Dear Liz，

    My stay in Thailand has certainly been the experience of my life．

    Life is busy and exciting．Bangkok is just like any other big city with a population of 10  million and heavy traffic．I'm very lucky because my host family is in a nice quiet area outside the city．There are Mr. and Mrs. Phairat, their son Sanan, who is 18, the daughter Chinda, who is 16, and Grandpa and Grandma．

    I go to an international school with Sanan and Chinda．The school teaches about 70 percent in English，and 30 percent in Thai. I've learned some spoken language，but Thai writing is very difficult．The cooking lesson is my favourite．I'm learning all about Thai food and culture People don't use chopsticks here，but spoons and forks．When I come back，I'm going to cook you a real Thai meal．

    Last weekend we visited some temples．We also drove to Pattaya beach near Bangkok．I thought it was great，but Sanan and Chinda say that next month they're taking me to Phuket  Island，where the beaches are even more beautiful．The month after next，we're going to travel to Mr．Phairat's hometown in the north of Thailand．The Phairats own land there，and they have two elephants．I'm going to ride those elephants — and even wash them．Sanan and  Chinda say it's really fun．I'm amazed by everything in this country，especially by the elephants．Elephants are an  important pan of Thai culture and way of life．They have been a traditional symbol(象征)of Thailand for many years in times of war and peace．In the seventh century，a Thai king trained 20,000 elephants for battle．

    I'll tell you all about my Thai boxing(拳击)lessons next time I write．

Love,

Mandy

    Many people thought that U.S. President Calvin Coolidge always lived in the White House. However, he sometimes lived in the nearby Willard Hotel.

    Once, in the middle of a night, the President woke up to see a thief searching his clothes. Coolidge calmly spoke up from the darkness, “I wish you wouldn't take that watch.”

    “Why?” asked the shocked man.

    Coolidged answered, “Take it near the window and read what is engraved（雕刻） on the back of it.”

    The man read, “Presented to Calvin Coolidged, Speaker of the House, by the Massachusetts General Court.” He was very surprised!

    “Are you President Coolidge?” he asked. He had never thought he would find the president sleeping in a hotel!

    “Yes, I am.” Coolidge said. Then he asked, “Why are you doing this, Son?”

    The young man explained that he and two friends traveled to Washington during their college vacation. They spent all of their money and had no money to pay the hotel bill and the train tickets back to school.

    Coolidge added up the cost. It came to $32. That may not sound like much now, but it was a big number then. “I'll give you the $32 as a loan(借款）,” the President said, “And I expect you to pay me back.”

    The young man thanked him. Coolidge left him with this warning: “Son, you are a nice boy, you are better than you are acting. You are starting down the wrong road. Just remember who you are.”

    It wasn't until after the death of Mr. Coolidge that this story was allowed to come out. It was first published in the newspaper Los Angeles Times. And the most interesting of all is that the President's notes show that the young man was indeed better than he was acting. He repaid the $32 loan in full.

    It's the day before school starts. Mum takes her three little boys, Jim, Bob and Tom, shopping for clothes and school things. There are so many people in the shopping center. "Stay with me, "Mum says. But it doesn't take a long time for her kids to go here and there.

    While Jim is trying on a new shirt, Bob goes away. He is thirsty and runs to buy three bottles of cola. While Bob is looking for a pair of shoes, Mum can't find Tom. He sees his classmate Jack, so he goes to talk with him. While Tom is choosing a schoolbag. Jim and Bob are out of sight(在视野之外). They drink too much cola and go to the bathroom(厕所).

    It's seven when they get home. Mum is really tired. She gets a pen and writes one rule(规定)on the list of "Family Rules"一Shop with one boy each time.

    In 2011, when British photographer David J. Slater was visiting a park in Indonesia, his camera was taken away by a group of black monkeys. The result was hundreds of monkey selfies(自拍照). The best ones show a female monkey smiling toothily for the camera. Slater then sold the photos and they became popular on the Internet.

    Nobody knew they would create a copyright battle some years later.

Last month, Wikimedia Commons put the monkey selfies online under a collection of free photos without Slater's permission. Slater asked the website to take them down since he owns the copyright.

    However, Wikimedia Foundation-the organization behind Wikimedia Commons-refused Slater's request. They said that according to US copyright law, whoever pushes the button on the camera owns the copyright to the photo. It was the monkeys but not Slater that pushed the button. What's more, monkeys don't own copyright. "US copyright law says that works that come from a non-human source(血统)can't ask for copyright, " said Katherine Maher, Chief Communications Officer of Wikimedia.

    Slater argues that the pictures belong to him as they were taken from his camera. He said he bought the cameras, he spent a lot of money to travel to Indonesia, and it was his carelessness that allowed the monkeys to take his cameras away. All these have made him the author of the picture, no matter who pushed the button. In a sense(在某种意义上), the monkeys could be regarded as his assistant, Slater said.

    As of now(到目前为止), there has been no result in the Monkey Selfie case. Who do you think will win this interesting battle?

    " Were the birds on the ice ducks or geese (鹅)?" Cruz, 11, and Anthony, 12, couldn't agree. There was only one way to find out. So on a cold January evening, the two friends took a risk onto the frozen(冻结的) lake near their homes.

    "First, we threw a stone onto the ice to test it. We thought it would hold our weight. Then we stepped on it," Cruz said. Anthony went first. He took a few steps, then... He fell through the seemingly frozen ice!

    Cruz rushed to help his friend. The lake "ate" him, too. Cruz managed to lift himself out of the freezing water and onto some ice. He then tried to work his way toward Anthony. But the ice didn't hold, and he fell in again. This time, he couldn't get out.

    The boys were up to their necks in icy water and quickly losing feeling in their arm sand legs. Cruz had a sense that he was going to die.

    Anthony's older sister had seen all this and started shouting for help. John Lavin, a neighbor driving nearby heard her.  He quickly pulled over. He caught a nearby float(浮板), kicked off his shoes. And ran into the water, clearing his way through the ice with his free hand. "It was kind of a ' Hulk smash'" Lavin later joked.

    Lavin made his way to pull the boys back to land. They were taken to hospital immediately. The doctor said their five-minute stay in the water made their body temperature drop nearly ten degrees. Luckily, the boys got well soon. They admire their fearless neighbor just as Hulk, one of Marvel Superheroes.

Feb. 17 should have been the start of the spring semester for many middle and primary schools in China. However, to control the spread of the COVID-19, many schools had delayed the start of the semester, following instructions from the Ministry of Education (MOE). But students in China were still studying.

Instead of having classes at school, many students in Beijing and Guangzhou began their first day of online classes on Feb 17. Students in Shanghai started online classes on March 2. "In the morning, I have English class, followed by Chinese and math, " Liu Bo, a Junior 3 student from Beijing, told Xinhua. "I have also learned about epidemic(流行病) prevention. "

According to the MOE, students were mainly taking classes to review previous knowledge rather than taking new classes during the online study period. Online courses were required to include contents about epidemic prevention, psychological health (心理健康) and educational activities (教育活动).

"Online courses are only temporary measures (暂时的措施) taken during the epidemic, so when the new semester begins, schools should not replace(替代) classroom teaching with online classes, " Lu Yugang from the ministry told China Daily.

The ministry also called on schools not to increase their students' schoolwork burden(负担). Schools should not ask students to study online for long periods of time or study things beyond( 超出) their curriculum(课程). Students must have enough time to rest, the ministry added. Also, it stressed that protecting students' eyesight must be a priority(优先).