It was Day 1 of our vacation on Cortes, a beautiful quiet island. "iPhone, iPhone, iPhone," my son kept moaning (呻吟). In front of him was a big window of facing the blue ocean. And a Coo gentle wind was coming in from the door. Clearly, he saw and felt none of it.

    Back at home, I'd soon give up and hand the phone over to him after five minutes of listening to this kind of moaning

    But not here. Before we left, I had told my, 10-year-old son the rule-no e-mails, no Facebook, no video games, and no iPhone. We came here to get away from them all' Here we were on our first day and already, he couldn't stand it.

    ____________I walked down the grass road to the beach and looked out to the sea. My 6-year-old daughter and my husband were drawing on pieces of wood. They were doing just fine.

    On Day 2, we spent the whole morning digging for shells(贝壳). This time, my son joined us. He collected .shellfish and other sea treasures. When we got back to our little wood house, I gave my son a book, and put him on the lovely garden chair. It was almost dinner when he looked up.

    The next few days passed in peace.

    On Day 6, my son was lying beside me on the beach, watching the sun going down. He was playing with the sand. And there was somethingshining.in his eyes, I realized how time slowed down for both of us. It was exactly what I wanted. Finally, we were able to sit quietly, without thinking about screens, phone calls and e-mails.

    A week away from all the electronics and life is good.

    You can always see some park workers dressed as movie or cartoon characters(角色) in some theme parks(主题公园）like Disneyland. We call them costumed characters. What is it like to be a costumed character at a theme park?

    Dave Jackson has this interesting job. He works as a costumed character in Disneyland. There are always so many visitors in this park. Every day Dave puts on a Mickey Mouse suit and plays with the visitors to make them happy. Many visitors, especially the young children, take photos with him.

    Some people may think his job is quite easy. But in fact, it's sometimes a little difficult. First of all, the costumes are very heavy. And it's difficult to go to the washing room with a heavy costume. Second, the space he works is very small, so he usually gets tired after standing there for a long time. What's more, the most difficult part is working in hot weather! He always sweats a lot, and the sweat can run into his eyes.

    "My job is not easy, but it is also great fun." says Dave. "Looking back, I must be in quite a lot of people's family photos. It is really cool.

    Hye-seung Hyun is a girl from South Korea韩国). She lives with her parents, sister and brother in Seoul. What is her school day like?

    Hyun gets up at seven. Her family usually eats breakfast at half past seven. Mom often makes breakfast.

    Hyun goes to school at 8:15. Classes in the morning are from 9:00 to 12:00. There are usually three lessons. Hyun loves art best.

    Hyun has lunch at school at 12:30. She doesn't have time to go home. Classes in the afternoon are from 13:00 to 15:00.

    After having a swimming lesson in the afternoon, Hyun has dinner at six. After dinner, she practices English and the piano. She goes to bed at 22:00. Before it, she talks with her family for some time.

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