Do you know something about the holiday camps in Hong Kong? In the past, the students in Hong Kong usually join an English holiday camp in their holidays. And their parents didn't go with them, though they were very young.

    Now they still enjoy joining many kinds of holiday camps without their parents. Many parents let their children join some kinds of holiday camps in order to learn some useful knowledge in the life and also learn some knowledge about living skills, science, reading, writing and so on. The most important thing for the children to join the holiday camps is to learn to look after themselves.

    Holiday camps in Hong Kong are not so expensive. Most families can afford to sent their children there for study or for making their bodies strong.

    It is said that students in Hong Kong have much knowledge about many things. Perhaps it has something to do with all kinds of holiday camps.

Have you ever had lucid (清醒的) dreams? Recent studies suggest that the number of people having them is on the rise. Someone having a lucid dream realizes they are dreaming and may from then on" direct" the action, or they may simply " watch" the dream unfold. The sense of awareness (知道) makes it different from a dream that is simply very lively and true to life. And although the description may seem strange, the process is far from alien to many of us.

Studies suggest that the number of people in the Western world experiencing lucid dreams, which happen once in a while, has risen by between 10 and 40 per cent since the 1980s. Today, they are so common that about one in eight of us will have one in our lives. But still, little is known about what causes them or what is behind the rise.

Research carried out at the respected Harvard University in the US shows that the brain is working hard during lucid dreams. In fact, the level of the mental (精神

的) activity in some parts of the brain is similar to that of a person who is awake. Lucid dreamers seem to share certain personal characters. For example, in general they are quite creative. They are also good at digging deep into problems and going out of their way to solve them. Furthermore, they always believe in personal responsibility rather than letting society carry the can.

Our nightmares (噩梦) may show our waking worries, with the five most common ones-- falling, being run after, feeling disabled, being late and the death of a loved one. Men are more likely to have nightmares about fights or being fired while hair and tooth loss appear more in women's nightmares-perhaps showing worries about losing their looks. Research has also found that women have more nightmares than men. Their dreams are also scarier and more unforgettable.

The Letter That Changed a Life

A letter changed Levi Strauss's life. In 1849 gold was discovered in California. Thousands of people rushed to California in 1 of finding gold and becoming wealthy. The people hoping to find gold were foolish and greedy. One of those who headed for California was Levi Strauss. Strauss was different. Strauss was a clever, hard-working man. He was 2 a new start in life. Up to this time, Strauss had worked for his two brothers in New York City. The brothers sold clothes and blankets and other goods. Strauss planned to set up a 3 business to his brothers' in California.

Over the years, Strauss's business grew. In 1872 he got a letter from one of his customers, a tailor (裁缝) in Nevada. The tailor, Jacob Davis, had an idea for making better work pants. The pockets on work pants often tore. Jacob Davis 4 metal rivets (铆钉) to the pockets. Rivets are pieces of metal used to join things together. The rivets worked well, and the miners liked them. Davis didn't have enough money to get a patent for his invention. He also needed help making the pants. In his 5 Davis said that if they worked together, the two of them ‘‘could make a very large amount of money.''

Strauss could see that riveted work pants were a good idea. He agreed to help Davis. The two decided to make the pants. They decided to use denim cloth because it is a strong cloth that doesn't tear easily and is long lasting. 6 , the riveted denims were called ‘‘dungarees.'' Dungarees is a word from the Hindi language of India that means "rough cloth". Because they were tough and durable, dungarees were worn by thousands of farmers, miners, builders, and other workers. Later, dungarees came to be called "jeans". "Jeans" is a better name for the pants than "dungarees".

①" Class, this is John Evans, " Mrs. Parmele introduced him to us, trying to give him a warm welcome. We saw a boy in old clothes. John looked around and smiled, hoping somebody would smile back. Nobody did. He kept on smiling anyway. I held my breath as Mrs. Parmele looked around the classroom, hoping she wouldn't notice the empty desk next to mine. She did, and pointed him at that desk. He looked over at me as he sat down, but I looked away. 

②By the end of his first week, John was at the bottom of our class. I told my mother one evening at dinner, " He even doesn't know how to count. " However, as I ate lunch with him the next day and listened to him, I realized that it was pleasant to be with him. After lunch, I decided that I would be John's friend. 

③One night, as Mother came into my bedroom, I said, " Mom, tomorrow is John's birthday, and he's not going to get anything. Nobody cares. "" Don't worry, " Mom said as she kissed me goodnight. "I'm sure everything will be fine. "

④I wished John a happy birthday in the morning, and his smile showed me that he was glad I had remembered. By mid- afternoon I had almost decided that birthdays weren't that important. Then, as Mrs. Parmele was writing on the blackboard, I heard a familiar(熟悉的) voice singing the birthday song. I looked up and saw Mother coming through the door with a tray(托盘) of cupcakes and a present in her hand. Mrs. Parmele also joined in. Mother found John looking like a rabbit in car headlights. She put the cupcakes and the gift on John's desk and said, " Happy birthday, John. " John stood there with his mouth open, unable to believe what was happening. While John ha ppily shared his cupcakes with the class, taking the tray from desk to desk, I caught Mother watching me and she smiled. 

⑤John Evans moved away soon, and I never heard from him again. But I always remember the happiness in a boy's eyes, and the taste of the sweetest cupcake. 

Why do you open a school? If you ask Nadia Lopez this question, she would simply answer: to close a prison. Lopez is the founder of Mott Hall Bridges Academy, a public school in Brooklyn.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

To set up the school, Lopez faced many challenges. The greatest challenge was to get in touch with children without hope. At first, Lopez only had 45 kids. She once asked some girls,"{#blank#}2{#/blank#}" The answer was,"I don't know if I'm going to live that long." or"I have a lifelong goal of working in a fast- food restaurant nearby." These students had no idea that there were great chances outside their neighborhood.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} And they have tried their best to keep their students active and hopeful." We call our students‘ scholars (学者)' because they are lifelong learners. I chose the colors purple and black to remind students that they are excellent. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} They can be future engineers, scientists and even leaders who can and will take over this world," Lopez said.

A popular New York blogger heard about the school and wrote a post about it, telling people how the children struggled (挣扎), and why people must make education the most important thing. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} About 1.4 million dollars were raised for the school and its students got to take field trips to colleges and universities.

" Up to now, we have had three graduating classes (毕业班). They have nearly 200 children," said Lopez.

A. The post reached millions of people.

B. Where do you see yourself in five years?

C. It was one of the poorest areas in New York City.

D. Through education, they can have a great future.

E. Luckily, Lopez and her coworkers(同事) didn't give up.

F. Do you want to have lessons at school like kids in other areas?