Horses are beautiful animals. They can be in different colors, and can run quickly. People like to watch horses because they are strong and beautiful.

    Horses are mammals (哺乳动物). The mother horse usually has one baby in spring, and feeds the baby milk. Horses have long legs and big eyes, so they can see almost all the way around them. They can walk and jump.

    Horses can live up to 20 or 25 years. Sometimes people can tell how old a horse is by looking at its teeth! They usually sleep by standing up. Horses only need about three hours of sleep per day!

    People need to take care of the horses"hooves". If a horse is doing a lot of walking on hard ground, people put horseshoes on them. When the hooves need trimming (修剪), people take off the horseshoes, and then give them new ones.

    For food, horses eat food such as grass, corn, apples and carrots. They don't eat other animals. Their stomachs are small, so they eat a little at one time, but they eat many times.

    Some horses are very famous. For example, Bucephalus, the famous horse of Alexander the Great. When Alexander was a boy, he got a horse. Nobody else could ride on it. Alexander named the horse Bucephalus and the horse carried him in many battles (战役). Here is another example. Napoleon had many horses, and Marengo became famous after Battle of Waterloo.

Nowadays, natural disasters(灾害) happen from time to time around us, such as earthquakes, wildfires and typhoons.Here are some things about wildfire.

Wildfires are unexpected and unplanned.And the cause of most wildfires is unsure.To burn, wildfires require the right conditions — fuel, oxygen and heat.And global warming is one of the most important reasons.The high temperatures and dry conditions make the fire spread quickly.

In many parts of the world, wildfires happen naturally.They are started by lightning(闪电) or some other special weather conditions.In recent years, there have been more wildfires because of dry, hot weather, and changeable weather patterns.

However, many wildfires are started by people.Sometimes, people clear land for farming.Besides, there are smokers who accidentally set fires.

Wildfires can cause a lot of smoke, which will pollute the air.Lots of lives, property(财产) and valuable forests will soon disappear in wildfires.When trees are burnt down, and heavy rain follows, more disasters such as terrible floods will happen.

 What do teenagers(青少年) usually do after school? Are today's teenagers lazy?

A survey(调查) shows that today teenagers spend fifty hours doing after-school activities, homework, and housework. Jessica Watson, 14, isn't surprised. "I go to school from 8:30 a. m. to 3:30  p. m. But after school I don't go home or watch TV. I'm in the school volleyball club and I have to practice on Tuesdays and Fridays. I also take dance classes on Thursdays."

 At home, Jessica spends a lot of time doing homework. "I have to do two or three hours of homework every night," says Jessica. This is normal for teenagers today. On average(平均), they spend about nine hours a week doing homework.

 Jessica also helps with the housework. "My parents often get home late. I have to clean the house. Mom does the shopping and the cooking, and Dad washes the dishes."

 On Saturdays and Sundays, Jessica works in a clothes store. "Mom and Dad don't give me money, so I have to work to get money for CDs and going out with my friends."

Jessica is unhappy when adults say teenagers are lazy. "Adults think we watch TV, listen to music, and use the phone all the time. But this isn't true. I enjoy doing those things, but I do a lot of other things, too."

Today, the teacher took us to the science and technology museum. What impressed me most was the Optical Astronomy Hall. 

After entering the Optical Astronomy Hall, the narrator(讲解员) turned on the light. We looked up and saw millions of lights flashing(闪耀) overhead. They looked like the stars in the sky. Then the narrator told us about constellations(星座). She said that the constellation refers to a group of stars in the sky that we see close to each other. And she told us how the stars and planets change places throughout(贯穿) the night. 

 ▲   The sky was lit up with millions of stars. The narrator pointed to one group of stars called the Big Dipper(北斗七星). The Big Dipper goes around the North Star. The North Star always points to the north if you can find it, you will always know where you are. 

I've learned more about space today.