Unlike most other holidays, the history of April Fools' Day. Sometimes called All Fools' Day, is not as the totally clear. The only point in time that can be agreed on as the beginning of this tradition was 1582,in France. Before that year, the New Year was celebrated for eight days, beginning  on March 25.The reform of the calendar celetxration reached the highest point on April l_With the riform of the calendar under Charles 1X,the Gregorian calendar (公历, 阳历）was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1.

    However, because in those days communications were not as developed as they are today, many people did not receive the news for several years. Some people refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the New Year on April, These backward people were considered “foots” by other peopk. They were often sent on “fools” errands (徒劳无益的工作)or were made the taragets of jokes.

    This developed, over time, into a tradition of playing a trick on someone on the first day of April. The tradition eventully spread to England and Scotland in the eightreenth century. It was later introduced to the American colonies of both the Britain and Francc.April Fools' Day thus developed into an  international fun feast,so to speak,with different nationalities specializing in their own kind of humor at the expense of their friends and families.

Yellowstone Weather

    Yellowstone National Park is at high altitude. Most of the park is above 7,500 feet (2,275 meters).

    Yellowstone's weather is unpredictable. In summer, it may be warm and sunny with temperatures in the high 70s. At night in any given month, the temperature may drop close to freezing. So it is best to come prepared for cold evenings and mornings, especially if you are camping or hiking. When you leave your campsite, please leave it prepared for possible thundershowers and wind.

    A sunny warm day may become fiercely stormy with wind, rain, sleet and sometimes snow. Without enough clothing, and easy day hike or boat trip can turn into a battle for survival.

    Joey was born in 1990 in Connecticut and now lives in North Carolina in the United States. When Joey was six, he started racing small cars in competitions. He began to win many races, but they weren't big races. His parents decided to move to Atlanta, Georgia, so Joey could compete in bigger and better competitions. When he was 12, he set a record by winning 14 races in a row at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. He continued to win many races, and finally began racing with regular-sized (正常大小的) race cars.

    When Joey was 15 years old, he met the race car driver Mark Martin. Martin is a famous NASCAR driver. NASCAR is the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and it is the biggest and most popular car-racing organization in the United States. Martin was interested in Joey and thought he was “the real deal.” He said, “I am sure that he can be one of the greatest that ever raced in NASCAR. There's no doubt in my mind.”

    Martin was right. Joey started as a NASCAR driver in 2007. NASCAR has many races, and at first, Joey was only able to compete in smaller races because of his age. In his first NASCAR season, he won a championship (冠军). In 2008, he was able to compete in bigger NASCAR competitions. He competed in one of the top NASCAR racing series called the Nationwide Series, and at 18, he became the youngest winner in Nationwide Series history.

    In 2009, he became the youngest winner in another top NASCAR racing series called the Sprint Cup Series, and he also won the Nationwide Series for the fifth time. To be one of the best drivers in the history of racing, Joey has to win many more races. But at 19, he's off to a good start.

    My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.

    One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and begged for help. "Please God, I can't do anything more for my son. I'm at the end of my rope. I'm giving the whole thing up to you."

    I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. "I want to talk to you about Karl's absences." Before he could say another word, I cried and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. "I love my son but I just don't know what to do. I've tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It's out of nay hands. "For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, "Thank you for your time", and hung up.

    Karl's next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, "Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?" I nodded. "That was me. I thought I'd play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That's when I knew I had to make you proud."

    During my stay in Mumbai, I often went to Pune. Though the two cities are only about 145 km away from each other, traveling that distance is a headache. But work required me to do it and I would have to travel at least twice a week at some point.

    This time I was traveling around October. We started from Pune at around 5 p.m. Like all the drivers, this taxi driver also struck up a general conversation about me and my city. He started by saying that kids are one's greatest happiness. As a bachelor(光棍汉), I got a little angry when he started all about kids and family. Then he said something that really attracted me. He said he was a musician. I asked him which instruments he played, he replied,"I have an electronic system". Thinking that taxi drivers tend to be unable to buy an electronic system, I doubtfully listened to him continuing with his story.

    His name was Naveen. He was basically a musician who was expert in playing guitar and the keyboards. Naveen had left his family after a quarrel with his father over taking music as a career. Naveen had his instruments but didn't know how to earn money. The only other thing he could do was to drive. So he joined Mumbai-to-Pune taxi services. That served him as the regular income in weekdays and in the weekends he'd perform in Pune, Nasik or Mumbai. By now, he'd become a slightly famous musician in Maharashtra. But he had a condition wherever he played. He asked that the place couldn't be ticketed. They can charge for food or drinks if it's a pub or a restaurant but no tickets.

    I heard Naveen's songs. He was amazing. He had a trick which made me call him a genius(天才). Among all the faceless drivers, Naveen stood out. He inspired me to leave my job and start a theatre career in Delhi.

Teenage summer camps

    We helped on a nature reserve(保护区)for a week. We did different things every day, including cutting the reeds(芦苇),by the lake. Every day, we took turns to cook, in teams of five. When it was our teams turn, we made a simple dinner of pasta and salad for everyone. Judging by the fact that there was none left, we didn't do too badly!

-Adam

    We stayed with families who had kids our own age, and because they were on a mid-term break they came with us on all the trips. So except when we were actually in a language class, we were spending time with our new friends. It was a great way to practice the language we had been working on in the classroom.

-Oliver

    Every morning we had the same breakfast, and then cleaned up the camp. When it was all completely tidy, we could head off for the day. The first time we went into the city, we were put into teams and given lists of things to spot, like statues, squares and other landmarks. With some help from the locals, my team found almost all of the things on our list and came second. We went to different museums and galleries in and around the city every day. It was a great chance to learn about another country and its history.

-Sarah

    We stayed in a youth center in the suburbs, and went into the center of town by bus every day. It was a good way to see a bit of the city, and it didn't take long to get to the theater where we had our classes. I loved the atmosphere in the old building, and we could walk around during our breaks and watch rehearsals(排练). We learned a great deal and I'm looking forward to putting it all into practice at my school drama club next term!

-Malika