Every year, when the Nobel Prize winner list is made public, there are some certain winners who are labeled as unexpected and surprised. This year, as an American musician, Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Undoubtedly, he made full expressions of that label as he is the first musician winning this prize.

On the contrary, the modern Japanese writer Murakami Haruki felt sad again even though there is strong support for him. As a favorite candidate(候选人), Murakami Haruki just narrowly missed the Nobel Prize again. Luckily, he is very positive—- readers are the most important and it doesn't matter whether winning a prize or not.

And Nobel Prize awards the words(授予颁奖词) for Bob Dylan—-for having created new poetic expressions in the great American song tradition.

    Up to now, Bob has released more than 30 albums. And he has won many other awards such as Oscar Award, Golden Globe Award, Pulitzer Prize and so on. Moreover, he is still a painter and poet.

Lately, the rumors(谣言)flew that Bob refused to accept the Nobel Prize in literature. But Bob doesn't officially respond on this matter. However, there is still time before the final Nobel Prize awarding day in December. No matter whether Bob will accept the prize or not, his music has already influenced many people across the globe!

    Gregg's dream was to travel around the Americas(美洲). He got the idea after he finished a long bike ride. Gregg's friend, Brooks, also liked riding a bike. The two friends talked and made a plan，they would travel from Alaska to Argentina by bike.

    To pay for the trip, Gregg and Brooks worked to save money for a long time. When they were on the road, they often camped outdoors and ate cheaply. In many places, local people opened their doors to the two friends and gave them food.

    On their way, there were deserts, rainforests and mountains. They visited modern cities and ancient ruins. And they made many friends from all over the world.

    Two years later, Gregg finally reached Ushuaia, Argentina in May 2007. (Near Guatemala, Brooks had to go back and Gregg continued without him.)

They both learned a lot about traveling. Here are some of Gregg's suggestions.

Travel light. You shouldn't carry many things with you.

    Be flexible(灵活的)• Don't plan everything. Then you'll be more relaxed and pleased. Be polite. One traveler told Gregg, "Nobody wants to cheat a nice man." It's true.

    Andi Davise, 49, regularly crossed the trail through the Phoenix Mountains Preserve with a few other hikers before sunrise. This morning, however, she met nobody and heard only the sounds of animals.

    Some time later, Andi got to the steep slope(陡坡), she climbed up to the top by using her hands. When she finally reached the top, she noticed a dark shape several inches from her left foot. She was frightened and then looked carefully. "It's a dog and it's dead." she said to herself. It took her a few seconds to realize that the dog's eyes were open. A thin, dirty bull dog was looking at her.

    She greeted in a low and soft voice to show she was friendly. The bull dog shook when he heard her voice.

    Andi inched closer and dropped some water into the dog's mouth. He tried to stand up but failed. Something was wrong with his left front leg. Andi pulled out her phone to contact her husband, Jason, but he didn't respond. She knew that if she didn't carry the dog down the mountain, he would die.

She carefully put her arms under the dog's body. He was so weak that he fell into her chest.

    Andi had great trouble going down the steep, rocky mountainside with the 50-pound animal in her arms. Even her arms and back started aching, she didn't give up. The trip up had taken 30 minutes while going back down took twice that.

    Andi's husband received her messages at last. He and their son, Justin, jumped into the car and drove to pick up Andi.

Later that morning, an X-ray showed that the bull dog was badly hurt, he was likely to lose his left leg.

    A few days later, the Davises returned to the animal hospital. "The first thing he did was to give me a kiss, then he went right to my son." Andi said. They named the dog Elijah and brought him home that day.

    Once upon a time, the colors in the world started to argue. All thought they were the most important and useful.

    Green said, "I'm the symbol of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Look around and you will see me everywhere."

    Blue followed, "You only consider the earth, but look at the sky and the sea."

    Yellow smiled, "I bring hope and warmth into the world. Look at the color of the sun and the moon."

    Orange continued, "I'm the color of joy. My beauty is so fantastic that no one can think of you at sunrise or sunset."

    Red shouted out, "I'm the ruler of you. I'm the color of life and live. So nobody can take my place." Purple stood up, "I'm the color of power. People never question me! They just listen and follow."

    Finally, indigo(靛青色) spoke slowly. "I stand for thought and reflection(反省).Yet all of you just need them."

    Suddenly, the sky became dark and rain started to pour down. The colors all gathered(聚集) in fear. Rain began to speak, "Join hands and come to me."

    The colors did as they were told. Rain added, "Don't you know you each are made for a certain purpose? When it rains, appear together to show that you can all live in peace. The rainbow(彩虹) is the color of your friendship."

Tom, Jim and Ted are cousins. They study in different schools. They usually go to the countryside to see their grandparents on weekends. 

Their grandparents have a farm. Every weekend, Tom, Jim and Ted go to the farm to see their grandparents by bike. They meet at Tom's home on Saturday morning and start at 2:00 in the afternoon. They take a lot of food and drinks such as bread, water, eggs, bananas and so on. 

After three hours, they get to their grandparents' farm. Their grandparents are happy. On Sunday, Tom, Jim and Ted help with the farm work in the morning. They keep the chickens and water the vegetables. At noon, their grandmother always cooks fish and many vegetables for them. She cooks well. Jim didn't like vegetables in the past (在过去). But now, those vegetables are so nice and he likes them a lot. In the afternoon, their grandfather teaches them to fly kites. Their kites fly high. What an interesting country life! They all have a wonderful weekend.