Welcome to my blog

 Stephen Williams   Friday, June 21

  Today I went to the beach. It was my first day at the ocean for many years. The sound and smell of the ocean brought back memories of the great family vacations when I was a child. We always went to the beach for a week in the summer. I remembered playing for hours in the sand with my sister and crying when I couldn’t have any ice cream. Oh, and I remembered finding a huge jellyfish on the beach, and running away because I was scared! Amazing, really, the things you remember from your childhood.

 Comments

  Yeah, I remember going for long walks in the countryside. I guess I was only eight or nine. In the winter, my mom made soup, and I can still remember the wonderful smell! When we got home, I always went straight to sleep…

 Carla, Mexico

 What a great story! I remember going to the beach, too – on Christmas Day! My family lived in Australia when I was young. I remember waking up early. After we opened our presents, we always went to the beach and had a barbecue.

 Leung, Hong Kong

  The best memory I have is playing my first video game, Super Mario. I remember thinking that it was amazing, It was my tenth birthday and I still remember opening the box.

 Daisuke, Japan

    How much do you know about "Taobao"? Do you often buy goods(商品)online? During every big festival hundreds of millions of dollars is spent online. "Who needs a shopping mall if you have Taobao? I am a Taobaoer，" says Wang Fang, 28, a writer in Beijing. Taobao, China's largest online shopping site(场所)，has become an important part of Wang Fang's life. Half of her salary(薪水)is usually spent on Taobao.

    A growing number of Chinese Internet users like Wang have found the pleasure of online shopping. Most online shoppers are students and young workers. People can find almost everything they need online, from clothes to books, from candy to DVD players. And clothing and household(家用的)products are the most popular goods bought online.

    The biggest attraction for buyers is the low prices of online goods. Buyers can also check the information easily. They can compare the prices of the same kind of goods from different sellers, and choose the cheapest one. When someone asks her about the safety of online shopping, Wang Fang said ,"It's very safe and easy. If you can't receive the goods from the sellers or are not satisfied with them, the shop owners will not get the money. You can also get your money back if you give the goods back. "

    A ratio compares two numbers. For example, if you have 3 pens and 4 pencils, the ratio of pens to pencils is 3 to 4. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} 3 to 4, 3:4 and 3/4. One type of ratio is expressing (表示) numbers as a percent. A percent is the ratio of a number to 100. In other words, a percent compares one number to 100. The percent means "per hundred". {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can use "%" to express percent. So 35% means 35 out of 100, and 15% means 15 out of 100. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Probability means the chance (可能) of some things happening in the future. For example, if there is a 90% chance of rain, 90 times out of 100, it will rain. That is a very high probability. However, if the weatherman says that there is only a 10% chance of rain, then 10 times out of 100, it will rain. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    You can also express probability by using ratios. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} 5 of them are black while only 1 of them is red. If you choose a pen at random (随机地) from the pencil box, then the probability of choosing a black Den are 5 to 6, or 5/6. On the other hand, the probability of choosing a red pen is only 1 to 6, or 1/6.

    A king in Africa had a close friend that helped him grow up. The friend had a habit of looking at everything that happened in his life positively(肯定地)and saying, " This is good. "

    One day the king and his friend went out hunting. The friend would prepare the guns for the king. The friend did something wrong in preparing one of the guns, and after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. On seeing the situation the friend said as usual, "This is good!" The king replied, "No, this is not good!" He was very angry and sent his friend to jail.

    About one year later, the king was hunting in a forest. Cannibals(食人者)caught him and took him to their village. As they were going to kill him, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. They never ate anyone who was less than whole. So they sent the king back.

    When he returned home, he felt sorry for his treatment of his friend. He went quickly to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said. "It was good that my thumb was blown off. "And he told the friend all that had just happened." And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad of me to do this."

    "No," his friend replied, "this is good! " "What do you mean? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"

    "If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you, and I would have been eaten!"

    English is the first language of several countries. However, it has many differences. British, American, and South African English are all spoken differently. In many English language courses, the British and American differences are taught. There are important differences between the two.

    Probably the biggest difference between American and British English is the vocabulary. Different words and expressions are used to talk about the same thing. For example, in the United States, people throw their garbage into the trash can. In England, people throw their rubbish into the dustbin. In Britain, people take a lift to the fifth floor. In America, people take an elevator.

    American and British grammar can be also different. For example, speakers of British English will ask "What did you do at the weekend?", but Americans usually say "on the weekend." In the United States people usually say "I've gotten a new car.", but in the UK they will say "I've just got a new car."

    The pronunciation in American and British English is also different, even when the spelling is the same. The word "tomato"—pronounced "to-mah-to" in British English—is a classic example of this.Vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation are three ways English is different in different parts of the world.

    Learning all these is not easy, so English learners should just know that they are always there.