There are many idioms in English. An idiom is a phrase that we can't understand from the meaning of each word. The following are some of them.

As the crow flies

    When a bird flies from place to place, it takes the most direct route. But when people drive, they have to follow roads and often go farther. When people give a distance "as the crow flies", they mean the shortest distance between the two points, not the distance you would have to travel by following roads.

    As Dan and his mum drove along the river, they could see the beach on the opposite side. Dan asked "How far is it to the beach?"

    "It's only about a quarter of a mile as the crow flies" his mother said.

Blow hot and cold

    In one of Aesop's Fables, a man blows on his fingers to warm them up and then blows on his soup to cool it down. In both cases, the man is opening his mouth, but what comes out is different. If a person says one thing and later says the opposite, we say that the person is blowing hot and cold.

    "Is Felicia going to try out for the soccer team this year?" Stacy asked.

    "I don't know," Tricia replied." Last week she was saying yes, but this week she's saying no. She's really blowing hot and cold."

Break the ice

    Nowadays people use the phrase to refer to ending an awkward silence by beginning a conversation.

    It was the first day of summer camp. The four girls began to make their beds in silence. None of the girls knew each other, and no one knew what to say. Finally, one of them broke the ice by saying" Hey, where's everybody from?"

Bury the hatchet

    In native American culture, when two nations agreed to end their war, they buried the hatchet. So to bury the hatchet is to make peace with someone else.

Colin could not excuse his sister for breaking his tennis racket. Finally, his sister said, "Colin, can't we bury the hatchet?"

Teens Spring Events at San Francisco Public Library

GREAT TEEN BOOK SWAP

Sunday,March 19,2017-2:30 pm to 5:30 pm

FREE hook!Just leave us a review.

    Here's how it works: Every Thursday,the librarian will bring out several books and allow teens the chance to look through them for one that you'd like to keep.You will,in turn,swap us a review of the book by the end of the month.

For ages 12-18.

For more information,contact Dorcas at dorcas.wong@sfpl.org.

THE MIX BOOK CLUB!

Sunday,March 19,2017-4:00 pm to 5:00 pm

    Teens aged 13-18 are welcome to The Mix at SFPL Book Club!We read a different book each month that you help choose.This month we're reading The Sun is Also A Star,by Nicola Yoon.New members and drop-ins are always welcome!

For more information,please e-mail catherine.cormier@sfpl.org or call (415)557-4404.

THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY BY HENRY JAMES

Sunday,March 19,2017-6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

    Please join Chinatown's World Literature Book Club for an enjoyable discussion of The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.This famous novel follows the young,free-spirited heiress,Isabel Archer,as she travels from New York to Europe.

CARTOONING & GRAPHIC NOVEL WORKSHOP

Saturday,March 25,2017-2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

    Join teaching artist and cartoonist Aaron Southerland for a cartooning and graphic novel workshop.Students will learn to create their very own cartoon and comic characters through advanced drawing techniques.

    This is a Reading,Writing & Poetry program from SFPL.We love reading/sharing/creating words.

    "So, what do you want to do after graduation?"{#blank#}1{#/blank#}However, you have to make up your mind as your last high school year begins. Whether your plans include college, heading straight for the workforce, or taking a year off, here are some practical tips to prepare yourself for the journey.

Going to College

    Some people know from an early age exactly what they want to be and how they plan to get there. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} According to a recent survey, 75% of students change their majors after they enter college. After all, school is also not just about careers and getting a high-paying job after graduation -- it's a place for learning about yourself and the world.

    Selecting a School

    If college is in your future, you need to plan. Start by asking yourself questions about your preferences. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Once you've narrowed down your choices, ask the schools to send you literature or visit their websites.

Getting a Job

    Maybe you've decided that college isn't for you -- right now, anyway. If you want to join the workforce, opportunities are out there for people who don't have degrees. Some products-selling or service industry organizations offer training programs to high school graduates. Search the classified ads in the newspaper and do some Internet research.  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Taking Time Off

    What if you intend to go to college but just don't feel ready to start yet, for whatever reason? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}This practice is common in some countries, like the United Kingdom, where it's called a "gap year". Even if you decide not to apply to college, it can be a great idea to take a year to do something you may not have an opportunity to do again. Lots of volunteer organizations would welcome your time and energy and would provide you with a wonderful learning experience.

A. You might want to get a high-paid job first.

B. Many juniors and seniors get bored answering that question over and over.

C. You might want to take a year off to pause.

D.  This is the fact that young people have to take into consideration.

E. Ask friends in college about their schools and other schools they're familiar with.

F. Most large companies list their job openings on their websites.

G. Not all of us are so sure of our plans, though, and that's OK too.

    Many teenagers may have a very confusing time filled with anxiety in high school. Here are some powerful tips which can help you succeed in the years.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}You may be faced with too many choices in your life and it's unwise to try everything. Just focus on your favorite. Consider all the benefits that it brings into your life and then see how you can develop your passion into a possible career option.

    Get away from the friends that offer poisonous advice and negativity. There is no place for that kind of behavior at any stage of your life. And you should value yourself highly enough to get rid of these people{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Read as much as you can. Pick up a book on anything that expands your knowledge base Stop spending hours in watching your favorite TV shows{#blank#}3{#/blank#} You'll notice in a few days how you begin to see things in a different light.

    Limit the time spent on social media. I am 19 years old, so I understand just how much time can be wasted on technology, especially the Internet and cellphones{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Instead once you spend that time enriching yourself, your life begins to shape and turn into exactly what you want It to be.

Make mistakes. Look at a mistake you've made from every possible angle and take the lessons from it{#blank#}5{#/blank#}You can't achieve this by trying to be perfect all the time. It's okay to make mistakes.

A. Get ready to try different things.

B. Know yourself and pick a direction.

C. Instead use that time to invest in yourself by reading.

D. Spend less time doing things that add no value to your life.

E. This does wonders for self-confidence and overall positivity.

F. Your teenage years are meant to be spent getting to know yourself.

G. It's important for you to work hard to improve your scores in your study.

    Dujiangyan is the oldest man­made water system in the world, and a wonder in the development of Chinese science. Built over 2, 200 years ago in what is now Sichuan Province in Southwest China, this amazing engineering achievement is still used today to irrigate over 6, 000 square kilometers of farmland, take away floodwater and provide water for 50 cities in the province.

    In ancient times, the region in which Dujiangyan now stands suffered from regular floods caused by overflow from the Minjiang River. To help the victims of the flooding, Li Bing, the region's governor, together with his son, decided to find a solution. They studied the problem and discovered that the river most often overflowed when winter snow at the top of the nearby Mount Yulei began to melt as the weather warmed.

    The simplest fix was to build a dam, but this would have ruined the Minjiang River. So instead Li designed a series of channels built at different levels along Mount Yulei that would take away the floodwater while leaving the river flowing naturally. Better still, the extra water could be directed to the dry Chengdu Plain, making it suitable for farming.

    Cutting the channels through the hard rock of Mount Yulei was a remarkable accomplishment as it was done long before the invention of gunpowder and explosives. Li Bing found another solution. He used a combination of fire and water to heat and cool the rocks until they cracked and could be removed. After eight years of work, the 20­metre­wide canals had been carved through the mountain.

    Once the system was finished, no more floods occurred and the people were able to live peacefully and affluently. Today, Dujiangyan is admired by scientists from around the world because of one feature. Unlike modern dams where the water is blocked with a huge wall, Dujiangyan still lets water flow through the Minjiang River naturally, enabling ecosystems and fish populations to exist in harmony.

    Does your local high school have a student newspaper? Only 1 in 8 of New York's public high schools has student newspapers—and many of those are published just a few times a year. A few more are online, which can leave out poorer schools.

    Rebecca Dwarka, an 18-year-old senior who works for her student paper said, "Facebook is the new way of finding out what happened. Nobody wants to actually sit down and read a whole article about it. This makes a 'whole article' sound a little like a long sentence in lonely places."

    I am not nostalgic(怀旧的) about high school student newspapers and never worked for mine. I put out what was then called a personal magazine with a group of friends because we wanted to write about peace, war and rock 'n' roll without school officials warning us not to make jokes about the local officials.

    School newspapers are in decline(衰落) because students now find out what happened on social networking websites. This is a little discouraging because it proves that for millions of Americans, journalism is becoming a do-it-yourself thing. Every citizen can be a reporter.

    When something happens, we look for social media messages. Facebook posts and Tweets have become the means by which citizens and reporters can prove, deny, pass on stories and express opinions without the press' challenging, researching or slowing the message.

    It requires seeing something carefully and it uses an eye for details to help prove a larger view. And even journalism that conveys an opinion tries to be fair. If school newspapers begin to disappear, I hope there are other ways for students to learn that.