In many western schools, sports day is a big event. Children take part in competitive (竞争性的)sports and try to break school records and take the first place.

    Sports days, or sports meetings, are usually held in the warmer seasons, either at the beginning or the end of the school year. They are also called field days. Primary school sports days are fun. They usually have activities such as the egg and the spoon race and the sack race. Other events include the skipping race (跳绳) and the three-legged race. In middle and high schools, sports days include many of the common track and field events (田径项目).  They are more serious and competitive than primary school ones.

    Students' parents and other relatives also come to the  school on sports days. They watch children play. Many schools in the West have "mothers and fathers" races for parents to take part in!

    Although sports days are exciting, they also have some problems. According to some reports in the USA, sports days have become too competitive to be good for students. Some parents put too much pressure on the children. Some schools don't have "mothers and fathers" races any more as there is much fighting and cheating.

What were they doing?

Americans spend their weekends in different ways. But usually they choose the same aim— to rest, to enjoy the time with their family and friends.

    Some Americans hold parties on Saturday night.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Then they won't get up until 9, 10 even 11 o'clock next morning. As soon as they get up, they will go to the nearest corner ship to buy the daily newspaper.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}  It will help them to decide what to do on Sunday afternoon.

Before going out on Sunday, they will have a meal, which is called " brunch"—"br" from "breakfast" and "unch" from" lunch".{#blank#}3{#/blank#} After brunch some Americans may have a picnic with their family or friends. They will take many things with them, such as fresh vegetables, seafood, drinks, table cloth and so on. Usually they drive to a beautiful park, a lake or the seaside.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It is the biggest meal of the week and all family members try to present(出席).

    Weekends are to be welcome everywhere.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Do you want to travel to the countries in Asia? You don't have to travel very far. Follow us, you can find these adventures that make people excited.

    Cycling in Guilin, China

    Get around the city by bike through Guilin, in Guangxi Province of China. Mountains rise straight up, creating the only beauty. Bike paths take you past the villages and farms. Enjoy the beautiful views from your bike, or stop and talk with one of the villagers working in his field.

    Adventure advice: When your feet are tired, take a boat trip along the beautiful and famous Li River.

    White-water rafting in Nepal

    In Nepal, you can experience (体验) thrilling rapids (湍流) and beautiful views in Himalayas at the same time. Take a white water rafting trip down the Sun Koki River, world-renowned for its powerful rapids. At night you'll camp beside the river on white water, and enjoy the quiet, lonely Nepalese countryside.

    Adventure advice: Don't go rafting in summer. High water levels make it dangerous.

    Scuba diving in Malaysia

    Go diving in the clear waters around Spaded, an island in Malaysia, and discover an underwater world. You'll see large sea animals swimming along. The colorful coral along the roofs hides tiny fish. The wide kind of tropical life found around Spaded makes it famous worldwide for diving.

    Adventure advice: You can dive at Spaded, but you can't sleep there. The island is a protected park, but you can stay on one of the nearby islands.

Three{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Adventures

    One day, when Sunee reached her house, she saw a brown package(包裹). She ran inside the house with her package and showed it to her grandmother. Sunee opened the package. As she did, she noticed there was Thai writing on the box. This package had come from her aunt in Thailand.

    Inside the box, Sunee saw something uncommon. It was a red silk umbrella. She had never seen anything like it! Next to the umbrella she found a silk purse (钱包).They were both beautiful.

    "Shipping a package overseas used to take a lot of time," said Grandmother. "Packages traveled by train and ship. It could take many months to get a package from across the ocean. How long did your package take to arrive?"

    Sunee and her grandmother looked at the postmark (邮戳). It showed that the package had been sent eight days ago. "That's fast!" said Sunee.

    Her grandmother agreed. "We have resources (资源)now that we didn't have years ago. Now, packages are flown across the ocean. Because airplanes travel so fast, packages arrive very quickly. Now our economy (经济)depends on fast delivery (快递)!"