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    After you get back home from a trip, one of the most pleasant things is sharing your stories with people. And that's what we'd like you to do. Our magazine's “True Stories” section is for your strange experiences, heart-warming tales and funny stories on your trip. So if you have good stories, please write to us!

    If your story is chosen as the best one, you will win the nine-day trip across North America, including a seven-night trip along the California coast. For more information, please call 800-227-2826, or e-mail us at TrueStories@hotmail.com.

    Besides, you need to remember a few things if you want to write a story:

    Keep the story brief (简短的) and lively (within 250 words).

    Please send your story as the body of your e-mail, not as an attachment (附件).

    Most of the stories we print have photos, so send pictures, but try not to go crazy. Send only the best one(s).

    Please send your photos as an attachment, not embedded in (把……嵌入) the body of your e-mail.

    We don't mind if you or your friends are in the pictures, as long as you tell us who or what is in the photos.

    We need to be able to get in touch with you, so tell us your phone number and home address.

    In Australia there is a famous island called Fraser Island. A great many visitors come here for holidays every year. Why? The reason is that it is special. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. In fact, it is the largest sand island in the world. It's about 175 kilometers long and 25 kilometers wide.

    Though the island is a popular place of interest, there is no airport on the island. The long beach along the east coast works as the airport. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    On the island there are sand hills without any plants, but there are forests with old trees, beautiful flowers and over a hundred lakes, too. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Every year, visitors come to enjoy the island's natural beauty. People like camping and hiking here. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Animals were killed for food and this made them in danger of extinction(灭绝). They threw rubbish everywhere, and the lakes were seriously polluted.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Rules have been set up. For example, visitors are not allowed to use motorboats(摩托艇)or go fishing in the lakes, and they mustn't leave any rubbish.

To-wit-to-woo, to-wit-to-woo! What's that strange sound coming from the forest at night? It's an owl, of course! The owl is different from all other birds in so many ways. 

The owl's hearing and eyesight are better than most animal. All day long, the owl rests on the tree and sleep It hunts (捕猎) only at night. When evening comes, the animals all get to a safe place. The owl opens its big, round eyes to look around. Any little animals around had better be careful, The owl eats small animals like mice as food, but it wouldn't say no to another bird, if it's really hungry. 

The owl uses its great hearing to find its food, and then it turns its head from side to side. using its sharp (敏锐的) eyes to fly after the animal. Finally, it flies down to get the animal. Owls have special, soft feathers (羽毛), so they can fly without making any sound. Owls are good hunters and they can even catch a fly in the air!

The owl is usually quiet, except (除余了) when you get too close to its home. The mother owl is a great mother. She will protect her babies by opening her feathers angrily. She will even hurt people if she thinks her babies are in danger!

The owl has no teeth, so it eats an animal whole. All the parts of the animal that the owl can't digest (消化) will end up as small pieces. If you find these small pieces, you know you are near an owl's home.

A lot of people' play sports, but very few people become sports professionals(专家). If sports   aren't going to be your future, then why should you play them? Why should you train every day? Why should you work hard and feel sore(酸痛的) the next day? Wouldn't it be better to forget sports and only pay attention to your lessons? In fact, there are a lot of reasons to play sports. 

 First of all, sports are a great way to exercise. Exercising keeps you healthy and strong. It also helps you stay in a good condition. When you exercise, your body makes endorphins(安多芬) which give you more energy and make you feel happier. 

 Also, sports teach young people how to communicate and work as a team. They teach young people to respect(尊重) their coaches, teammates and players from the other team. Many reports say that sports help young people stay out of trouble. If a young person plays sports, he or she may have fewer problems. This is because sports teach people about rules. They also teach people that if they work hard, they might succeed. 

Another good way of sports is that they make people leave their houses. These days, a lot of people spend too much time watching television and playing video games. When you play sports, you go outside and exercise in the sun. You take in fresh air. All of these things are important. 

 Maybe you' re not going to become a sports professional, but that doesn't matter, sports will help you become a better and happier person.