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Three passion, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passion, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.

I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of my life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness-that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a music miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what-at last have found.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished too understand the hearts of men. I have wished to the stars shines. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds away above the flus. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.

Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens, but always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.

This has been my life. I have found it worth living and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered to me.

My ears are recently full of joyous remarks from my friends such as, “oh, Beckham is so handsome, so cool, that I can’t help falling in love with him!” Or “what perfect skills he has!” Yeah, I agree to some degree, though I sometimes do want to ask them how much they know about Beckham, apart from his appearance and how much they know about football apart from scoring goals. It seems funny that we are crazy for things, with which we are unfamiliar or about which we are uncertain, but we all, my friends as well as I, consider this one of life’s pleasures.

We need these pleasures to brighten up our lives. But that doesn’t amount to craziness or nonsense. As an old saying goes: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” We should not to judge anything from its appearance. We should all know, it is one’s good character and great contribution that makes one a star and unforgettable. Therefore we’d better say less about Beckham’s good looks.

If we close our eyes, falling in deep thought, we can find that the things that move us to be really happy, sad or moved have a clear meaning. If we don’t go deeper and just satisfied with superficial things, sooner or later we will find that we have not really gained anything because our first impression has blinded and misled us, and we’ll remain ignorant unless we realize that and make some changes.

My grandfather once gave me an example: When he had just arrived in the USA, he was shocked by what he saw in a restaurant in Harvard. All the waiters there were wearing Qing dynasty clothes to welcome some visiting scholars from China. The visitors were very embarrassed by this and could show neither any joy nor any dissatisfaction to the careless but well meaning Americans. They could only asked themselves with a bitter smile, “haven’t all the great changes in China been recognized by the world? Why do Americans only remember the backward Qing dynasty?” However, when my grandpa’s teacher, who was a man with rich knowledge, appeared at the Spring Festival party together with his wife uninvited held by the Chinese people in Harvard, they were deeply moved. He wore a Zhongshan and his wife wore a silk cheong sam. They just wanted to show their respect by wearing traditional Chinese clothing. So how is this any different? I think this shows how important going deeper is. If you allow yourself to be deceived by what’s on the surface and do not go deeper, then maybe you will miss something very important underneath.

It is believed that thinking and going deeper than before is sign of great progress. If one day we are willing to go deeper into everything, no matter how much it pains us, we will finally prove how much we have grown up, how much more sensible, mature, and intelligent we have become.

俗話說：“秋賞菊，冬扶梅，春種海棠，夏養牽牛。”可見，在夏天的眾多花草中，牽牛花可以算得上是寵兒了。 
　　
　　牽牛花有個俗名叫“勤娘子”，顧名思義，它是一種很勤勞的花。每當公雞剛啼過頭遍，時針還指在“4”字左右的地方，繞籬縈架的牽牛花枝頭，就開放出一朵朵喇叭似的花來。晨曦中人們一邊呼吸著清新的空氣，一邊飽覽著點綴於綠葉叢中的鮮花，真是別有一番情趣。 
　　
　　那一定會有人問：“牽牛花是怎麼來的呢？”這可有一段動人的傳說呢！ 
　　
　　很久以前，也不知是什麼地方，什麼時候，突然出現了一座形狀像伏著的牛一樣的山，大家就給它取了個名字叫“伏牛山”。伏牛山下有個小村子，村子裏人不多，其中一家有一對孿生姐妹。村子裏的人都很窮，沒有錢買牛耕地，只有用一些自製的土工具來刨土、耕地。那對孿生姐妹就住在山腳下，她們在山前山后開墾了一些荒地，靠著自己的雙手，春播、夏耘、秋收，日子還算勉強過得去。姐妹二人心地善良，還經常接濟比自己更窮的人。 
　　
　　有一天，姐妹二人正在刨地，突然刨到了一塊特硬的地方，姐姐和妹妹把所有的工具都拿來，卻怎麼也刨不動一絲土。姐妹二人累了半天，就坐在硬土邊上歇一會兒。忽然，那塊硬土自己裂開了，姐姐連忙瞪大了眼睛瞧著，裏面發出銀閃閃的光亮，妹妹跑過去拿出了一塊東西，原來是一個銀喇叭。姐妹二人正在奇怪時，旁邊突然走來了一個白須白髮的老翁，老翁笑著對她們說：“這座山是玉皇大帝從天上降下來的，裏面壓著一百頭青牛精，這些青牛精都修煉得很好，幻成人形，在人間作惡，是玉皇大帝收服了他們，並把他們壓在伏牛山下，到今天，他們已整整壓了九百年了，到明天他們就會全變成金牛，再也不會危害人間了。這個銀喇叭就是伏牛山的鑰匙，今天夜裏聽山裏“嘩啦啦”晌，過不久就會有一處發出金光，那就是山眼，只要把銀喇叭插進去就行了。不過還必須記住口訣‘伏牛山，嘩啦啦，開山要我這銀喇叭’念三遍，那山眼就會變大，可以進去抱出一頭金牛，一輩子吃喝不愁了。這鑰匙是九百年一現，只有一會兒靈驗，天一亮就不靈了，千萬不要被山關住了，否則就必死無疑。還有，這銀喇叭千萬不能吹，否則一百頭牛就全會變活沖出山口的。”兩姐妹還沒回過神來，那老翁已不見了。 
　　
　　姐妹二人知道遇上神仙了，心裏很高興。她們就趕緊回家，商量如何開山抱金牛。姐姐說：“我們要把腿腳放快些，爭取把一百頭金牛都抱出來，分給窮鄉親，讓大家都不再受地主的氣，都過上好日子。”妹妹說：“金牛雖好不能當飯吃，黃燦燦的金，白亮亮的銀，在富人眼裏是值錢貨，可在窮人眼裏還不如一勺面呢。如果吹響銀喇叭，把那些金牛全變成活牛分給鄉親們，讓他們有牛耕田，不更好嗎？”姐姐高興地同意了妹妹的意見。 
　　
　　於是，姐妹二人分頭去通知鄉親們，交代他們夜裏去伏牛山下牽牛。夜裏，天上沒有月亮，也沒有星星，山前山后漆黑一片，看不到一點亮光，姐姐拉著妹妹從山前轉到山后，聽了聽，一點動靜也沒有，姐姐對妹妹說：“不要放棄，我們再等等。”就這樣等到了五更，忽然聽見山裏面“嘩啦啦”作響，山北坡放出一道耀眼的金光，姐妹倆急忙朝發光的地方跑去，只見那洞眼只有手指頭那麼粗，順著洞眼往裏看，見到內有一張金方桌，方桌上整齊地擺著一排排饅頭大小的金牛。妹妹忙把銀喇叭拿出來插進山眼，姐姐忙念：“伏牛山，嘩嘩啦，開山要我這銀喇叭。”念了三遍，山眼慢慢變大了，但只容一個人鑽進去，姐姐閃身就進去了，妹妹也跟著進去了。姐姐一進去就吹起了銀喇叭，頓時桌上的金牛都變活了，它們伸伸腿，抖抖毛，跳下桌子來，就都變成了大牛，它們順著山眼往外沖，當最後一頭牛剛剛伸出頭時，東方已經微微泛紅了，山眼慢慢變小了，這一下要急壞了姐妹倆，姐妹二人合力推牛屁股，就是推不动。 
　　
　　再说乡亲们，他们听见喇叭响，就纷纷往伏牛山跑，只见一头头牛满山坡跑，他们跑上去，一人牵一头牛，心里好感激姐妹二人，都想去谢谢她们，就是找不到人影。这时有人发现被卡住的那头牛，大家有的扯牛头，有的扯牛脚，使命往外拽，就是拽不出，后来有人往牛鼻子上套了个鼻圈，再在鼻圈上拴了根长绳，大家齐心协力地拉，牛被拉疼了，一急，四蹄一蹬就出来了，山眼马上就合拢了，姐妹俩被关在了山里。 
　　
　　这时太阳出来了，山眼里的那只银喇叭一变，就成了一朵喇叭花。也有人说，为了纪念那姐妹二人，所以喇叭花也叫牵牛花。还有人说，如今闻名全国的南阳大黄牛是那些金牛的后代呢！ 
　　
　　当然，以上所述只是传说而已，表达的是古代劳动人民的一种良好愿望。不过，牵牛花还真的有益于人民，它不但可供观赏，而且还可入药。它性寒，味苦，有逐水消积功能，对水肿腹胀、脚气、大小便不利等病症有特别的疗效。直到今天，一些农民还用它来治病哩。

    The Midsummer Festival, more than a hundred-year-old tradition in Scandinavia1  falls on June 22 or 23, when the sun will reach its highest point in the sky, to create the longest day of the year. In northern part of theScandinavia, one can see the midnight sun as the sun drops to just below the horizon and the night never reaches complete darkness.

    Many places celebrate Midsummer on June 24, while in

    How did and do people celebrate the festival?

    Bonfires

    Huge fires are built. In

    Long time ago even today in some places, people would jump over the fire to not light a fire is to invite a destruction of one’s own house by fire! The fire was thought to frighten away the spirit who would avoid fire at any cost. The bigger the fire, the farther the spirits ran away. Usually it is the president of a country that lights the first fire in the early morning of the Midsummer Festival to begin the holiday celebration.The wood that’s used for the fire has been collected throughout the year, to suggest that a big harvest does not come suddenly, but bit by bit.

    Flowers

    Homes are decorated with wild flowers and greenery. Flowers are an important aspect of the Midsummer. A flower wreath may be hung from the ceiling, a pair of birch branches put at the front door, just to bring blessing to the house. Women wear wreaths of flowers in their hair for the day.Girls would collect to different wild flowers and place them under their pillows in hopes of dreaming their future lovers. Girls also wore wreathes and later set them afloat on rivers and lakes to find out if they would marry or not in the following year.

      Midsummer was and is a popular time to wed to get married with the one beloved under the midnight sun.It was believed that on this very night ferns would open, but only the true of heart would be able to find the rare flower. It is easy to understand that people take pride in finding the ferns.

Huihua, a Chinese student, and Mary, an American student studying Chinese in

Mary was worried. She found Huihua smiling a little and was not comfortable about it. Tell me, Huihua, how could people laugh when someone fell like that? Do they care at all? Shouldn’t they go up and ask the young man whether he was hurt?

Huihua said, they knew he wasn’t hurt too much.

But I still don’t understand. A fall is a fall. In my culture, people would do anything but laugh!

Chinese perspective

This is another example in which the Chinese and the Westerner interpret a smile differently. As mentioned in the last case, Chinese people resort to laugh or smile when they feel embarrassed. Very often, the person caught in the embarrassing situation would also laugh or make a joke, to ease the embarrassment. However, if someone gets hurt seriously, it will not be a laughing matter any more. People will help him/her instead.

North American perspective

A Westerner would interpret laughter in such a setting as a sign of either insensitivity or, worse, pleasure that the person falling had hurt himself/herself because that person was disliked. A Westerner’s response would have been to rush over, assist the person up, and to inquire about any injury by saying something like, Are you okay? If a Westerner fell, they, like a Chinese person, might attempt to make a joke out of the incident if they were not hurt. If two close friends are walking together, and one trips but clearly isn’t hurt, a common joke is to say Have a nice trip a pun based on two very different meanings of trip: one meaning a vacation, the other meaning to stumble. However, this joke would be made only between two people who knew each other well.

   Always be careful to never miss your exit. If you miss your exit, do not stop and never back up on the highway. Get off the highway at the next exit and look for signs showing you how to rejoin the road in the other direction.

    Freeways have emergency call boxes at regular distances from where you can report an emergency or a breakdown. All freeways have right-most lane demarcated as the break-down lane. Stop your car in that lane. Never drive in that lane.

    In case your car breaks down on a freeway, if you have a mobile phone call 911. You can also open the bonnet of the car and wait for someone with cell phone to report your emergency. This is common and if you have a cell phone and see such a site, you too should call 911 and report it. You can also carry a large sign that says, Call Police Send help in case of a breakdown.

    Alcohol can only be transported in the boot of the car, because it is illegal to carry it in the car cabin. It goes without saying that you can not drink alcohol while driving. Traffic laws are set by states and regions, but in general the interstate speed limit around the country ranges from 55 to 65 miles per hour. The speed limit in cities is usually set between 25 and 30 miles per hour. Speeding is a serious offence resulting in high fines.

    You should always carry with you your local license along with IDP when driving in a foreign country.

    If you live in region where it snows, do keep the snow shovels to be kept in cars, along with a torch (preferably with a blinker built in), a blanket, spare gloves, etc. These come handy if the car breaks down during cold nights on highways or if one needs to change the flat tire.

    You should, at least once, change the tire of your car during day time as a practice drill. This will help you in gaining some confidence and you don’t find it difficult when you actually are stuck in such a situation.

   If you have met with an accident, don’t panic. Relax. The worst is over. Take the license, insurance details of persons involved, and witnesses. Call the police and don’t leave that spot till a cop arrives. Keep your insurance details (your insurance number and phone of the company you are insured with) in the car.

    AAA (called triple-A) is a very active organization for the road safety and trip planning. They provide lots of other facilities too. Being a member of AAA is a good option especially for new comers who are very comfortable getting around.

    Mickey Mouse and his friends embarked on a magical new adventure they moved to China! Their new home, Hong Kong Disneyland, opened last fall.

    The theme park looks a lot like the original Disneyland in

    Although the two parks look the same on the surface, they are very different. Disney officials adjusted Hong Kong Disneyland’s design, rides, and even restaurants to fit in with Chinese culture.

    Construction

    This fifth Disneyland in the world is located on a reclaimed land in Penny’s Bay,

    The park consists of four themed lands similar to those

     Although the park is the smallest

There was this case in the hospital’s intensive care ward where patients always died in the same bed and on Sunday morning at 11a.m., regardless of their medical condition. This puzzled the doctors and some even thought that it had something to do with the supernatural. No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths took place at 11 a.m..

So a world-wide expert team was constituted and they decided to go down to the ward to investigate the cause of the incidents. So on the next Sunday morning few minutes before 11 a.m., all doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about.

Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books and other holy objects to ward off evil…

Just when the clock struck 11…

Bola, the part-time Sunday sweeper, entered the ward and unplugged the life support system and plugged in the vacuum cleaner.