Dear Liz，

    My stay in Thailand has certainly been the experience of my life．

    Life is busy and exciting．Bangkok is just like any other big city with a population of 10  million and heavy traffic．I'm very lucky because my host family is in a nice quiet area outside the city．There are Mr. and Mrs. Phairat, their son Sanan, who is 18, the daughter Chinda, who is 16, and Grandpa and Grandma．

    I go to an international school with Sanan and Chinda．The school teaches about 70 percent in English，and 30 percent in Thai. I've learned some spoken language，but Thai writing is very difficult．The cooking lesson is my favourite．I'm learning all about Thai food and culture People don't use chopsticks here，but spoons and forks．When I come back，I'm going to cook you a real Thai meal．

    Last weekend we visited some temples．We also drove to Pattaya beach near Bangkok．I thought it was great，but Sanan and Chinda say that next month they're taking me to Phuket  Island，where the beaches are even more beautiful．The month after next，we're going to travel to Mr．Phairat's hometown in the north of Thailand．The Phairats own land there，and they have two elephants．I'm going to ride those elephants — and even wash them．Sanan and  Chinda say it's really fun．I'm amazed by everything in this country，especially by the elephants．Elephants are an  important pan of Thai culture and way of life．They have been a traditional symbol(象征)of Thailand for many years in times of war and peace．In the seventh century，a Thai king trained 20,000 elephants for battle．

    I'll tell you all about my Thai boxing(拳击)lessons next time I write．

Love,

Mandy

D

    Night after night，she came to help me sleep，even long after my childhood years．

    I don't remember when it first started making me a little angry-my mom's hands pushing my hair that way．But it really made me uncomfortable，for they felt rough against my young skin．Finally, one night，I shouted at her．"Don't do that anymore．Your hands are too rough!" She didn't say anything, but she never did it again．

    Years later, I missed my mother's hands and her goodnight kiss on my face. I was not a little girl anymore. My mom was in her mid—seventies, and her rough hands were still doing things for my family and me．   

    Now my own children have grown up．It was late on Thanksgiving Eve．As I slept in my bedroom，a familiar hand ran across my face to push the hair from my head. Then a kiss，ever so softly, touched my forehead．

    Taking my mom's hand，I told her how sorry I was for that night I shouted at her．But my mom didn't know what I was talking about．She had forgotten it for long．

    That night，I fell asleep with a new appreciation for my mother's caring hands. And the guilt that I had carried around for so long was nowhere to be found．

    I first met an 8-year-old Katy on a rainy afternoon. I was a 1at a hospital. The clerk at he desk told me about Katy. She was there because she felt a lot of 2. The doctors found a problem at the base of her brain(大脑). I knew she was 3, even before she got better.

    When I entered Katy's room, she was not in her bed. 4 Katy did not feel well, she was playing with Tommy, a little boy. She had much 5sitting in the chair. But she played with Tommy because it made him 6.

    Katy was always smiling and never appeared to be in pain. She 7to just lie in bed. One day I found her painting a picture. Later, she gave it to one of the older patients. Another day she went outside to 8flowers for another sick little girl. Katy made 9smile.

    The doctors 10to solve the problem in Katy's brain. The operation was successfully! Katy was fine. She soon felt 11. Then she was able to 12the hospital a month later.

    I have worked as a nurse for a long time. I have met many patients. 13, I have never met another girl like Katy. Even after she got well, she still came to the hospital. She played different games with the young patients. She read many books the 14patients. Katy's kind heart helped her get better so 15. She is a hero to me and everyone else at the hospital.

A fun farming class took place outside of the classroom!{#blank#}1{#/blank#} September 15, Grade 7 students from Jinan No. 34 Middle School, Shandong, went on a special trip. They learned about {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, reported Qilu News.

At the farm, teachers talked about wheat (小麦) and vegetables with {#blank#}3{#/blank#} and answered their questions. The students {#blank#}4{#/blank#} wheat and different kinds of vegetables. They touched the wheat and learned that farmers {#blank#}5{#/blank#} get the wheat at the end of September. "I wrote down all the useful knowledge in {#blank#}6{#/blank#} notebook," said Dong Guangye. He learned that eating fresh vegetables can be good for people's health.

Other students {#blank#}7{#/blank#} learned something new. "I knew about wheat only from textbooks. This time, I saw real one s and learned how they grow," said Fang Weiqian.

{#blank#}8{#/blank#} this, Ling Mingze thought that farming was something old. But this trip changed her ideas. "I saw really cool farming {#blank#}9{#/blank#}, and they showed me how Chinese farming changes {#blank#}10{#/blank#} and gets better," said she.

Both students and teachers thought this was a meaningful activity.

 Chinese writer Hai Ya's The Space-Time Painter won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette(中短篇小说) on Oct. 21st. He became the third Chinese writer to win a Hugo Award after Liu Cixin and Hao Jingfang.

 When creating The Space-Time Painter, Hai Ya drew his idea from a famous painting, A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains(《千里江山图》). It was created by Wang Ximeng from the Song Dynasty. Based on Wang, Hai created a painter named Zhao Ximeng. After many hard times, Zhao's mind leaves his body and enters a space where a modern policeman is trying to solve a case(案件)about an ancient painting.

 Hai Ya's story with science fiction began in his childhood. "When I was a child, the bookstore in my hometown helped create a beautiful garden in my mind that belonged to me only. In it, science fiction offered the most beautiful‘flowers'; it opened a new world for me as a kid," Hai Ya told Beijing Youth Daily.

 Hai Ya's works feature a mix of history and science fiction. These two styles seem opposite: One looks back at the past, and the other faces the future. However, in Hai Ya's works, they find a perfect balance(平衡).

"If we can only imagine the future and things in space like rockets, it will only limit (限制) our imagination," Hai Ya told Shenzhen Special Zone Daily. "I don't think history is something completely in the past. It is flowing(流动的), and we can make predictions(预言) about the future by looking back at history.▲ ," he added.

 More Chinese writers today are trying to mix traditional culture with modern stories. Hai Ya believes that it is not a choice but a natural process." Our history and culture have universal values(普世价值) that can touch everyone," he said to Xinhua.