It was Tom's first visit to England, and he was looking forward to his first journey on London's Underground Railway. And against his friends'1 he was determined to travel 2.

    He entered the station shortly after five o'clock in the afternoon. This is a  3 time to travel in London,4 crowds of people go home from work at this hour. He 5 to join a long line of people waiting for tickets. When at last his 6 came, he had some difficulty in making himself understood by the ticket seller.7, he got the right ticket in the end and by asking people the 8he also found the right platform. It was 9with people. He did not 10 to get on the first train, but he was able to move nearer to the platform so as to be in a better 11to get on the next one. When this train came in, Tom was 12 forward onto the train by the 13 of people from behind. The doors closed and the train moved off. He was unable to see the14 of the stations where the train 15but he knew that the station he wanted was the sixth 16 along the line. When the train reached the sixth station, Tom got off, feeling 17that his journey  had been so easy. But he suddenly realized that he had come to a station he had never 18He explained his 19 to a man who was standing on the platform. With a 20on his face, he told Tom that he had caught a train going in the opposite direction.

    Two student loggers (伐木者) each held an end of a saw (锯子). They set the 1of the blade (刀片) on top of an 8-by 8-inch square piece of timber (木材) and began to 2it back and forth.

    They began slowly and3 worked to a faster pace.4the piece of wood fell to the ground, the students passed the saw to the second half of their relay team, who then began to saw.

    When Nate Letarte, Julian Baldinelli, Allan Theriault and David Merrill from School of Applied Technology in Mexico, Maine, US finished the relay, people 5 applause.

    It was like that with each event at the 38th Annual Loggers Meet early this month at a field across from the Mt Blue Campus.

    About 50 students from nearby areas in forestry programs took part in the event. The programs 6 students to the many aspects of forestry-related 7, from cutting wood to using heavy equipment to managing a small business and 8wood products.

    At the annual competition, students had a chance to show their9 at using axes, operating logging equipment such as a forwarder (传送装置) and knowing 10 trees, among other things. They can also share their 11of chainsaws (链锯).

    Kyle Holman, a senior, said the event lets students see what they are 12in the forestry field.

     “Some of us didn't know how to run a forwarder and other kids did,” he said.

    During the 13event, students used a forwarder to pick up wood and move it.

    The event 14out the strengths in student loggers, and shows them the qualities and15they have, junior Matt Given said.

     “We're all one big community with the same 16” senior Christopher Cook said. “This event just gives us a chance to show what we have 17at school.”

    Marshal Elwell, a senior, said he and his friends travelled over three hours 18 the event.

     “I think I'm going to 19 in the woods for a while,” Elwell said, talking about his post-graduation plan. “I enjoy 20 equipment. I like being in the woods.”

    The boys had been shopping all morning and still weren't done. I1standing in the store.

    Just nine days before 2 Caitlin's house had burned to the ground. But Caitlin and her family all3 escaped.

    All the family 4 was what they were wearing and each other. The school was replacing their books and uniforms and now, two days after the 5all the girls in Caitlin's class were taking her shopping for clothes and shoes. The boys were shopping for6 like scarves, socks and hair ties, all the things they don't even 7

    After another hour, I had finished my8 and had helped the boys 9everything they wanted to get for Caitlin.

    When we got home, my brother brought everything he had10 for Caitlin to my room to make sure I thought she'd 11 everything before he12 them.

"I think she'll love everything," I said, and he smiled his big smile. I hugged him13 he tried to push me away. I was so14of him at that moment. He loves giving and making others 15 He's an honest kid who sees only the good in the world. I used to wonder how he could 16 see the good when there was so much bad, but now I 17why there is so much good18 him.

    He selflessly gave up all his 19for Caitlin. He had, through this act of a pure heart, got the true20 of Christmas.

    Michael Wang was a senior at James Logan High School, US, back in 2012. According to The New Yorker, he was confident that he could get into an Ivy League university, such as Harvard or Yale. He had a high GPA, 1 at debating and co-founded a math club. He was also a talented pianist. 2, his dream universities turned him down. His less talented classmates, who were Hispanic or African-American, were admitted into these schools. It made him wonder if he was 3 because he was Asian.

    On Oct 15, a lawsuit against Harvard brought on behalf of Asian-American students like Wang Began students for Fair Admissions(SFFA),a US non-profit organization. 4 Harvard for using racial balancing in their admissions process. Harvard has denied the 5considers many factors when 6 whether a student should be admitted, including academic performance and extracurricular activities. Harvard added that the number of Asian-Americans admitted to the school had greatly increased since 2010.”Race alone is never the reason a student's7 admission, ”William Lee, a lawyer for Harvard, told the guardian. ”And race is never the reason a student is denied.”

    Harvard is not the only university to have been accused of 8against Asian-Americans. In September, the US Justice Department begin to9whether Yale University discriminates against Asian-Americans, The case has 10 a longstanding debate over affirmative action policies(平均法案政策) that allow universities to use race as a factor when considering applications. The policies11 benefit African-American and latino students in an effort to make up for centuries of racial discrimination, according to THE NEW YORK Times, the SFFA wants the use of race in the admissions process to be ended, 12 that it causes inequality.” People should be judged on character and 13,”However, in a student, Havard said that 14 the race criterion would “reduce students' opportunities to live and learn in a diverse campus environment”.

    Although the case has just begun, the15judgement” could influence admissions to US universities for years to come,” according to AI Jaxeera, a Qatar based TV station

    Yuan Longping, a great Chinese agriculturalist, was born in a poor farmer's family in Qianyang, Hunan Province in 1930. He 1 from Southwest Agriculture College in 1953 and has since devoted himself to agricultural education and research. Since his graduation, 2 ways to grow more rice has been his life goal. As a young man, he saw the great need for 3 the rice output. At that time, hunger was a 4 problem in many parts of the countryside. Yuan Longping searched for a way to increase rice harvests without expanding the area of the fields. 5 his help, Chinese farmers now produce more rice and these increased harvests mean that 22% of the world's people 6 from just 7% of the farmland in the world. Yuan Longping, 7 considers himself a farmer, is now circulating his knowledge in some less developed countries to increase 8 rice harvests. Thanks to his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to rid the world of hunger. 9 his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests twice as large as before. Dr Yuan 10 5-million-yuan State Supreme Science and Technology Prize for his high hybrid rice species. This award is viewed as "Chinese Nobel Prize".

    About rice, he always has a dream…

    I fell in love with Yosemite National Park the first time I saw it, when I was 13. My parents took us there for camping. On the way out, I asked them to wait while I ran up to E1 Capitan, a 1 rock of 3,300 feet straight up. I touched that giant rock and knew 2 I wanted to climb it. That has been my life's passion (钟爱) ever since--3 the rocks and mountains of Yosemite. I've long made Yosemite my 4.

    About 15 years ago I started seeing a lot of 5, like toilet paper, beer cans, and empty boxes, around the area. It's 6 me why visitors started respecting the place less and treated such a 7 home-like place this way.

    I tried 8 trash(垃圾)myself, but the job was too big. I would 9an hour or two on the job, only to find the area trashed all over again weeks later. Finally, I got so 10 it that I decided something had to 11.

    As a rock-climbing guide, I knew 12about organizing any big event. But in 2004, together with some climbers, I set a date for a 13. On that day, more than 300 people 14. Over three days we collected about 6,000 pounds of trash. It was 15how much we were able to accomplish. I couldn't believe the 16 we made --the park looked clean!

    Each year volunteers come for the cleanup from everywhere. In 2007 alone, 2,945 people picked up 42,330 pounds of trash and 17 132 miles of roadway.

    I often hear people 18about their surroundings. If you are one of them, I would say the only way to change things is by 19 rather than complaining. We need to teach by 20. You can't blame others unless you start with yourself.