Have you ever ridden a Ferris wheel lately? Can you imagine the flying feeling as you are pulled up to the top and then moved down to the bottom quickly again?

    Today a Ferris wheel is usually 40 to 60 feet tall. That seems very high when you are on the top looking down. But the first Ferris wheel was 264 feet high- taller than a twenty-story building! Can you imagine the view from the top of that?

    The first Ferris wheel was built for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The people who planned the fair were looking for an attraction that would bring people to Chicago. George Ferris handed a drawing of a giant wheel that people could ride on. At first everyone laughed at his strange idea. But Mr Ferris did not give up, and finally the idea was accepted. The ride opened in June of 1893.

    Today's Ferris wheels have 12 to 16 seats, which each carry 2 or 3 people. But that first one had 36 enclosed cars, each holding 60 passengers. When filled, it carried 2,160 people. During that summer in Chicago, about 1.5 million people rode the Ferris wheel.

After the fair, the ride was moved to a nearby amusement park built especially to show off the wheel. In 1904, it was moved again一to St. Louis for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. After the fair there, the wheel stood unused. In 1906, it was finally sold to a company for scrap metal(废金属).

    Luckily a Chicago bridge builder, W.E. Sullivan, figured out how to make a smaller Ferris wheel that could easily be taken apart and put together. In 1906, he started the company that still makes many of the Ferris wheels used today.

    But, whenever you ride one, remember that it all began with George Ferris's strange idea!

What does your father look like? What did you do to celebrate (庆祝) Father's Day? 

Did your father like it? Say something more about it. 

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Dear Tom, 

How are you doing these days? 

See you soon. 

Li Hua

Liu Zhihua has become a star at a ski resort（滑雪圣地）in Urumqi, Xinjiang. She is the resort's oldest skier（滑雪者）, aged 88. 

Though she is a skilled skier now, she only took up the sport when she was 72. Before that, like many old people, she spent her days taking care of her grandchildren or watching TV. Encouraged by her children, Liu got on the piste（滑雪道）for the first time in 2007. "The first day was not easy. My arms and legs were sore. But in the next few days, I was able to walk on the skis（滑雪板）. When I was not afraid of falling, I became quite interested in the sport and fell in love with it, "Liu said". I've taken part in a competition twice. I didn't do it for a prize. Finishing the competition without falling is enough for me."

For Liu, skiing is also a way to keep her young and active. Although she is the oldest ski lover at the resort, she thinks she is just as vigorous as younger skiers . Liu skis for about two hours at a time under the protection of her trainer. Although she skis less often than before, she makes up her mind to continue as long as possible. "Doing sports brings me health and happiness," she said. "I don't think age has much to do with my mind. Old or young, I'm always brave and cheerful."

BIRO was the{#blank#}1{#/blank#}（invent）of the ballpoint pen. He was born in Budapest，Hungary. In the 1930s，when he worked{#blank#}2{#/blank#} a newspaper editor，he used a fountain pen almost every day. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}，he had to refill it all the time. The ink also did not dry{#blank#}4{#/blank#}（easy），and it sometimes{#blank#}5{#/blank#}（make）a mess on the paper. BIRO wanted a better pen. His brother，George，decided{#blank#}6{#/blank#}（help）him develop a special ink. The ink dried soon. Then both of{#blank#}7{#/blank#}（they） developed a new type of pen together. There was{#blank#}8{#/blank#} tiny ball at the tip of the pen. The ball rolled ink onto paper as it moved. They called the{#blank#}9{#/blank#}（success）invention "ballpoint pen". Everyone enjoyed{#blank#}10{#/blank#}（use）it. 

The Sahara Desert in Northern Africa is the largest hot desert in the world. It is about 1，800km from the north to the south and about 4，800 km from the east to the west. Temperatures can reach 58℃ in the daytime and can fall to ﹣6℃ at night. More than 8，000 years ago，the Sahara was a rich land where farmers grew food and plants grew well. As the rainfall in the area gradually went down every year，it became a huge desert. Most areas of this desert have less than 13 cm of rain every year. 

Gary Smith and a few of his brave friends decided to hike across the Sahara. Supporters in cars，who carried food and water for the group，stayed with them together. 

One day，Smith walked alone and then he couldn't find the rest of the group. Even worse，he could not find out which direction to go. Then a sandstorm covered the area. When the storm was over，Smith was even more worried. In the heat that he couldn't stand，he quickly finished his water. He had to spend that night out in the open，and he almost felt he couldn't survive （生存）. 

The next day，he walked on. After the second night，he started to worry about dying. He realized that his friends might not find him in time. It was late on the third day that Smith lost his sense and fell over. 

When Smith awoke，he was in the car with his friends. He had been found by a group of Bedouin who were traveling in a truck. In such a large desert with the weather conditions， this made it possible for him to survive. Then Bedouin returned to his group of friends. Smith was so lucky.