In the sea there are many islands. In its warm waters there are some little ones. We call them “Coral Islands”.

    A coral island is very nice to look at. It looks like a ring of land with tress, grass, and flowers on it. One part of the ring is open to the water. There is a little round lake inside the island.

    If you look into this lake, you will see beautiful coral. You may think they are flowers.

    If you look at a piece of coral, you will see many little holes in it. In each of these holes a very small sea animal has lived . These sea animals make the coral.

    They began to build under the water. Year after year, the coral grew higher and higher.

    At last it grew out of the water.

    Then the sea brought to it small trees and something else. After some years, these things changed into earth. Sometimes the wind brought seeds to this earth. Sometimes birds flew over it and brought seeds to the island.

    The little seeds grew. In a few years there were plants all over the island. In a few more years there were trees growing there.

    So you see, these islands were built little by little. The workers were very small. Do they not teach us a lesson? Can you think what the lesson is?

    You know that balloons must be kept away from sharp objects. They also needed to be kept away from flames. A fire can weaken the rubber and cause it to break. However, in this experiment you will find out how you can hold a balloon directly in a flame without breaking the balloon.

    Materials needed:

● two round balloons not inflated(充气的)

● several matches

● water

    Inflate one of the balloons and tie it. Place 1/4 cup of water in the other balloon, and then inflate it and tie it. Light a match and hold it under the first balloon. Allow the flame to touch the balloon. What happens? The balloon breaks, perhaps even before the flame touches it. Light another match. Hold it directly under the water in the second balloon. Allow the flame to touch the balloon. What happens to this balloon? It doesn't break.

    Why does the balloon with no water break in the flame? The flame heats the rubber of both balloons. The rubber of the balloon without water becomes so hot that it becomes too weak to resist the pressure of the air inside the balloon. However, when the balloon with water in it is placed in the flame, the water takes in most of the heat from the flame. Then, the rubber of the balloon doesn't become very hot, it doesn't weaken, and the balloon doesn't break.

    Water is a particularly good absorber(吸收者) of heat. It takes a lot of heat to change the temperature of water. On the other hand, when water cools, it gives off a great deal of heat. That's why areas near oceans or other large bodies of water don't get as cold in winter as areas at the same latitude(纬度) further inland.

    Kiss crisis, hug horrors and the UK's handshake headaches

    Greeting someone, saying goodbye — these situations fill me with unease. You have a second to make a dangerous decision. One peck (轻吻)? Two pecks? Three? No kisses at all? Why, I think, as I crash into the other person's face, why can't it be as simple as a handshake?

    A survey by the soap company Redox in May showed one in five Brits now feels a handshake is “too formal”, according to the Daily Mail. Some 42 percent said they never shook hands when greeting friends. For one third of people the alternative was a hug, for 16 percent a kiss on the cheek.

    British people are known to be reserved (保守的) — unfriendly, some would say. Handshakes used to work for us because we didn't have to get too close. But the super-British handshake is no longer fashionable. We want to be more like our easygoing Mediterranean neighbors who greet each other with kisses and hugs.

    The trouble is, we still find it a bit awkward. What does a married man do when greeting a married female friend, for example? How should someone younger greet someone older?

    Guys don't tend to kiss one another; my male friends in Britain go for the “manly hug”, taking each other stiffly (不自然地) in one arm and giving a few thumps on the back with words like “Take it easy, yeah?”.

    The biggest questions, if you do decide to kiss, are how many times and which cheek first. Unlike the French, who comfortably deliver three, our cheek-pecks usually end in embarrassed giggling (咯咯笑): “Oh, gosh, sorry, I didn't mean to kiss you on the lips, I never know where to aim for first!”

    But then it's never been easy for us poor, uncomfortable Brits. Even the handshake had its problems: don't shake too hard, but don't hold the other person's hand too limply (无力地) either, and definitely don't go in with sweaty hands.

    Maybe it's better to leave it at a smile and a nod. 

    Why does time seem to fly by faster as we get old? You've got your aging brain to blame. This is likely due largely to the physical changes of our nerves and neurons (神经元). New research suggests 'rapid fire' abilities of the young brain allow us to process more information during youth, causing the days to seem longer earlier in life. However, as we get old, researchers say the older brain takes more time to process information.

    The new finding put forward by a Duke University researcher was published in a paper in the journal European Review this week According to Adrian Bejan, the J. A Jones Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Duke, the physical changes of our nerves and neurons play, a major role in our perception (知觉) of time as we get old. Over the years these structures become more complex and eventually begin to degrade.

    "Little babies, for example, move their eyes much more often than adults because they're processing images at a faster rate," Beian says, For older people, this means fewer images are being processed in the same amount of time, causing experiences to seem as though they're happening more quickly.

    My family and I never talked about school as the ticket to a future. I was in the classrooms, but I wasn't there to learn to write, read or even speak. When it was my turn to read, I wanted to hide. I was 13 years old, but I already hated being who I was.

    I had an English teacher, Mr. Creech, who knew I couldn't read. In one of my first lessons the teacher said that anyone who had a reading age below six had to stand up. I felt so embarrassed. But at the same time, it made me realize that I needed to change the situation. I was determined it wouldn't happen again. Later that day, Mr. Creech encouraged me and promised he would try his best to help me learn to read. From then on, I never gave up practicing reading.

    Now I was 41 years old. One day, I planned to fly back to Texas to visit my friends and family. On my way from the airport, I saw Mr. Creech buying himself a drink. I rushed over and reached into my pocket to pay for him.” Do I know you?” he asked.” Yes, sir, you do know me,” I answered excitedly.” My name is Anthony Hamilton. You taught me English.” The look on his face told me that he remembered the boy he'd once encouraged.

    "I'm so glad I had a chance to see you," I said. "And Mr. Creech, I have great news to share." I told him I had learned to read. But that wasn't all. I had become a published author and an active speaker." The next time you get another Anthony Hamilton in your classroom, please encourage him to read as well." I added.

    The experts say what once worried me has a name: dyslexia(诵读困难症). But I can tell you it was a lack of desire for education.