The “babies” tend to be on or near me, or crying, or both. I spend a fair amount of time trying to get William to sleep, to get Elliott to get involved in something that will actually keep him happy for a little while, or to get William to play on the floor for 10 minutes straight so that I can get something done. But, a lot of days, it seems like I'm not succeeding in any of those efforts.

    So, yesterday, a friend of mine posted a picture on Facebook. This particular friend has a baby who is about a month younger than William. The picture was of the baby, who had made his way across the floor to the toys housed along the side of the room. I just kept looking at that picture and thinking that if only William had some different toys to play with, perhaps he would stay occupied a bit longer at a stretch. But William seems so bored with all of his toys! And I am so ready for him to be ready to play. In order to find a way to make him playing longer, I kept looking at that picture. Suddenly, I realized my sons need to play closer to me.

    So I cleared off the cubby(围起来的)shelves in the playroom, and my husband and I moved it to the living room. We found all of the toys that would be safe for William and put them in the cubbies. Then, we pulled the play kitchen in.

    William was so interested in what I was doing that he sat there and played and chewed on his toys while we moved furniture. When we were done, I moved him over closer to the cubbies and he got so excited that he didn't disturb for an hour, while I made dinner and cleaned up! Even Elliott played happily for a few hours. It was a dream come true! And I got to know that my lack of happy children was because of my desire for a toy—free living room.

    Australia is a big country, but it is easy to get around. The untouched beaches that go for miles and deserts that touch the horizon(地平线) are just there, waiting to be reached and explored. You can explore the big country in different ways.

Air

    Flying is the best way to cover large distances in a short time. You can spend more time on the Australia's landscapes(陆地风光) and relaxing lifestyle. Moreover, competition among airlines makes great flying fees available for you.

Drive

    Australia has a big network of well-kept roads and some of the most beautiful touring routes in the world. You have no trouble finding car rental companies at major airports, central city and suburbs(怒火).

Bus

    Bus travel in Australia is comfortable, easy and cheap. Buses generally have air conditioning, reading lights, adjustable(可凋) seats and videos. Services are good for everyone, frequent.

Rail

    Train travel is the cheapest and gives you an insight into Australia's size, all from the comfort of your carriage. Scheduled services are a great way to get quickly between our cities and regional centers.

Ferry(轮渡)

    The Spirit of Tasmania runs a passenger and vehicle ferry service between Melbourne and Tasmania nightly. Extra services are running during summer rush hours. Sea-link ferries connect South Australia and Kangaroo Island several times a day. Ferries connect suburbs in our capital cities.

    Besides all of above, you can also experience some of the longest tracks and trails in the world in central Australia-impressive journeys of a thousand kilometers or more that can take several weeks to complete.

    A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher emphasized (强调) the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.

    One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished. Gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, he said, “You don't say!” “You don't say!” I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not an appropriate topic (适当的话题). “Well, I'd better change the topic.” So I said to him. “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall？ By the way, have you ever been there？” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was magnificent.” He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide. “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very proud of it..” Soon I was interrupted again by his words: “You don't say!” I couldn't help asking, "Why do you ask me not to talk about it？" "Well, I didn't request you to do so, " he answered, greatly surprised. I said, "Didn't you say' you don't say？”Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, “'You don't say' actually means 'really!' It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don't pay attention to English idioms.” Only then did I know I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions. Remember: what the English teachers said is always right to us students.

    The pupils of Grangetown High have been busy getting to know their newest and tallest classmate — a 7-meter-tall giraffe outside their school.

    The giraffe is a huge sculpture (雕像). The school's headmaster noticed it in an artist's garden as he drove past one day, and thought it would be perfect for his school. “I knew everyone would love it,” he said, “because our basketball team is known as the Grangetown Giraffes, and they wear giraffes on their shirts. So I asked them to write to the artist, asking how much it would cost to buy the giraffe. He was very kind and got it ready to deliver (递送) in six weeks — all for nothing! It was expected to arrive one Sunday morning, so that the pupils would see it when they got to school on Monday — at that time they had no idea that we were getting it.”

    The artist, Tom Bennett 9 was a university professor of chemistry before he retired in 2012 and only took up metalwork a couple of years ago. “I've always drawn pictures,” he said. 441 can even remember doing it on my first day at school — I drew a horse. I wanted it to be the best horse picture ever, but I don't think I succeeded.” Tom's first metalwork was a bicycle on which he and his wife could go cycling together, “It was the most uncomfortable bike ever created,” he said, “so I gave up making bicycles and went into sculpture instead.”

    Meanwhile the pupils at Grangetown High are very happy with their new classmate. “We're going to hold a competition to give it a proper name,” said one girl. “Everyone likes the expression on its face, so perhaps that will give us some ideas.”

    My son was a second-grader. He went to school by bus every day. He was the first student on in the morning, as we were farthest from school, and the last student off in the evening. I was a teacher myself and it was a comfort to realize the school staff (职员) were all working as hard as I was to provide a safe learning environment.

    One day I came home from work and waited for my s on to get home for a long time. Then I called the school. “Perhaps he's just a bit late,” said the secretary. “I will call the driver to see if those children are home.” A few minutes later, I answered the phone to hear that the other students were home. Then I called his friends' parents, to see if perhaps he had gotten off at their stop to play. The answers were all “No.”

    By that time, it was dark and I was scared. My home was in the mountain areas, and it was said that a wolf had come up somewhere. My husband wasn't at home, so I forced myself to calm down and decided to go out to look for him. I was about to go out when the telephone rang; it was from the driver. “He's okay,” I heard. “He was asleep on the seats in the back, under a couple of jackets. Since it's dark, can he spend the night with my family?”

    I was relieved and agreed. Since my son had a great adventure, the school started giving a copy of the list to the driver, so he could check off the children's names when they got off the bus. I think highly of the school for taking the cautionary (警戒的) step ahead; it is a sign of their concern for students, parents, and staff.

    Oil is essential for modern life. About 64 percent of the world's oil is located in the Middle East, but the heaviest consumers of oil are Europe, America, and Japan. The problem lies in getting the oil from the countries that produce it to the countries that consume it. This is mainly done using oil tankers. Usually the oil is shipped safely and with no problems, but occasionally there is a disaster.

    Every year millions of tons of oil are spilled into the ocean. Although this is only a small percentage of the total amount shipped around the world each year, this spilled oil can have terrible effects on ocean life, including the coastlines where the oil washes up onto shore.

    One of the worst oil spills in history occurred along the Alaskan coastline in 1989, when the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground off the coast of Alaska, spilling 42 million liters of oil. Although it wasn't the largest oil spill, the disaster was terrible because it occurred in such a sensitive natural area. In this spill, the tanker's captain, who was tired from overwork and drinking alcohol, had gone to take a rest. He gave control of the ship to another sailor, who was unfamiliar with the route. The ship ran onto Bligh Reef. Damaged by the reef, the ship leaked oil out into the ocean. More than 1,600 kilometers of coastline were affected by the oil spill. Many birds and otters died as a result of the oil covering their skin, and many other sea creatures and the animals that fed on them were also severely affected.