Last year, I went to a summer camp in the United States with my classmates. It was my first time to go abroad.

    I lived with a host family in Los Angeles for five days. My host family was friendly and gave me lots of advice. For example, they said I should say "excuse me" if I have to interrupt (打断) someone or ask for directions.

    I also took some classes. They were different from the classes I had had back home. In the US, each class is like a seminar. Students join groups, speaking freely and creating a cheerful atmosphere (氛围). I had to work hard to learn more vocabularies, so I could better communicate with my international classmates. I used to pay little attention to my word usage (使用), but now I pay more attention.

    During my visit, I also went to some famous universities in Boston, New York and Washington, D. C. We learned about the history behind the universities. At MIT (麻省理工学院), we saw lots of names on a wall in the hall. The tour guide told us they were the names of students who had lost their lives during wars. I was inspired (鼓舞) by the fact that they fought for their country.

Emily's Blog

Shut Up Zoos, Not Animals!

You may think that visiting zoos is harmless fun, but you're wrong because zoos are just prisons(监狱) for animals. The difference is that prisoners get out after a few years! Animals in cages look bored and are boring to look at. After all, we all know what an elephant looks like, we've seen them on TV. So why make animals suffer by shutting them up for our fun? Shut up the zoos instead!

Posted by: Emily on April 19, at 18：12 Comments(3)

Comments

I partly agree. But some zoos aren't there for our fun. I've just got back from Jersey Zoo. It saves rare animals and breeds them. Then it returns the babies to the wild. Not all zoos are the same, you know.

Posted by: Angela on April 21, at 18：17

Quite agree! Every time I go to the zoo, I never look into the poor animals' eyes! Kept in the small and smelly cages, they look so lonely and sad. Hope one day they will return to nature, where they can live happily and freely with their families.

Posted by : John on April 22, at 12：21

Personally, I think zoos are fantastic places for children. They can play with animals and enjoy themselves so much there. Also, they learn a lot about animals. Why shut up?

Posted by: David on April 22, at 21：05 )

Matt jumped into bed. His father sat down beside him.

"What kind of day did you have?" he asked.

"It was a bad day for me," Matt answered. "I had a fight with Ned. The teacher sent a note home about me. And Mom talked about it with me."

"Yes, part of the day was bad," Mr. Gold said. "But there were good parts, too. Now it's time to go to sleep. So, tell me about the best thing today."

Matt smiled. "After school I went fishing," he said. "No one wanted to go with me. So I had to go alone. I didn't think I would have any fun. But I did! I caught a fish!"

"I'm glad you had a good time," Mr. Gold said. "Think about it until(直到)you go to sleep. Happy dreams!"

"Good night, Dad," Matt said.

His father kissed(亲吻)him good night.

Every night, Mr. Gold and Matt have a little talk like this.

Every night, Matt answers the same question. "What was the best thing that happened to you today?"

Every night Matt goes to sleep thinking about the best thing. He has many happy dreams!

Sometimes he has to think hard to find the best thing. Sometimes it is a very small thing. But he always finds one good thing to think about.

Matt's father taught his son a good way to end his day. You may want to try it. If you do, why not begin this every night?

    Want to be a hero? Better take a trip to the Great Wall. As the saying goes: You are not a hero1 you have climbed the Great Wall. As a wonder of architecture (建筑),it 2millions of tourists each year. Also, it is the most visited place for foreign leaders when 3come to China.

    The Great Wall has different sections (段)and each one is very 4 Jinshanling Great Wall in Hebei is 5 section. In spring, it is in the middle of a white apricot blossom (杏花林).6 summer time, green plants circle the wall. In autumn, maple leaves (枫叶) 7 a golden and red scene. And 8puts the great wall in a world of white snow.

    The "wild wall" is great for backpackers. Wild parts of the wall are for the adventurous (敢于冒险的人)9 they are the same as they were originally. Jiankou Great Wall is a famous one. Trees grow up from in between the stones. In some places, you have to climb the stones with both your hands and feet. Be 10when you visit the wild walls. You'd better not go there alone.

"Our teas can help protect your teeth and your heart, possibly even helping to prevent cancer," said Luo Shengkai, one of four student hosts from Sichuan University High School. They 1 introduced three self-made health teas through a livestream (直播) on Douyin 2 March 27, 2022, and they 3 for several weeks by now. The livestream got over 60 4 likes and many online orders, with all profits (收入) going to local tea farmers.

"It's 5 first time we have sold tea online. We not only need to introduce 6 tea, but we also need to interact with the audience and answer their questions," said Luo. "We've learned a lot from the process, 7 it's tiring."

Luo is one of a group of students 8 take part in a two-year course on tea research. They learn about tea planting and picking, tea making, package design and marketing through research and fieldwork.

However, 9 a new and popular tea isn't easy. Luo and his team members 10 a tea to better protect students' eyesight. They first met with a professional from Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and researched the properties (特性) of local tea. Then they learned 11 functions of ingredients such as goji berries (枸杞), mangosteen (山竹果) and cassia seed (决明子) and did experiments to find what would happen if they 12 all together. They ended up with a cassia seed tea and then added 13 ingredients based on people's feedback.

"Through the tea course, students 14 learn how to be creative and improve their hands-on skills. They also learn to respect tea workers and how to contribute to rural vitalization (乡村振兴). That's 15 our educational means." said Mi Yunlin, the principal of the school.