It's a white Christmas in the United States today, with snow falling from Seattle to Maine.

    Northeast

    Biting winds with snow swept the Northeast.

    Earlier, up to 15 inches of snow fell during a snow storm in Maine, while up to one foot fell in New Hampshire. Winds reached 76 mph on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, while up to 61 mph winds tore through Long Island, New York. Falling snow collected on the runways at Boston's Logan International Airport, causing temporary flight delays.

    The wind was so severe in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that the annual (重演) of George Washington and his soldiers'crossing the Delaware River was canceled, the Washington Crossing Historic Park told ABC News.

    Midwest

    Heavy lake effect snow fell in western Michigan.

    The National Weather Service has issued a wind-chill warning and advisory (公告) from Montana to Michigan. Bitter cold air in the Midwest produced wind chills Monday morning as low as minus 48 degrees in North Dakota and minus 47 in northern Minnesota.

    As this bitter cold made its way east overnight, it was expected to move over relatively mild Great Lakes, producing intense lake-effect snow bands capabie of producing 2 to 4 inches of snow in an hour.

    West Coast

    That storm system moved overnight through the Rockies, bringing more snow and the threat of avalanches(雪崩). The National Weather Service has issued an avalanche warning for the Wasatch Range Mountains outside Salt Lake City.

    Wrist watches are regarded as a tool to tell the time. At first, watches were created as women's decorative bracelets (手镯). At the same time, men used pocket watches. The first men's wrist watch was available in 1904. A pilot called Alberto Santos-Dumont personally asked a watchmaker to create a wrist watch to use on flights. Soon after that, men's wrist watches were available on the market. Since then, watches have been considered fashionable accessories for men, and watchmakers have started to make men's fashion watches.

    At present, watches are not indispensable to tell the time for most people have cell phones which have watch functions. But a new market has been created for wrist watches, which are not only used to tell the time, but also as important fashion statement pieces.

    Generally speaking, watches for formal occasions are beautifully made and more like pieces of jewelry than watches. Men's watches for informal and semi-formal events include simple, slim designs and large-and-thick-sized styles. Nowadays, men usually don't follow any specific style of dress for watches, and the luxury brands of the expensive and strongly made sports watches have made them believe that they look more stylish because of their high prices. Some of the fashion watches have a diamond and some others are completely decorated with precious stones such as diamonds.

    Men's watches also have many advanced functions. For example, the dual-time watches for travelers make them know the time in most other countries as well as the time in their home if they are abroad.

In a word, a men's watch is one of the few accessories for men's cupboard. Men can choose their most suitable watches to go with their personal taste.

    Every morning my father buys a newspaper on his way to work. Every evening my mother looks through magazines at home. And every night, I look at the posters with photos of David Beckham and Yao Ming on my bedroom wall before I go to sleep. Can we imagine life without paper or print?

    Paper was first created about 2,000 years ago, and has been made from silk, cotton, bamboo, and, since the 19th century, from wood. People learned to write words on paper to make a book. But in those days, books could only be produced one at a time by hand. As a result, they were expensive and rare. And because there weren't many books, few people learned to read.

    Then printing was invented in China. When printing was developed greatly at the beginning of the 11th century, books could be produced more quickly and cheaply. As a result, more people learned to read. After that, knowledge and ideas spread quickly.

    Today information can be received online, downloaded from the Internet rather than found in books, and information can be kept on CD-ROMs or machines such as MP3 players.

    Computers are already used in classrooms, and newspapers and magazines can already be read online. So will books be replaced by computers one day? No, I don't think the Yao Ming poster on my bedroom wall will ever be replaced by a computer two metres high!

    Have you ever had one of those days when all you wanted to do was read an emotionally powerful story that would cause you to tears? Most of us tend to be attracted by stories that reach us on multiple levels, including sadness. There are plenty of books that make you cry (and sometimes laugh) and that you can really sink your teeth into. Here are four of them.

    ⒈The Kite Runner

    This realistic and moving description of life in Afghanistan accounts for the people who were badly affected by the Taliban. You'll cry as you get to know the familial relationships and cruelty involved, but you'll also get a sense of hope as you quickly read through this appealing novel.

    ⒉The Book Thief

    Let's put it this way: Death itself is the narrator. The story is about a young girl named Liesel who has to live with foster parents during World War II. On the way to her new home, her brother dies, setting the gloomy tone for the story. There is hope, however, when Liesel discovers her love for reading and makes a relationship with a young Jewish man she helps hide from the Nazis.

    ⒊The Fault in Our Stars

    This is probably the most likely book on the list to make you cry, as it records the experiences of teens who are dying from cancer and living their last days in love. Their lifestyle is tragic and disturbing at the same time, as we watch their health worsen. The real tragedy is the love story between the main characters, who know that their romance is fruitless.

    ⒋A Child Called “It”

    Easily one of the saddest stories of abuse in recent decades, A Child Called It is based on the true story of Dave Pelzer, a boy from California who suffered at the hands of his cruel family. The tears will come from both sadness and the inspiration tied to Dave's fight for survival in an environment where he is believed worthless.

    Nowadays, top performing sportsmen earn huge amount of money as compared to people in other professions. Some people consider it a rational approach. However, there are a few who think it is unjustifiable.

    Some people think sports professionals with outstanding performance should be overpaid as it is a short-lived career which requires rigorous hard work as compared to other professions. This field demands a strict, disciplined life with extensive physical efforts, consistent practice, a fixed diet schedule to bring pride and glory to the country. Due to such tough requirements, people in this field have an average career span of 10-15 years. As sports professionals have limited tenure, they should be rewarded with high monetary gains to acknowledge their excellent performance.

    However, there are a few who think that top performing sportsmen and women should not have high salaries as it is a biased approach. They feel that there are other critical professions which are more valuable to the country as compared to the sports field. For example, the professions, like doctors, social worker, works for the betterment of the society. Their efforts not only help to reduce the social issues prevailing in the community, but they also contribute in providing a healthy environment. As a result, they significantly contribute to the growth of the country. Henceforth, their efforts should be equally recognized along with the sports professionals.

    In my opinion, although there are some logical reasons for huge earnings of the top performing players, people from other professions should also be equally appreciated in terms of lucrative monetary benefits for their outstanding contribution. As all the professions are critical in their own field and contributes to the overall development of the country.

    To conclude, sports people delivering excellent performance should not be overpaid in comparison to other professionals who make a significant contribution to the society.

    The man goes quietly into the room. He stands over the bed where his three-day-old son is lying and begins to speak to him.

    "My son, I have dreamt of you for many, many years. I had your name picked out even before you were born because I knew that I wanted you. Every time I thought of you I would have a smile on my face. Gabriel. You always gave me joy."

    "I really hope we have a great relationship, where you can talk to me about anything and not be embarrassed. Most of the time it will seem like I am too old to understand, but I'm sure you will see that, as I did with my father, my advice is some of the best you will get."

    "I am sorry for the misunderstandings (误会) we will have, but you will understand I spent my whole life waiting for you. You are my son, so I am not going to sit back and watch you hurt yourself. You are very important to me."

    The man stops and looks at his son. Then he begins to sob (呜咽).

    "Sorry my dear, I'm crying because something bad happened. I am seriously ill. I will leave you soon." The man gives a weak laugh. "This is the first time in many years I have been brought to tears." The man kisses the baby who is sleeping so soundly and whispers, "I will love you forever."