Sometimes we meet people who change us. They bring magic(魔法) into our lives. Bridge to Terabithia (《通往特雷比西亚的桥》), the latest movie from Walt Disney, tells us such a story.

    Jess Aarons is a different kind of kid. He doesn't have too many friends in school. He is distant (疏远的) from his family as well. Jess wants to be the fastest runner in his school. He spends all of his time training for a race.

    But something strange happens. He's beaten, not by a boy but by a girl! As you might think, his pride is hurt.

    You wouldn't think Jess, and the girl, Leslie, would become friends. But the two kids open up to each other. Leslie shares her love of magic with Jess. Jess loves drawing. But before meeting Leslie he's never told anyone about it.

    Together they discover a secret world. They get to it by using a rope to swing across a river. There they fight against their enemies, from the Dark Master to school bullies (欺负弱小者).

    Can the kids beat their enemies? See the film and find it out for yourself.

    Many students think that learning a new language is very difficult. But if your brain (大脑) is only the same size as a bird's, you will know how difficult it is to learn English. That is what some birds can do.

Many birds can copy (模仿) the sounds of language. A type of African parrot is very good at doing this. This kind of parrot has grey feathers and people say they are clever.

Every December in London, the National Cage and Aviary Bird Show tries to find the best "talking" bird in the world. One bird named Prudle stood out (突出) among the " talking birds"  by winning this prize every year from 1965 to 1977. In 1958, somebody took Prudle from his nest in Uganda, and then sold it to a woman named Iris Frost. She then took care of him at her home in Seaford, England. Before he died in 1994, aged 35, Prudle knew almost 800 words in English. Prudle was also the oldest bird in the world that lived in a cage.

Another parrot named Puck was tested in 1993. It turned out that Puck knew even more words than Prudle. Puck knew more than 1,700 English words. In the 2003 Guinness Book of World Records, Puck was listed as knowing more words than any other bird in the world.

Chopsticks are a pair of small equal-length sticks, usually made of wood, used for eating Asian food. Chopsticks are mainly used in China. And it is believed that the first chopsticks were developed in China. Chopsticks play an important role in Chinese food culture. Chinese chopsticks are usually 9 to 10 inches long. They are round on the eating end which means heaven (天), and the other end is square which means earth. The appearance of chopsticks said goodbye to those days when our Chinese ancestors(祖先)had to use their hands to eat.      

Besides, the use of chopsticks has also been a part of Chinese food culture. There are some taboos that you must pay great attention to when you use chopsticks. Firstly, don't use them to hit your bowl or plate. Secondly, never use them to point at others. Thirdly, don't put them in different food without taking something. Fourthly, don't cross the chopsticks on the table. And lastly, don't leave your chopsticks standing in the rice. Chinese people do this only when they honor (尊重) the dead.

Nowadays, chopsticks have many new usages. For example, you can buy a pair as a gift to your friends and relatives. In Chinese, it reads "筷子", which means having sons soon, so a newly-married couple will be very happy to accept it as their wedding gift.

As the weather gets warmer，there are few things that are better to do than travel．But traveling might not be that fun for everyone，especially for those who have motion sickness（晕动症）．

Motion sickness is also called travel sickness．It is a common experience for many people．Depending on how you travel，it can be called carsickness or seasickness．People with motion sickness feel very uncomfortable while they are in motion．They feel sick and dizzy，like the room around them won't stop spinning．

It is generally believed that motion sickness happens when your senses become confused （困惑的）with each other，Scientific American reported．

We use different parts of our body to sense movement．Our eyes tell us if we are moving．The inner ears （内耳） contain a special liquid that helps us sense our direction and balance．Our muscles react to movement．

When you move around，these body parts work well together．But when you are in a car or an airplane，they get confused．Your inner ear signals that you're moving．This mismatch gives us motion sickness．

But some people are less sensitive to motion sickness．This may be because they have certain genes （基因） that prevent mismatching senses，Bethann Hromatka，told the Atlantic．

Although there are many ways to deal with motion sickness，scientists believe that the key is to simply try to adapt to it．For example，some astronauts do special exercises that give them mild motion sickness．After a week or two，the astronauts become used to it and don't feel uncomfortable anymore，a NASA flight doctor，told the BBC．

Knowing the City by Walking

From July 2022 to July 2023, city walkers in China together covered over 320,000 kilometers. That's like circling Earth 8 times.