If feels like every time my mother and I start to have a conversation, it turns into an argument. We talk about something as simple as dinner plans and suddenly, my mother will push the conversation into World War? She'll talk about my lack of a bright future because I don't plan to be a doctor. And much to her disappointment, I don't want to do any job related to science, either. In fact, when I was pushed to say that I planned to major (主修) in English and communications, she nearly had a heart attack.

"Why can't you be like my coworker's son?" she bemoans all the time. Her coworker's son received a four year scholarship and is now earning 70,000 dollars a year as an engineer. I don't know what to answer except that I simply can't be like Mr Perfect as I've called the unnamed coworker's son. I can't be like him. I'm the type of person who loves to help out in the community, write until the sun goes down, and most of all, wants to achieve a career because I love it, not because of fame (名声) or salary.

    I understand why my mother is worried about my future major. I've seen my mother struggle to raise me on her small salary and work long hours. She leaves the house around 6:30 am and usually comes home around 5 pm or even 6 pm. However, I want her to know that by becoming a doctor, it doesn't mean I'll be successful. I'd rather follow my dreams and create my own future.

    Elephants in Uganda are starting to come close to villages near national parks. The big animals are a real danger to people.

    So, the Uganda Wildlife Authority has been giving people new tools to keep the elephants away: vuvuzelas. They are plastic instruments some fans use at sports events.

    The instruments make a loud sound elephants do not like. The animals leave, and no one is harmed. A spokesperson for the Uganda Wildlife Authority says vuvuzelas work because they do not threaten the elephants. That is important because an elephant that feels threatened is more likely to attack. So far, no one has reported an elephant attacking in answer to a vuvuzela.

    Officials and villagers have tried other ways to stop elephants from coming near farms and houses. They have built beehives – houses for flying insects that sting. They have hung ropes covered in spicy oil. They have dug long, deep holes. And they have used guns, called A-K47s.

    An official from the Uganda Wildlife Authority explains that people shoot the gun in the air to scare the elephant. But over time, the elephants have stopped being afraid of the sound of the gun. They only look at the shooter and wave their ears.

    Another official for the Uganda Wildlife Authority, Gessa Simblicious, says one elephant-prevention solution will not work everywhere in Uganda. And one day, elephants may accept the vuvuzela noise, just as they do the sound of the A-K47.

    But right now, vuvuzelas are an effective, non-violent and fun way to deal with a serious problem.

    One of my all time favorite holiday destinations is the Gold Coast. With its beautiful beaches, mountain hinterland and theme parks, the variety from one location to another is fantastic! And it's also important that it's like a playground for my children.

    The Gold Coast certainly offers something for every member of our family. We all love heading down to the beach for an early morning swim or surf. The beaches feature some of the softest golden sand and pumping waves, making them ideal for surfing. Safety is important especially when I'm out with the kids, and I feel better knowing that lifeguards are continually on patrol（巡逻）. The long coast also offer the perfect setting for a leisurely walk at sunset-a favorite activity of mine.

    Then, of course, there's the bargain-hunting in the city's center. For shopping goers there are amazing shopping centers boutiques and the usual chain stores. I always pick up loads of goodies at Pacific Fair.

    The Gold Coast is popular for its theme parks-Sea World, Wamer Bros Movie World and Dream World. The seal and dolphin presentations at Sea World keep both children and adults on the edge of their seats as the sea creatures go through a series of complicated jumps, flips and rolls. It's great entertainment and an educational window to the underwater world for the kids. Our kids also enjoy meeting the characters at Movie World and watching how real movies are made.

    Night-time is equally fun, as we usually set off to find the best local restaurants and cafes. The mix of cultures and influences has given the Gold Coast a wide variety of choices, including modem Australian, Italian, Asian and seafood, although sometimes nothing beats fish and chips!

    A visit to the Gold Coast in the Sunshine State is worthwhile and fun.

    The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California is one of the world's most beautiful bridges. It is also one of the most visited places in the world. Vehicles(车辆)cross the bridge an average of 41 million times each year. More than 1800 hundred million vehicles have used the bridge since it opened more than 70 years ago.

    The bridge was painted "International Orange" because that color went well with the natural surroundings. The color also is easier to see in the heavy fog that often covers the area. But the Golden Gate Bridge was not named for its orange color. It was named for the body of water that it crosses，the Golden Gate Strait.

    The Golden Gate Strait is the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. The Golden Gate Bridge links the city of San Francisco with Marin County, California.

    Planning for the bridge began in the 1920s when the area around San Francisco was growing. People living in the area needed another way to get to the city besides small ferries(渡船).

    Joseph Strauss was the chief engineer for the project. Work began in 1934. Mr. Strauss demanded the strongest safety protections in the history of bridge building. These included the first use of "hard hats" to protect the workers' heads and special glasses to protect their eyes.

    A special safety net was suspended(挂)under the bridge. This net saved the lives of 19 men during the construction. However，11 other workers were killed when they fell from the bridge through the net. Still，this was a new safety record for the time.

    The Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937.It extends 1280 meters across the water. The total length is 2737 meters. It was the largest suspension bridge(吊桥)in the world until 1964.That is when the Verrazano Narrows Bridge opened in New York City. Today，the Golden Gate Bridge is the ninth longest suspension bridge in the world.

    The Bermuda Triangle is an area in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean, near Florida in the USA, where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared mysteriously.

    ①The earliest suggestion of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda area appeared in a September 17, 1950 article. Two years later, published "Sea Mystery at Our Back Door", covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19. Flight 19 alone would be covered again in the April 1962 issue of American Legion magazine. In it, author Allan W. Eckert wrote that the flight leader had been heard saying, "We are entering white water. Nothing seems right. We don't know where we are." In the February 1964, the article "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" argued that Flight 19 and other disappearances were just part of strange events in the area.

    ②Triangle writers have used a number of supernatural ideas to explain the events. One explanation refers to leftover technology from the mysterious lost continent of Atlantis. Some of the Triangle writers related the events to UFOs. This idea was used by Steven Spielberg for his science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in which the lost Flight 19 aircrews were taken by aliens.

    ③But there are also some explanation relating to nature. For example, laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles containing natural gas can sink a large ship by decreasing the density(密度) of the water. Because it has been assumed that the eruption of volcanoes(火山)may produce much natural gas, making large areas of bubbles under sea so that water is no longer able to provide enough supporting power for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without any warning.

    ④Violent weather is likely to be another reason. Powerful storms forming in tropical(热带的)waters have caused thousands of deaths and caused billions of dollars in damage. These storms have in the past caused a number of incidents related to the Triangle.