moment, my son became my mentor (导师). He taught me that winners in life appreciate the pursuit more than the victory itself. 

One summer evening, Sylvie hurried the cow through the forest, following a path to her grandmother's home.

Suddenly she heard a loud whistle(哨子声).

"Hello," a young man carrying a gun called out cheerfully, "I've been hunting for birds." he explained,"but I've lost my way." Sylvie led the stranger through the forest.When they reached her house, the stranger explained his problem to Sylvie's grandmother and was invited to stay there for the night.

After dinner, the young man said he was a scientist, who collected birds."Do you put them in a cage?" Sylvie asked."No," he answered,"I shoot birds and put something special into them to preserve them.I have over 100 different kinds of birds at home.Their feathers(羽毛) look as bright as before."

"Sylvie knows a lot about birds too," her grandmother said proudly.

"Maybe she can help me," the young man said."I saw a white heron(鹭) not far from here two days ago.I've been looking for it ever since.It's a tall, strange bird with white wings.Have you seen it?" he asked Sylvie.Sylvie didn't answer.Her heart began to beat fast.She had seen that bird! The young man added."I would give $10 to the person who showed me where the bird is."

That night Sylvie thought about the wonderful things she and her grandmother could buy with ten dollars.She also wanted to be the young man's friend, because she had never seen anyone so handsome.

When the sun began to rise, Sylvie quietly left her house and hurried to a huge tree.She wanted to climb to the top of the tree where she could see the whole forest.

Sylvie's face was pale when, at last, she reached the top.Suddenly, a bird with big white wings flew past her and landed on a branch below her.The other white heron was sitting on the ne st in a nearby tree.Now Sylvie knew the bird's secret! An hour later, Sylvie returned to the house.The young man would give them the money they needed.Besides, Sylvie wanted to make him happy.But Sylvie was silent.She remembered how the white heron flew through the air and how they watched the sun rise together from the top of the forest.Sylvie could not speak.Finally, she decided to keep the secret of the white heron.

The young man went away later that day and never returned.