Lots of students know what a marathon (马拉松赛跑) is, but perhaps they don't know what a triathlon is. The triathlon is a sport that has three parts-swimming, bicycling and running. It is not an easy sport, but a man named Joe Salter is very good at it. A few months ago, he finished a special triathlon—he juggled (抛起接住) three balls all the time during the triathlon. That is to say, he kept on throwing and catching three balls while he was swimming, riding a bicycle and running.

    31-year-old Joe is from Florida, the USA. He loves juggling and he started at the age of 8. Joe did well in juggling.  Later, he got the idea to do a triathlon and juggle at the same time to make it more fun. Many juggling fans laughed at his idea and thought it was just a joke. But Joe didn't give up and he kept practising it. Because of his hard work, he made it at last.

    Talking about his triathlon, Joe said swimming was the hardest part. "It was difficult and complex(复杂的)," he said. "I basically only used my legs, so it took quite a lot of work. Also, swimming in open water made it a little harder. It was not like in a pool."

    In Europe, small cars have always been more popular than large cars. In the United States, large cars and midsize cars are more popular than smaller cars. As a result, European automakers used to make different kinds of small cars while American automakers used to build bigger, heavier cars. However, these days, automakers in both America and Europe produce cars of different sizes. This is because most automakers export their cars all over the world.

    The price of gasoline (汽油)is one reason for differences in car choices. Since gasoline is more expensive in Europe, many Europeans want smaller, lighter cars that will travel a long way on a gallon（加仑）of gasoline.

    Other reasons also enter into the big or little car decision. Many European cities have narrow, winding（弯曲的） streets. In these cities a small car is easier to control than a large one.

    For a long time, few Americans bought small cars. Instead they chose large cars, because these roomy cars were more comfortable for large families and long trips. Some people also liked the powerful engines（发动机） that large cars had. Since gasoline was cheap, drivers did not mind that the large cars used a lot of gasoline.

    But in the 1970s, there were gasoline shortages in the United States. The price of gasoline went up. Though large cars were still more popular than smaller cars, sales of small cars increased. Some people also bought small cars because these cars caused less air pollution than larger cars.

    Today, Americans' car preferences are still changing. Though Americans are still buying many small cars, the fastest growing sales are for certain kinds of large cars. These types of cars are called minivans and sport utility vehicles(SUV). They are very popular today. But of course, that could change tomorrow.

    People usually think volunteering is just for adults and it seems hard for students like us. But it is different in Canada. The government encourages people of any age to volunteer in public and work for the whole society. If students want to graduate from high school, thirty hours of volunteering is required, if students want to get into a well - known university, it helps if they do a lot to society. Volunteering is an important factor (因素) that universities will take into consideration.

    Furthermore, there are volunteer chances everywhere. People can find information about how to volunteer posted in the library or on the Internet. It includes different jobs, such as taking care of small kids or doing some cleaning in a neighborhood. Students can choose what they want to do.

    I got my first volunteering job in New Westminster Museum every Sunday from 9:30 am to 11: 30 am. My job is to proofread(校对) the documents on a computer and correct mistakes. The museum is about the history of the Irving Family, a historically important family in New Westminster. At first, I was nervous to communicate with others. But as time passed, I became more open. During volunteering, I not only learned how to work with other volunteers, but also learned a lot of history about New Westminster. As a volunteer, I am proud of myself.

    One of the most famous buildings in the United States is Carnegie Hall, the home of classical and popular music concerts in New York. Carnegie Hall is known not just for its beauty and history, but also for its amazing sound, it has been said that the hall itself is an instrument. It takes the music and makes it larger than life.

    Carnegie Hall is named after Andrew Carnegie, who paid for its construction. He was a wealthy man who also gave a lot of money to schools and public libraries. Construction on Carnegie Hall began in 1890 and the official opening night was on May 5, 1891.

    The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1924 when it was sold to Robert E. Simon. The building became very old and in 1960, the new owner made plans to destroy it and build an office block. Isaac Stem led a group of people who fought to save Carnegie Hall and finally, the city of New York bought it for ￥5 million. It was then fixed up between 1983 and 1995.

    In 1986, people realized that Carnegie Hall had never kept proper records of its history. Advertisements and stories in newspapers about how Carnegie Hall needed help to recover its history led people to send in old concert programmes and information from all over the world. Over 12, 000 concert programmes were received and with these it was possible to make a proper record of Carnegie Hall's concert history.

    Because the best and most famous musicians of all time have played at Carnegie Hall, it is the dream of most musicians who want to be great to play there. This has led to a very old joke which is now part of Carnegie Hall's history. Question: "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" Answer: "Practise, practise, practise."

    The following events are moments in the 40 years of China's reform and opening up (改革开放40周年).