Halloween is a festival on October 31st.The name of the holiday means —"hallowed" because it comes the day before All Saints Day.

    Before the festival, people paint homes, shops and classrooms in the traditional Halloween colours, orange and black. Some people make costumes at home. Some people buy them in shops. People also make decorations for the festival. These decorations look like witches, black cats, ghosts, skeletons and jack-o-lanterns. Jack-o- lanterns are pumpkins that are cut to look like faces.

    People think that Halloween is the children's New Year's Eve. On that day children dress up in special costumes and masks. They eat too much, and go to bed very late after celebrating. They go from one door to another saying "trick or treat". People give them candies, cookies, fruit or money.

    Adults and older children also celebrate Halloween with parades (游行）, festivals and costumes parties. One kind of the parties welcomed by children is dunking for apples. Apples are put in tubs (木桶）full of water. People try to get the apples using only their mouths; they cannot use their hands.

    Zheng He was an amazing man. He was born in 1371. Ten years later, he was caught by the army of a rich young man called Zhu Di and made to work for him. Over time the rich man saw that Zheng He was very clever and strong and they became close friends. In 1403 Zhu Di became the king of China and he asked Zheng He to join his government.

    The king wanted to learn more about the world and show other countries his power. He ordered many new ships to be built and made Zheng He their leader. Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led some sea trips to different parts of the world. He certainly travelled to India, Africa and the Middle East. A few people think his ships have even reached South America and Australia.

    Each trip lasted more than one year and it is believed he sailed more than 50,000 kilometres during the years of his travels. Zheng He led a fleet with about 28, 000 men and over 250 ships, such as boats for food, water and even soldiers horses.

    On these trips he took many Chinese goods like silk and medicine with him to give to foreign kings or to sell for local goods. He returned from each trip with boats which were filled with expensive things such as gold and treasures, foreign guests and strange animals like a giraffe.

    It is a pity that we may never learn everything about Zheng He's travels. The Columbus of the East, Zheng He, died in 1433. After that. The new king had these trips stopped and he burned almost all the books about Zheng He's travels, because he believed the trips were unlucky and too expensive. It is only in the last 50 years that historians have begun to carefully study the adventures of great Zheng He.

    The 35th Weifang International Kite Festival opened in April 2018 in East China's Shandong, receiving kite fans from all over the world. Shandong has a long history of kite making. Over 2,000 years ago, a man named Gongshu Ban from Shangdong invented a kite. It was made of bamboo. In the following centuries, kite making developed well in China.

    The first Weifang International Kite Festival was celebrated in 1984. In 1983, chairman of the Seattle Kite Association David Checkley took part in a kite show in Shanghai and later he visited several kite manufacturers (制造商). He found that kites made in Weifang were the best. He suggested that an international event take place there. So Weifang began to hold it in April every year.

    At the fifth festival, Weifang became known as the "kite capital of the world". Today, Weifang is home to over 300 kite factories. Their products are sold to over 40 countries and areas, making up 85% of the domestic (国内的) market and 65% of the world market.

    However, there are also some problems. "Only a few people would like to learn traditional kite making," says Yang Hongwei. In her opinion, only something traditional can last. As for this problem, an older craftsman (手艺人) Zhang Xiaodong said, "Only through innovation can we achieve a bright future for traditional hand-made kites." Zhang has created a rocket-shaped kite after China launched the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft. "I have a controller and the two parts of the 'rocket' can separate in the sky," he said proudly. He is planning to use drones (无人机) in kite making next.

Do you like taking a trip? Now many students like riding bikes to take a trip. But it may be dangerous. For your own safety (安全), do the following things. 

Wear a bike helmet because it can protect (保护) your head. Look for a helmet that is right for you. The best helmet can't protect you if it isn't right for you. 

Wear the right clothes. They can make you feel better. They can also protect you. Bright-colored clothes like white help people see you clearly--even in the nighttime. Don't wear dark-colored clothes like black or brown when you are riding a bike. 

Follow the rules on the road. Always ride on the right side of the road. Please first look behind you before you turn left or turn right. And don't ride too closely (接近) to the cars--the cars may stop and the door may open suddenly! Also, don't just listen to music when you are riding a bike. If you listen to music, you may not know there is a car behind you. 

If you follow these tips, you'll be safe riding on the road.