Many people have tried to simplify (简化) the spelling of English words. Unlike other languages, English sometimes spells the same sounds in very different ways. For example, there is “light” but “white”, “loan” but “phone”, and there are at least seven different ways of pronouncing “ough”, “though”, “through”, “bough”, “cough”, “enough”, “ought” and “thorough”.

    The American President Theodore Roosevelt almost succeeded in simplifying English spelling. In 1906, one of the richest men in the United States of America, Andrew Carnegie, started the Simplified Spelling Board whose plan was to make the spelling of words nearer to the way they sound. For example, the word “though” would be spelt “though” and “through” would become “thru”. Other people on the board were Melvil Dewey, the head of the New York libraries, and Professor Brander Matthews of Columbia University. They explained their idea to President Roosevelt who thought that it was indeed logical (合理的).He immediately instructed the government printer to use simplified spelling in all government letters.

    But people did not like the change — even if it made life easier— and the new, simpler spelling was not popular. More importantly, when the American politicians discussed the plan, they did not like it either. Because Roosevelt did not want to have any problems with the politicians, he changed his mind and told the printer to go back to the old way of spelling.

    Since then no one in any government has dared to simplify English spelling. However, people do simplify some words, mainly in advertisements. For example, we often see “tonite” instead of “tonight” and “thru” instead of “through”.

    Some people love going to museums，while others absolutely hate it and would rather stay at home，enjoying their favorite TV shows．Increasingly，museums are being seen as outdated and boring by today's youngsters．I have just returned to the UK after travelling around the USA． While there，I visited lots of museums  I must say，museums are typically educational, either to develop knowledge gained at school in particular subjects，or to enhance knowledge of other cultures

    In Chicago，we visited the world-famous Art Institute of Chicago．It was filled with paintings，drawings and sculptures by a huge variety of artists，such as Picasso，Monet，Matisse and Dali．

    There was a mixture of traditional and modern art，including colorful stained glass windows and abstract art．

    When we were in Washington D． C． ，we visited a few of the Smithsonian museums．These are all free to visit-which is great if you just want to see a few things，and not spend all day inside．

    The Air and Space Museum was particularly good：it had lots of aircrafts and rockets on display，interesting information and also some interactive parts．We also went to the National U．S．Holocaust（纳粹大屠杀）Memorial Museum．Naturally，it was sad to read about the horrors of this tragedy which affected so many people in World War II．However，it was also incredibly interesting to read the stories of those who survived the Holocaust，as well as those who helped others．

    Last but not least，I also found the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to be of great interest．This museum is dedicated to those who lost their lives，as well as their families，when the Twin Towers in New York City were attacked by terrorists in 2001It tells you how the terrorists planned the attack，how they hijacked the planes，and ultimately what happened as a result of their actions．Surviving pieces of the towers are shown in the museum，alongside damaged fire engines．It was a truly thought-provoking visit，which made me value my own life that little bit more．

    I think museums play an important role in preserving artifacts of historical importance for future generations．Whatever your interests，there is likely to be a museum for you．You can visit waxwork museums to see models of your favorite celebrities（and get photos with the Queen！），science museums for a more hands-on，interactive visit and so much more！Best of all，if you're ever in the UK，many of them are free！

    We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays．There are different customs (习俗) for each festival．

Tan Xiaodong.15．Hong Kong, China

    “It'll be Chinese New Year soon．Before it we'll clean the house and decorate(装饰) it for good luck．Every shop is going to close for a few days and we'll go out a lot to celebrate in the streets．We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center．I love this festival．”

    Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia

    “Australia Day is on 26th January and it's an important holiday here．We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days．My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over．Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there's lots of music and dancing．What fun!”

    Amy, 14, New York, the USA

    “The first Thanksgiving Day was hundreds years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help．It's still a very important day for families to be together．This year we're going to visit my parents and we'll eat a delicious meal of turkey．Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year．”

    The game of telephone is a classic ice breaker and party game. It's easy to set up and a lot of fun to play. You and your friends will try to pick a word or phrase, “pass it on” by whispering(耳语) it to someone next to you, and have fun seeing how much it changed during the game. All you will need to play is a couple of friends, a word or phrase, and a whisper.

Get everyone in place.

    Although the game of telephone is simple to play, you will need to arrange(安排) the players in a way that supports the game. Have everyone stand in either a line or a circle. Players should be spaced far enough apart that they won't overhear the word when it isn't their turn. Proper position is important when playing telephone.

Start the game.

    Choose a person to start the game. Make the person think of a word or give a certain word to him or her. And he or she should whisper it to the person next to them. The pronunciation of the word should sound like many others' as the idea is to see how much it changes by the game's end. Once the word has been told to the next person, they will whisper it to the person next to them.

Continue whispering the word.

    Players continue listening to the word and repeating what they think they heard to the person next to them. This is done until the last person in the line or circle is told the word. Every person should have heard the word or phrase by the end of the game.

See how much the word changed.

    Once the last person hears the word or phrase, they will say what they think they heard out-loud. This is compared to the original word that the game started with. This is the moment when all the players get to learn just how much the word or phrase changed through their “telephone line”.

    The Silk Road is the name of different roads that long ago connected Europe, Africa and Asia. People reached these different places along these roads. Scientists believe people began to travel the Silk Road about 3000 years ago. By the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the world. The Silk Road covered almost 6500 kilometers. It went from Rome to China, which is from the West to the Far East.

    Merchants travelled along the Silk Road to carry silk, of course. They also carried and traded other things like spices (香料), cloth, jewels and gold.

    Along and around these ancient path(小路), have come many fascinating and mysterious stories.

    It is said that Roman soldiers who lost a war travelled through central Asia. They decided to live somewhere near the ancient Chinese villages. Some of these Romans married local Chinese women and the legend of the blond-haired, blue-eyed tribes of China was started.

    Some historians believe that the people of Kashmir were taken away from their country Israel. They were prisoners (俘虏) of war almost 2800 years ago. People say that these people travelled along the Silk Road. They kept their Jewish way of life for a long time.

    During its busiest period, the Silk Road allowed people from many different cultures and countries to meet each other and mix. The Silk Road allowed the sharing of valuable things and new ideas. It included people and trading goods from different areas. All these peoples travelled the Silk Road. And they shared goods, stories, languages, and cultures.

    In modern times, the old Silk Road routes (路线) are still used, but now they are crossed by trains instead of camels and horses. There is even silk route museum in Jiuquan in China. It has over 35, 000 objects from all along the Silk Road. In this way, China protects the history of many countries and peoples.