Have you ever ridden a Ferris wheel lately? Can you imagine the flying feeling as you are pulled up to the top and then moved down to the bottom quickly again?

    Today a Ferris wheel is usually 40 to 60 feet tall. That seems very high when you are on the top looking down. But the first Ferris wheel was 264 feet high- taller than a twenty-story building! Can you imagine the view from the top of that?

    The first Ferris wheel was built for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The people who planned the fair were looking for an attraction that would bring people to Chicago. George Ferris handed a drawing of a giant wheel that people could ride on. At first everyone laughed at his strange idea. But Mr Ferris did not give up, and finally the idea was accepted. The ride opened in June of 1893.

    Today's Ferris wheels have 12 to 16 seats, which each carry 2 or 3 people. But that first one had 36 enclosed cars, each holding 60 passengers. When filled, it carried 2,160 people. During that summer in Chicago, about 1.5 million people rode the Ferris wheel.

After the fair, the ride was moved to a nearby amusement park built especially to show off the wheel. In 1904, it was moved again一to St. Louis for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. After the fair there, the wheel stood unused. In 1906, it was finally sold to a company for scrap metal(废金属).

    Luckily a Chicago bridge builder, W.E. Sullivan, figured out how to make a smaller Ferris wheel that could easily be taken apart and put together. In 1906, he started the company that still makes many of the Ferris wheels used today.

    But, whenever you ride one, remember that it all began with George Ferris's strange idea!

Students at Sanhe Township Primary School enjoy playing soccer. It is art important part of their school life. Every student at the school. has a soccer lesson once a week. Students of all age groups play soccer matches every month. 

The school is in the mountains and has poor teaching resources. Most of its students are left-behind children, and very few of them can go to high school or university. To help students have a good future, ten years ago, Sun Xiaoming, the headteacher of the school, set up a girls' soccer team. He picked 20 girls from the fourth and fifth grades and offered them free training, clothing and meals at school. 

Primary school students are short and thin, so it's difficult for them to play basketball or volleyball. But soccer is different. It is cheap and easy to learn. Students can play it by a team on the playground, or practice it alone at home. For these reasons, soccer is the perfect choice for the students. 

The students really love soccer. They keep practicing every day. Many of them play it well. Some of them get into great middle or high schools. Some of them make it into soccer clubs and become professional players. 

Soccer is not just a simple sport. More importantly, it means a chance to help those students get out of the mountains and live a better life. 

Once upon a time, there was a king. He always worried about what might happen, the future. One day, the king noticed a cobbler（修鞋匠）. Although he wore ragged（破旧的）clothes, he was very happy. Why could he smile so brightly? The king decided to find out the reason. 

The next day, the king dressed in rags and followed the cobbler home. 

"Please, sir, can you give some food to me?" asked the king. 

"Of course," said the cobbler. 

"Why are you so happy?"

"Today I made enough money by repairing shoes to buy the bread."

"But what will happen if you don't make enough money for food tomorrow?"

"I have confidence. Everything will be fine."

This touched the king. But he wondered what would happen if the cobbler couldn't make enough money. So the next day, the king didn't allow anyone to repair shoes. The cobbler didn't know why, but he wasn't sad. Whenhe saw some villagers trying to carry water home, he helped them and got a little money from them. 

That evening the king went to the coobler's house again. The cobbler was having soup and smiling. 

"How could you pay for the food today?" asked the king. 

"I made money by helping the villagers carry water," said the cobbler. "But what will you do tomorrow?"

"I have confidence. Everything will be fine."

"Your confidence has driven away my fear about the future. Thank you." said the king. 

Double Ninth Festival (重阳节) 2023

Come and have fun with us!

Time: October 23, 1:00 p.m.— 8:00 p.m.

Place: The Youth Park

Things for sale: Chongyang cakes, fruit and drinks

Class: Free cake-making class (call Miss Miller at 4820 2217 to book (预订) a place)

Activities:

1:00 p.m.—4:00 p.m. Mountain Climbing

5:00 p.m.—6:00 p.m. Talk Show

6:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m. Games between the young and old

7:00 p.m.—8:00 p.m. Fire Dragon Dance

Ticket prices:

·$10 for adults (成年人)

·Half price for children under 12

·Free for people over 65

For more information, please visit www.doubleninth2023.com.