A family is a collection of people who share the same genes（基因）but cannot agree on a place to pull over for lunch. Ed and I, plus his parents and sister Doris and eight-year-old niece Alisha, are on a road trip to Yosemite. Ed wants Subway, I want. In-N-Out Burger, Doris wants Sonic. In the end, we compromise on McDonald's, where Alisha will get an action figure.

    It's a three-hour drive to Yosemite, but we're taking a little longer, as we're working in a tour of Highway 80's public restrooms. As the saying goes, “Not one bladder（膀胱）empties but another fills.” Many of these restrooms belong to gas stations. I prefer them to the high-tech ones on planes.

    We get back on the road. Ed is driving now. When all the tabloids（小报）have been read, the travel has grown tedious and anyone under age 12 asks “Are we there yet?” at ever-shortening internals. Just outside Manteca, California, we stop for coffee. At a Starbucks checkout, Ed buys a CD of Joni Mitchell's favorite musical picks. The hope is that it will have a calming effect.

    As we pull back onto the highway, it starts to pour. Then something amazing happens. As we climb the mountain, the rain turns to snow. The pines are spotted with white. We're struck dumb（说不出话）by the scene outside. For a solid 15 minutes, everyone forgets about their bladder, their blood sugar and the temperature. Alisha has never seen snow, so we pull over to make snowmen and catch snowflakes on our tongues. Then Ed realizes we need tire chains, and we have to turn back and drive 30miles to Oakhurst. “Good,” says Doris. “There was a very nice restroom there.”

    Have you heard of the following people? Maybe yes, maybe no. But they may be an inspiration for you.

    The Tree Lady

    Kate Sessions was an American botanist and landscape architect closely associated with San Diego, California. After becoming the first woman to graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, she took a job as a teacher far south in the dry desert town of San Diego. Kate decided that San Diego needed trees more than anything else. Therefore, this young woman single-handedly started a movement transforming the town into the leafy, garden-filled place as it is today.

    The Snowflake(雪花) Man

    Wilson Bentley is one of the first known photographers of snowflakes. His enthusiasm for taking photos began from his boyhood and was often misunderstood in his time, but his determination revealed two important truths: no two snowflakes are alike; and each is surprisingly beautiful. In 1931, he worked with William J. Humphreys of the U.S. Weather Bureau to publish Snow Crystals, a book containing 2500 photographs.

    The Father of His Country

    By the late 1760s, George Washington had experienced firsthand the effects of rising taxes imposed (征收) on American colonists by the British, and came to believe that it was in the best interests of the colonists to declare independence from England. During the American War of Independence, he led the colonial forces to victory. In 1878, he was elected president of the Convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution. Two years later, Washington became American's first president. His retirement from office after two terms established a tradition that lasted until 1940, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt won a third term. The 22^nd Amendment (1951) now limits the president to two elected terms.

    The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

    The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, on the island of Hawaii, has two active volcanoes: Mauna Loa, which last erupted (喷发) in 1984, is 13,677 feet (4.17 km) above sea level; Kilauea is next to Mauna Loa and it has been erupting since January 3rd, 1983. It is 4,190 feet (1.23 km) above sea level.

    When to visit

    The park is open 24 hours a day all year round. There are no plants or trees on the lava (火山岩) fields and no protection from the sun, so you must bring sunscreen (防晒霜).

    How to get there

    The best way to get to the park is to take Highway 11. From the airport at Hilo, Highway 11 will take you southward across the eastern part of the island.

    Things to see

    If you want to know more about the park, the Kilauea Visitor Center is surely a stop to make. It is a quarter of a mile (402 m) from the park entrance. There, you can see a great movie about real lava and learn about the island's natural and cultural history. The center is open from 7:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There are also many guided walks and hikes around the park. You must check weather conditions and volcanic activity before hiking alone. If possible, you may drive down Chain of Craters Road to see lava flowing into the ocean.

    Tickets

    Entrance to the park is $10.00 for each vehicle, $5.00 for those who travel on foot or ride a bicycle. Children under the age of 15 are free.

    In China we can see more African students in universities, which is a signal of a deeper China-Africa relationship, and the same trend is happening in Africa as well. Most Chinese students choose to study in universities in South Sudan, Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia and South Africa.

    There are three types of Chinese students in Africa. One type is language students who major in local African languages such as Swahili in China and go to African countries to study the language. Another type is non-language students who major in law, economy, culture, education or agriculture and go to African universities for six months to a year to learn more about the culture or for research. The above two types of students are all funded by Chinese government.

    A third type has been growing in recent years. More Chinese choose to develop their career and build a life in African countries, and some of their children tend to receive higher education in African countries. Some Chinese who work in Africa also further their study in their free time. Many Chinese choose to join the MBA program, since they work in a Chinese state-owned enterprise, and an MBA degree could help advance their career.

    In addition, as China and Africa's relations and cooperation are heating up and more Chinese companies and investors come to Africa under The Belt and Road Initiative(一带一路), more talents that understand Africa are needed. Besides, the new generations have more internationalized, curious attitudes, and are more willing to see and experience Africa themselves without any stereotypes(刻板印象), rather than just reading about it in a textbook.

    When international aid is given, steps must be taken to ensure（确保）that the aid reaches the people for whom it is intended. The way to achieve this may not be simple. It is very difficult for a nation to give help directly to people in another nation. The United Nations Organization （UNO） could undertake to direct the distribution of aid. Here however rises the problem of costs. Also tied with this is time. Perhaps the UNO could set up a body of devoted men and women in every country who can speedily distribute aid to victims of floods and earthquakes.

    More than the help that one nation can give to another during a disaster, it would be more effective to give other forms of help during normal times. A common proverb says, "Give me a fish and I eat for a day, teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime." If we follow this wise saying, it would be right to teach people from less developed nations to take care of themselves. For example, a country could share its technology with another. This could be in simple areas like agriculture or in more complex areas like medical and health care or even in building satellites. Even a small country is able to help less developed nations. Sometimes what is taken for granted, like the setting up of a water purification plant or the administration of a school, could be useful for countries which are looking about to solve common problems. It does not cost much to share such simple things. Exchange students could be attached for a number of months or years and learn the required craft while on the site. They can then take their knowledge back to their homelands and if necessary come back from time to time to clear doubts or to update themselves. Such aid will be truly helpful and there is no chance of it being temporary or of it falling into the wrong hands.

    Many countries run extensive courses in all sorts of skills. It will not cost much to include deserving foreigners in these courses. Besides giving effective help to the countries concerned, there is also the build­up of friendships to consider. Giving direct help by giving materials may be effective in the short run and must continue to be given in the event of emergencies. However, in the long run what is really effective would be the sharing of knowledge.

EVENTS(赛事)

Bicycle tour and race

    A bike tour and race will be held on August 26 and 27(Sat. & Sun. ). At 5:30am, the riders will leave

    Tian'anmen Square and ride the first 35 kilometers as a training leg. Then the next 55 kilometers leg, from Yanjiao to Jixian, will be the first competitive(竞争性的)part of the tour. The riders and their bikes will then be taken from Jixian to Changli.

    The second racing leg of the tour will be from Changli to the seaside of Nandaibe, covering a distance of 20 kilometers. Saturday night includes the stay at Nandaihe and supper. Sunday morning is free for play at the seaside. At noon all the people and their bikes will be taken back to Beijing.

    Cost: 200 yuan

     Telephone: 4675027

    Brazilian footballers

    The Brazilian Football Club will play Beijing Guo'an Team at the Workers Stadium on August 26. The club has four national team players. Also coming is 1994 US World Cup star Romario who has promised to play for at least 45 minutes.

    Ticket prices: 60,100,150 yuan

    Time/Date: 4:30 pm, August 26 (Sat.)

    Telephone: 5012372

    Rock climbing

    The Third National Rock Climbing Competition will be held on August 26-27 at the Huairou Mountain-climbing Training Base. More than 10 teams from Beijing, Wuhan, Dalian, Jilin and other places will take part in it. A Japanese team will give an exhibition climbing. Free for spectators(观众).

    Take a long-distance bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou.

    Time/Dates: 9-12 am, August 26 and 27

    Telephone: 7143177, 7144850, Wang Zhenghua