It was Day 1 of our vacation on Cortes, a beautiful quiet island. "iPhone, iPhone, iPhone," my son kept moaning (呻吟). In front of him was a big window of facing the blue ocean. And a Coo gentle wind was coming in from the door. Clearly, he saw and felt none of it.

    Back at home, I'd soon give up and hand the phone over to him after five minutes of listening to this kind of moaning

    But not here. Before we left, I had told my, 10-year-old son the rule-no e-mails, no Facebook, no video games, and no iPhone. We came here to get away from them all' Here we were on our first day and already, he couldn't stand it.

    ____________I walked down the grass road to the beach and looked out to the sea. My 6-year-old daughter and my husband were drawing on pieces of wood. They were doing just fine.

    On Day 2, we spent the whole morning digging for shells(贝壳). This time, my son joined us. He collected .shellfish and other sea treasures. When we got back to our little wood house, I gave my son a book, and put him on the lovely garden chair. It was almost dinner when he looked up.

    The next few days passed in peace.

    On Day 6, my son was lying beside me on the beach, watching the sun going down. He was playing with the sand. And there was somethingshining.in his eyes, I realized how time slowed down for both of us. It was exactly what I wanted. Finally, we were able to sit quietly, without thinking about screens, phone calls and e-mails.

    A week away from all the electronics and life is good.

Edward's Travel Tips

What kind of place do you usually choose to stay for the night during a trip? Expensive hotels that may make you feel like you don't get what you pay for? Or cheap hotels that put you  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}five strangers in the same bedroom? If both  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(choice) sound terrible to you, here's something new: holiday apartments.

In a holiday apartment, you have more space than what  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}hotel room can give you. Everything in the apartment   {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(be) free to use. The living room, the kitchen, the study, and of course the bedrooms are all for 

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (you) own use. Some apartments even have a  {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(true) lovely garden or a game room. You'll feel at home in the holiday apartment. One of  {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(good) things is, a holiday apartment is not expensive. The price  {#blank#}8{#/blank#}a holiday apartment for two people is often lower than that of a hotel room for two. You only need  {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(pay) a little more for a third or fourth person.  {#blank#}10{#/blank#}you travel with friends or your family, a holiday apartment will be a good choice!

Do you feel lonely when your best friend isn't around? Here's our advice to you—and to all kinds who feel lonely sometimes. 

It's hard when a best friend isn't around—maybe because he or she moved to a different school or a different class. You may feelleft out during break（间歇）or lunchtime. You want to make new friends, but how do you find them? Maybe it seems like everybody else already has his or her own friends. But remember, there's always room for more friends. 

Start by looking around your classroom—think about which kids you'd like to play with during break. Look for chances（机会）to say hi to them, smile, and be friendly. Offer（主动提出）to share something or express（表达）your appreciation（欣赏）to them. Invite someone to play with you or say "Do you want to sit here?" in the lunchroom. When you're at break, walk over to kids you want to play with, act（举止）friendly, and say "Hi, may I join you?" or just join in. 

If you have trouble（问题）doing this or if you're feeling shy, ask your teacher to help you make new friends. Teachers are usually pretty good at matching（相配）people up. The best way to make friends is to be a friend. Being kind, being friendly, sharing, saying nice things, offering help—pretty soon, you'll have one, or two, or even more new friends. 

You might still miss that special best friend. But when you see each other again, you can share something you didn't have before he or she left: You can introduce him or her to your new friends!

Imagine a perfect day: the weather is good and everything seems fine. When, suddenly, your mobile phone loses its signal, the television has no programmes, and you can't get online with your computer.

What has happened? These are just the types of problems a solar storm（太阳风暴）might cause. You may not think of storms as putting our society in danger. But today, a solar storm is as serious as other bad events, such as earthquakes.

A solar storm is caused by solar flares（太阳耀斑）: large explosions（爆炸）near the Sun that can give off lots of energy. The strong energy can stop the satellite systems（卫星系统）that control our computers, telecom networks and so on. These storms can even cause the power to go out for weeks or months.

Scientists have recorded some of the strongest sun flares in years. One happened around Valentine's Day, 2011. It caused radio and satellite signals to go down in some northern cities in China.

"Solar flare activity is going to be much worse than what we've seen in the past. We're not talking about a few cities losing power, it could behalf of the country, maybe more," Solar Storm Warning.com, a US website about space weather, warned.

Scientists say that little can be done to predict such a storm. Governments around the world are trying to work together before the next storm, although they are not sure when that may happen.

 Do you know about the Color Run? Some people say it's the happiest running experience in the world. The sport is a 5- km run where everyone throws colored dust(粉末) at each other. The sport is very popular in the US and it's getting more popular in China, too.

 The sport is similar to an Indian holiday called Holi. The holiday came from stories about good beating evil(邪恶), but today it's about having fun. Everyone throws colored dust at each other and shouts" Happy Holi".

 The Color Run doesn't have a time limit(限制), and there are no winners or prizes. The only rule is that runners have to start the race wearing all white. They want everyone to forget about competition and just enjoy the experience.

 During the race, after every kilometer, there are people holding colored dust who will splash (泼洒) you with it. By the end of the race, the runners will be covered with all the colors.

Do you know how to celebrate (庆祝) a birthday in the UK? People usually have dinner at a nice restaurant. If it is your birthday, you can choose the food and drinks you want.

Going to an amusement park (游乐场) for your birthday is also popular. There are many things to ride on, such as the roller coaster(过山车)and the big wheel (摩天轮). You can invite your friends to go with you. Of course, your parents will pay all the cost.

If the weather is nice and you have enough time, you can have a garden party. People usually play interesting games in the garden. For example, you can use a black cloth to cover your eyes, so you cannot see anything. Then you should use your ears to find and catch the other people.