Lisa: My best teacher is my geography teacher in 10th grade. Why? Because we did school projects! Back then I wrote about India and never forgot what I had learned. He brought the culture to life by letting me become part of it. He also listened to us and was always ready with a kind word.

David: My best teacher is my high school social studies and history teacher, Thomas Ladenburg. He respected us, though we were just teenagers. His class was never boring because he often asked us to discuss in class. He used his own materials which made the class very interesting.

Henry: My best ever teacher is my biology teacher in high school. I really liked her class. She explained everything very clearly. She also checked our notebooks to make sure we had written down what she said. Now, many years later, I can still remember a large part of the things she taught!

Susan: The best teacher I have ever had is my 10th grade social studies teacher. She was always in a good mood and kept us laughing. She was really young, so she acted like us teenagers, which made learning fun. If we needed to talk to an adult about a problem, we would always come to her because we knew she could help us.

Tom: My favourite teacher is Mr. Yelle. He taught us math, science and music. He spoke to us “at eye level”, and was very patient and kind. We did great projects for the science fairs. Forty years later, I still remember his lessons very well. By the way, though he was called Mr Yelle, he didn't yell(喊叫).

    Tornadoes are nature's most violent storms, which can cause deaths and destroy a neighborhood in seconds. A tornado appears as a funnel-shaped (漏斗状) cloud from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling (飞快移动) winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be over one mile wide and 50 miles long. Every state is at some risk from this disaster.

    Some tornadoes can be seen clearly, while rain or nearby low-hanging clouds obscure others. At many times, tornadoes develop so rapidly that little, if any, advance warning is possible.

    Before a tornado hits, the air may become very still. A cloud of debris (散片) can mark the location of a tornado even if a funnel can not be seen. Tornadoes generally occur near the edge of a thunderstorm, when the strong wind may die down. It is not uncommon to see clear, sunlit skies behind a tornado.

The following are facts about tornadoes:

    The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 MPH, but may also vary from still to 70 MPH. Debris is picked up or a cloud forms in the funnel.

    The average tornado moves from southwest to northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction. Tornadoes are most often reported east of the Rocky Mountains during spring and summer months.

    Tornadoes can happen together with tropical storms and hurricanes as they move onto land. Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water.

    The tornado season in the southern states of America is March through May; in the northern states, it is late spring through early summer. Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., but can occur at any time.

    I was never very neat，while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place，but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled(贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time，Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over，and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.

    War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon，I heard her screaming，“Take your shoes away！Why under my bed！” Deafened，I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.

    The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation，I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up，she quickly crawled(爬) under her covers，sobbing. Obviously，that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden，a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart.

    Slowly，I collected the pencils，took back the books，made my bed，cleaned the socks and swept the floor，even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn't notice Kate had sat up. She was watching，her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. Then，she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me，“Thanks.”

    Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn't always agree，but we learned the key to living together：giving in，cleaning up and holding on.

    An 114 kilograms mother, Cacia Griggs, was ashamed into losing weight after crushing her daughter, four-year-old Isabelle's bed while reading her a bedtime story.

    Just one year later she has lost 50 kilograms, dropped to a size 10, and even was employed by her dream company.

    One night, having asked her 29-year-old husband to carry Isabelle up to bed because she couldn't fit through the stair gate, Cacia followed them upstairs and lay down on the edge of the bed with her daughter to read her a story.

    “I heard a loud snap(噼啪声),” she said. “I'd broken the entire side beam of her bed because I was overweight. I was upset.”

    On her first family holiday with Chris and Isabelle in Turkey last year, Cacia had a similar moment when she couldn't fit the plane seatbelt around her.

    Cacia began the Cambridge Weight Plan in June 2011, changing her high-calorie diet into soups, shakes and bars. In August this year, Cacia reached her goal weight and dropped from a size 24 to a size 10.

    “My weight began to drop off,” she said. “In no time at all I was wearing smaller clothes and was over the moon the first time I brought a size 16, I couldn't believe it fitted.”

    Cacia says the best thing about losing the weight is being able to lie with her daughter again on her bed instead of sitting on the floor next to her.

On Nov 11, an Australian jockey (骑师) got hurt after his horse "broke down" during a horse race in Hong Kong. Though the jockey is safe now, his horse was not so lucky. Since the horse's leg injury would have led to its death, vets euthanized (实施安乐死) it in front of the audience on the spot. Falling off a horse at high speed has a big risk of injury. You can say it's the jockey's choice to take part in the sport. But what about the horses?

This is not the first time that animals have been harmed because of animal entertainment-related sports. For example, about 180,000 bulls (公牛) are killed in bullfights around the world, with many more injured in bullfight events every year, according to Human Society International, an organization promoting the human-animal relationship globally. Hunters shoot more than 800 lions in South Africa, reported World Animal Protection.

To help these animals, animal lovers have started many campaigns , which seem to be taking effect. In June, Churchill Downs, the site of the famous Kentucky Derby in the US, stopped all horse racing, originally set to run until July 

3. Circuses using animals have been banned by many countries around the world in recent years due to animal welfare worries, according to the website Four Paws.

Animals play an important part in our lives and are more than tools for sports and entertainment. The human-animal bond can be seen in all kinds of places. Service animals can help people in their jobs and animals are also used to help and care for people with illnesses and who have experienced abuse or mental illness. "We can have our sports, drinks, lively parties, and beautiful hats  but we can leave animals out of it," reported Vox.

Four Books about Curious Creatures

In these brilliant books find out about fleas, foxes and some unexpected friendships. 

Animal Sidekicks

by Macken Murphy.

Illustrated by DraganKordic

This illustrated book explores the idea of symbiosis—animals that form amazing relationships to help each other. Youˈll learn about clownfish living peacefully with poisonous sea anemone, the frog that lives with a tarantula, and lots more. 

The Secret Life of Foxes

by ChloePetrylak.

Have you ever spotted a fox on the streets of your town at night or even in your back garden? Wildlife enthusiasts will love finding out more about the mysterious lives of foxes. As well as lots of interesting information, this book includes great ideas for ways to help foxes near you. 

PleaseDonˈt Bite Me

by Nazzy Pakpour.

Illustrated by Owen Davey

Did you know that wasps can build nests as much as five metres wide? Or that fleas can jump 150 times their own height? How do mosquitoes track you down? This interesting illustrated book digs out the surprising lives of some of the buzzing, biting and stinging insects that are all around. 

Stone Age Beasts

by BenLerwill.

Illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith

Travel back in time to meet incredible creatures in this beautiful book. It features many of the prehistoric animals that our human ancestors would have met face-to-face in the Stone Age. Learn about the woolly mammoth, the sabre-toothed cat, and the six-metre snake that once slithered along the forest floor.