I walked to Mrs. Windsor's house and waited outside. She was working with another student, and I was not supposed to bother them by ringing the bell. I stood against the wall and daydreamed what I'd rather be doing. I had been tutored enough to read, understand, and even write some musical compositions, but I just didn't have a gift for it. Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lessons for free, so I felt my duty to try.

    The door opened and Wendy Barton came out. I walked in, sat down on the piano bench and began to sort through my sheet music. Today Mrs. Windsor introduced her niece Pasha to teach me. With a smile, Pasha sat beside me on the piano bench, opened my sheet music to the beginning page and asked me to play. I arranged my fingers on the keys. Then I frowned(皱眉) and concentrated to make the notes on the page match the finger movements. I had to admit I was a rather mechanical (呆板的) pianist.

    After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. There was a long pause. "What are you hearing in the music?" I looked at her rather strangely and admitted I didn't know what she meant. "Like a story. Here, let me try and you listen," Pasha advised.

    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her fingers dance lightly over the keys. Then, she began to play. "See, it begins here beside some kind of river. Hear the water flowing beside you?"

    Her fingers rose and fell gently on the keys. "Now the princess appears and she's picking flowers from the water's edge." A happy piece of music filled the air in time to Pasha's dancing fingers. "Oh, but she slips!" The music changed. "And our princess is being carried off by the fast-flowing stream. Quickly, the princess' horse sees her plight (困境) and races to the river's edge where he swims out to let her catch hold of him. Luckily, they make it to the bank." Pasha said.

    I played many pieces of music that afternoon, finding the stories in the music and learning that sometimes it takes a friend to pull you out of the river onto dry land again.

    Hundreds of years ago，a Roman army came north from England to make war on Scotland. The Scots，a brave people，loved their country very much. They fought hard to drive the enemy out of Scotland，but there were too many Romans. It looked as if the Romans would win.

    One night，the leader of Scots marched his soldiers to the top of a hill. "We will rest here tonight，my men,” he said. "Tomorrow we will fight one more battle. We must win or we will die."

    They were all very tired，so they ate their supper quickly and fell asleep. There were four guards on duty, but they were very tired as well and also fell asleep one by one.

    The Romans were not asleep. Quickly they gathered at the foot of the hill. Slowly they climbed up the hillside, taking care not to make a sound. Closer and closer they came to the sleeping Scots. They were almost at the top. A few minutes more，the war would be over. Suddenly，one of them put his foot on a thistle(蓟). He cried out and his sudden cry woke the Scots. In a moment，they were on their feet and ready for battle. The fighting was hard but it did not last long. The Scots wiped out the Romans and saved their country.

    The thistle is not a beautiful plant. It has sharp needles all over it. Few people like it. But the people of Scotland liked it so much that they made it their national flower.

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    There is always something that happens in the world that everyone fears will happen to their town, city or country: natural disasters. The scariest part of it is that no one will ever see it coming. Though technology helps us prepare, but it never actually tells the people when it's going to hit. It is always estimated but the result is never 100% accurate.

    However, that is not the point of this article. Two different natural disasters in two different parts of the world have happened in the past few weeks. One was a major flood that has hit Louisiana in the United States. The other was an earthquake that hit Amatrice, Italy. However, there is a major difference in the news coverage of the two tragedies.

    As for the flooding in Louisiana, it is reported that this disaster is the worst to hit the United States since Super-storm Sandy and it'll cost at least $30 million. In only the first couple of weeks, 13 people had died. However, like me, many people did not hear about this tragic event. I did not learn about it until about three weeks after it happened.

    In Italy, however, it covered all media instantly. The earthquake in Italy happened on Tuesday morning. That same day, I was on Twitter and that was all that was over the news feed. Every other post was about the earthquake. Some would have the opinion that Amatrice, Italy was one of the most beautiful towns in that country. I got in deep sorrow because there were more people killed in this quake than the flooding. So far, they have a total of 73 dead and over one hundred missing.

    I understand that technically the earthquake in Italy was worse than the floods in Louisiana. However, I believe that if a natural disaster happens, they all should be equally covered and taken equally seriously. We are one world united and should be there for all of the people who are in need of help. We may not be able to accurately predict disasters but, we can surely lend a hand out for the needy.

    James Gross, a psychology professor at Stanford University, has a 13-year-old daughter who loves math and science. “It hasn't occurred to her yet that's unusual,” he says. “But I know in the next couple of years, it will.”

    She's already being pulled out of class to do advanced things with a couple of other kids, who are guys. And as someone who studies human emotion for a procession, Gross says, “I know as time goes on, she will feel increasingly lonely as a girl who's interested in math and science, and be at risk of narrowing her choices in life before finding out how far she could have gone.''

    Gross' concern clearly shows what has been a touchy subject in the world of science for a long time: Why are there still so few women in science, and how might that affect what we learn from research?

    Women now make up half the national workforce, earn more college and graduate degrees than men, and by some estimates represent the largest single economic force in the world. Yet the gender gap in science persists, to a greater degree than in other professions, particularly in high-end, math-intensive fields such as computer science and engineering.

    According to US Census Bureau statistics, women in fields commonly referred to as STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) made up 7 percent of that workforce in 1970, a figure that had jumped to 23 percent by 1990. But the rise essentially stopped there. Two decades later, in 2011, women made up 26 percent of the science workforce.

    Amsterdam is a special city. There are many places you should not miss during your visit. Here is our list of the best.

    Amsterdam canal ring

    The city old centre is formed from canal rings, which give you the feeling of space, freedom and peace. Walk through these canal streets or better—take a trip by renting a boat yourself. Another way to explore the Venice of the North is to take a ride on a bicycle. Any way you decide for - enjoy this city.

    The National Maritime Museum

    The Maritime Museum is an attractive place to visit, especially with children. With many attractions in it, this colourful and enjoyable museum will help you understand the history of the Netherlands—a small nation which was one of the world's greatest sea powers.

Amsterdam Brown Cafe

    When you enter Amsterdam old cafes called Brown, at first it will seem too much from the past and too crowded, but the atmosphere is unique. Relax and watch - most of people around will be locals. Feel like one of them—the real Amsterdammers.

    Civic Guards Gallery

    This gallery is filled with old paintings from the Dutch Golden Age. The exhibited canvas may be not always the masterpieces of art, but these group portraits of Amsterdam citizens and their wives are an exquisite (精致的) document of the Dutch civilization and culture centuries ago.

    To avoid waiting lines we advise you to buy your tickets in advance online through our Amsterdam attractions and museums tickets webpage.

    The traditional British pub is part of the scenery of British life. At the last count, there are around 50,000 of them in the UK. The oldest – Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St. Albans – was set up in about 793.

    Because of their abundance, the names pubs take are designed to be memorable, but more than that, they are designed to be visual. Outside any traditional pub worthy of its title, you'll find a hanging signboard with an unusual and uncommon illustration(插图) that represents the name of the business. The practice is so well established that even new pubs copy it. But why do they exist at all?

    The first British pub signs were created in the 12^th century and were simple representations of beer containers and other brewing-related equipment used to tell passersby that establishments sold beer. This was Britain in the dark ages, when education was in short supply. Since most of the population was unable to read, pub signs were used to inform would-be customers that they could find a drink inside.

    The earliest uses of pub names would reference the sign directly. People would appoint to meet at "the sign of the Eagle and Child" rather than at "the Eagle and Child".

    Today the tradition remains unchanged largely out of respect for the past, but many pub signs do have some functionality. Remote country pubs often use signboards to point the way to their doors. It's a part of British culture that's rapidly disappearing – more than 20,000 pubs have closed since 1980 – but for now there are still more than enough. You can take a moment to appreciate the history and symbolism behind a pub's sign the next time you see one.