I am from South Africa. I didn't at all know the weather here was so cold, but I am glad to say that I have all the clothes for this freezing weather.

When I First got to know that l would be attending this international conference here in Finland, I had no idea what kind of clothes I should take along. I didn't know what to do when I thought of this two-week stay here, with a very formal dinner, a few parties, social gatherings and a dance during the conference.

    Luckily, my friend Julia has been to northern Europe. Yes, she was a great help. She helped me with my biggest problem. She placed an order for some warm suits and dresses, business-type clothes, of course, of dark colors. She also bought me some skirts and blouses so that I could wear the same clothes in several different ways. A couple of lively colored dresses will give me a nice change from time to time. She also helped to choose a very warm raincoat and a pair of boots.

    Oh, how lucky I am to have such a helpful friend. She saved me a lot of trouble, nothing worries me about my meeting, nor my clothes.

    April 13^th, 1539

    Outside Mexico City

Dear Mariana,

    Today we arrived safe. It was a long and dangerous trip over the ocean. The winter storms were strong. We were always a little sick from high waves.

    The journey from the shore to Mexico City is also long and dangerous. There are robbers in the countryside. We will travel together with the other ship passengers, thinking we will be safer as a group. Tomorrow we will travel into the city to find our uncle.

    Father says it will take a year for this letter to reach you. The trip from New Spain to Spain is very long.

Your loving brother,

Tomas

    April 20^th, 1539

    Mexico City

Dear Mariana,

    Father and I finally arrived at Mexico City. Here, old buildings are being pulled down; new ones are being built. Just around the corner from Uncle's city house, Aztec workers are pulling down a small, beautiful pyramid. Father says it is one of the last Aztec temples.

    In the center of the city, I met an Aztec boy named Carlos. He speaks a little Spanish. Carlos learns Spanish at his new school. He told me that the Spanish set up new schools for the Aztecs. There he got his new name, Carlos. He says he likes his new school but misses his old city. I wonder what this city used to be like before Cortes came.

    Tomorrow we will go to Uncle's farmland. He and father are talking about the Aztec workers that father will oversee.

Your brother,

Tomas

found v. 建立        battle n. 战役        conquer v. 征服

    It's 14：00. The house is quiet (安静的). "Tom？" Mom says. No one answers. Mom comes to Tom's room. He is not on the bed. But his model plane is on the desk. "He is not in his room, and he is not in the yard (院子)，" Mom thinks. Then Mom comes to his grandparents' room. Tom likes to play with Grandpa's tape player. But he is not there.

    Mom looks for (寻找) him everywhere. But where is Tom? Mom is worried. She wants to call Dad. She comes to the living room to get the phone.

    "What's that？" Mom sees something black under the sofa. Oh, it's Paul, Tom's dog. It loves sleeping (睡觉) there. But what is next to Paul? It's Tom!

    Lena is in the supermarket. She wants to buy some food for the next week. "Get some milk, Paul, "Lena says to her dog. Paul gets the milk boxes easily with his mouth and then puts them into the basket.

    This is one of the things that Paul does for Lena. Lena can't walk. She goes around on a wheelchair. Thanks to Paul, she can have a good life like most of us. At home. Paul helps Lena clean the house in the morning. He can also wash his own bowl(碗)after eating. In the afternoon, Paul helps Lena go to the park and enjoy the warm sun. When Lena is tired, Paul can push the wheelchair for her, so Lena can have a rest.

    "Paul can do lots of things for me. He can clean the clothes, make a phone call, and even draw money(取钱)from the ATM, "says Lena. "He is really important in my life."

    In England, it often snows in winter. When it snows, our garden looks very beautiful under the snow, and it is very nice to play in snow.

    When I got up this morning, the land was all white with snow. There was too much snow. It was Sunday, so we didn't go to school. After breakfast, some of my friends came over, and we made a big snowman. It had a big mouth and two ears. Its eyes were black and its nose was red. Someone put an old hat on its head. We were very happy. After lunch, we went to the park to make snowballs. In the park, we met quite a few boys from our school and we had a fight with the snowballs. I took a photo of our snowman. I like snow very much.