My cousin Roger was big and strong. He was three years older than me and he always wanted to bully 1。
Near our farm, there was a beautiful 2, where kids nearby often swam in summer. Over it was a bridge. When we were in the river, Roger always tried to3me and hold me under. I would dive down before he could reach me. When I came up to the surface miles away, he was till there,4me.
Other kids would shout, "Hey, he's a fish!"
Roger said, " No, he's a shrimp!"
I replied, "Better than a5whale!"
One day, we were about to leave after swimming when a truck unexpectedly rushed out of the bridge and fell onto the water.
Eyes wide open, all of us were too6to say a word. Then someone cried, " Oh, no! The driver... "
Roger shouted to the other kids, "Go and get7"Then he turned to me, "Jack, you're the underwater swimmer! Let's try to pull the8out. "With these words, he jumped into the water. I couldn't9that it was Roger, a bully in my eyes. I took a breath and followed him.
The truck lay on one side. We tried to open the door, but10Roger lifted a rock and broke the windscreen.11the broken windscreen, I got into the truck and opened the door.
Roger caught hold of the driver. With all his strength, Roger12pulled him out and swam towards the surface.
I tried to follow, 13the water was turning black in front of me. I was falling. I thought.
I was going to 14Just at that moment, a strong arm reached down and held me. I tried hard to kick.
Back to the bank, Roger looked at me, "You OK?" I managed to nod. "Not bad for a shrimp." he joked.
I was to answer back, but from my mouth came" Not bad for a15whale. "
It was then that I realized Roger was not "a fat whale" at all.
Do you want to have fun in Oxford? Take a bus tour!
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Christ Church College The college hall is used in the Harry Potter films. Magdalen College Its bell tower and gardens are famous sights in Oxford. Corpus Christi College It is one of the smallest colleges in Oxford but with the best library. Exeter College You can find most of the book shops in Oxford around the college. |
The balalaika, also called the "Russian guitar", is a traditional Russian musical instrument. It has a long neck, a wooden triangle-shaped body and strings. It is usually used to play Russian music by plucking* the strings with fingers or a pick.
Russians like the balalaika. The music played with it can be cheerful, as if the farmers were dancing happily to celebrate their harvest It can also be energetic, as if the workers were working hard to make their country richer and stronger. If a Russian moves to live or work abroad, he will probably take a balalaika with him. When he feels lonely and sad, he will play it to cheer himself up.
The balalaika was originally played by the poor in Russia. At that time, balalaikas were made by the players themselves. They were rough, simple and cheap with different numbers of strings, from two to even six. Later a Russian musician Vasily Vasil'yevich Andreev (1861-1918) improved the balalaka. He created a whole family of balalaikas of different sizes, all with three strings. The smallest balalaika is called Prima. It is 60-70cm long. The biggest, Contrabass, is almost 2metres high with a leg to sit on the floor. Andreev founded the first balalaika orchestra* in the world, mainly using balalaikas to perform. He gave concerts at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1889, which was a great success.
Today, there are blalaika groups performing around the world. More and more people get to know the balalaika and are attracted by its Russian style music.
Tide is the regular rise and fall of the ocean level caused by the movement of the sun, the earth and the moon. It is considered a promising source of green energy to produce electricity in coastal areas.
To make use of tidal energy, we need to build tidal power stations. The bays* and the river mouths where the tide is high (the tidal range is more than 10 metres) are usually perfect sites to build tidal power stations. There are many such places in the world. According to the IRENA (the International Renewable Energy Agency), by just using 2% of our coastlines, we can produce 4, 383TWh of ocean power each year, enough to meet 16. 4% of the world's electricity needs.
To build a tidal power station, we need to build a dam. In the dam are many turbines and on each turbine there is an electric generator*. When the tide rises, water comes through the dam, the turbines turn and the electric generators work, producing electricity. When the tide fall, water goes out through the dam, the turbines turn again. The electric generators continue to work.
Tidal energy has it advantages. Using tidal energy to produce electricity is much cheaper than using the traditional energy, like coal or gas. For example, the Rance Tidal Power Station in France has been there for over 50 years, producing around 540, 000TWh of electricity each year. The cost is only 1.3 cents/TWh. Tidal energy can be used nearly 24 hours a day. As long as the sun, the earth and the moon exist, we can use it to produce electricity. But without sunshine, here is no solar energy. When there is no wind, electric generators will not work In addition, with the development of modern technology, tidal energy can be stored and used to produce electricity continuously. However, we still have some problems to solve. It is difficult to build a dam in the sea, and the cost is very high. Moreover, it's expensive to keep a tidal power station in is best condition.
Scientists are working on them.
A few months ago I was nominated for Governor of the great state of New York, to run against Stewart L. Woodford and John T. Hoffman. I really felt dirty to run against them for all their shameful crimes that were reported on newspapers. However, as a candidate, I had no choice.
The next morning, as I was looking listlessly over the papers at breakfast, I came across his paragraph:
PERJURY- Mr. Mark Twain, a candidate for Governor, was convicted of perjury by thirty-four people, in Wakawak, in 1863. He intended to rob a poor woman of her land, her only stay and support after her husband died. For Mr. Twain himself, as well as the public, he needs to clear this matter up. Will he do it?
What a lie! I never had heard of Wakawak!
During the rest of the time, I got a title "the Infamous Perjurer Twain" on this paper.
Next came "Gazette", with this:
WANTED TOKNOW -When Mfr. Twain was in Montana, his workmates lost small valuables from time to time, until at last, these things having all been found on Mr. Twain's person or in his suitcase. Will he explain this to his fellow-citizens?
I got a new title, "Twain, the Montana Thief". But I never was in Montana in my life.
Then another newspaper article:
DELIRIUM TREMENSTWAIN-Mark Twain, who was to make a speech at the mass meeting of the Independents last night, didn't come to time! He argued that he had been knocked down by a runaway team and his leg broken in two places. But a certain man who was very drunk was seen to reel into Mr. Twain's hotel last night. It is his duty to prove that this person was not Mark Twain himself WHO WAS THATMAN?
I did not drink!
In the following weeks, I got more titles like "Delirium Tremens", "Body-Snatcher", "Filthy Corruptionist ", etc. Then one morning:
Mr. Mark Twain sill maintains SILENCE. He dare not speak Dare he open his mouth to explain?
Before I could reply, more dirty charges poured up on me. One day they even taught nine little children of all shades of colour to rush on to the platform at a public meeting and call me Pa(father)!
I gave up. I sent them a letter to state that I gave up, and in bitterness of spirit I signed it,
"Truly yours, Once a decent man but now MARKTWAIN, IP. , M. T. , D. T. , B. S. and FC. "
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foot Monday tall smell recently |
The first week of my summer vacation was exciting. I was (自由的, 空闲的)!I spent much time on my phone without doing my(家庭作业). Mom was angry and told me I could only use it (在·…之间)7:00 pm. and 9:00 pm.
I felt lost and kept asking (我自己)what fun I could have during the day. Mom offered me a challenge. If I could follow the same ant for (十) minutes, I'd get a prize.
I thought for a while and agreed. I (选择)the biggest ant in the yard and followed it. I saw it create a bridge to cross a (深的)hole. I dropped some bread and soon it began (吃). It even brought friends to carry some home. I never thought watching ants could be so much fun.
After that, I found other interesting things to do. I built a house for birds, planted (树)in the yard and borrowed books from the library. (虽然) I didn't use my phone often, I had a fantastic summer.
