A college student was taking a walk with aprofessor. As they went along, they saw a pair of old1lyingin the path. The student supposed they belonged to a2manwho was working in a field close by, and who had3finished his day's work.
Thestudent turned to the professor, saying, "Let's have a4with him: we will hide his shoes, hideourselves behind the trees, and see what will happen when he can't find5."
The professor said6,"Please never make fun of the poor. But you are rich, and may giveyourself a much greater7by joking on the poor man. Put a coin intoeach shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the8influenceshim."
The student did so, and they both hidbehind the trees close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came backto the path where he had left his shoes. When he was9one of his shoes, he felt something hard.He reached one hand into the shoe to feel10itwas, and found the coin. Surprise and11wereseen on his face.
He fixed his eyes on the coin, turned itround, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on allsides, but12was to be seen.
He put the money in his pocket, and pickedup the other shoe. His surprise was13on finding another coin. He was moved totears, looked up to heaven and cried a heartfelt14,in which he spoke of his sick wife and hungry children. With the timely15fromsome unknow hand, the poor family was supposed.
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Visit the D-Day Museum to find out! D-Day was a turning point in the Second World War. Portsmouth's D-Day Museum is the UK's only museum which has been built to cover all aspects (方面) of the D-Day landings in Normandy (诺曼底), France, on 6 June 1944. |
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Opening times: Open daily except 24 — 26 December and 1 January. April — September 10:00 am — 5:30 pm. October — March 10:00 am — 5:00 pm. Last entry (进入) half an hour before closing. Car parking: Pay-and-display car parking services are provided on-site. | Food and drink: café will receive both visitors and non-visitors. It is open from 10:00 am — 4:00 pm from 1 April to 31 October. Portsmouth Visitor Information: Portsmouth's excellent visitor information service is based at the D-Day Museum. Our friendly staff (员工) are here to help you make the most of your time in the city. Contact: vis@portsmouthcc.gov.uk Website: www.visitportsmouth.co.uk How to find us: D-Day Museum, Clarence Esplanade, Southsea, Hampshire, P05 3NT. Website: www.ddaymuseum.co.uk Tel: 023 9282 6722 Stagecoach No. 700 bus stops just outside the museum. Come and find out more here with us, and you will have a better knowledge of the Second World War! |
Parents of twins often say their children are a little unusual or special. But according to 16-year-old twin Sergio Forlan, there are ways in which some sets of twins are quite amazing.
Here's how Sergio describes his relationship with his twin, Lionel:
"Lionel and I have had a very special bond since we were born. When we were very small, we had our own language. Our mom says we used to talk to each other using our own special language. We knew what we were saying, but nobody else understood. Even our mother didn't understand us! As we've gotten older, we've started using telepathy (心灵感应) to communicate. I mean we don't need to speak at all; we just use our minds. We can somehow send messages to each other even when we aren't in the same place. I know it sounds unbelievable, but I've always known when Lionel was in trouble. Once he had a bad fall during a football game. He broke his leg, and when it happened I got this terrible pain in my leg."
Although it sounds strange, telepathy between twins isn't unusual. There has been a lot of research that has proven that some twins have this ability. In one experiment, scientists studied eight-year-old Richard Powles and his twin brother, Damien. First, they were put in two separate rooms, and Damien was connected to a machine that would check his responses (反应). Richard was then asked to put his arm into freezing cold water. Exactly when Richard put his arm into the water, Damien's responses went wild. And it was the same whenever anything surprising or scary happened to Richard. His brother in the other room would have responses, too.
Celebrity (名人) twins have reported similar experiences. Actor Ashley Olsen tells us that, even when they are far apart, she knows when her twin sister, Mary-Kate, is going through a difficult time.
So, maybe it's true. Maybe some twins don't need words to speak to each other.
Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes or tsunamis. It seems that every day we read about at least one of these somewhere in the world. But every year, somewhere, another kind of disaster (灾难) causes great damage (破坏) to plants and people. It's something much smaller and not so well-known as an earthquake or tsunami — it's an insect called the locust (蝗虫).
The locust usually does things alone — it lives on its own and eats on its own. But, sometimes, something changes the way nature works. When the number of locusts increases somewhere and there are lots of plants to eat, the locusts get together in "swarms (群)". Perhaps the most dangerous locust is the desert locust. It is found in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia — in about 60 countries altogether. When desert locusts get together in a swarm, they bring problems to 10% of all the humans in the world.
The numbers are huge and frightening. A swarm of desert locusts can be 1,200 square kilometre in size. Imagine an area that is over 20 kilometres wide and 50 kilometres long, full of locusts! And there can be 50,000,000 locusts in each square kilometre. Each locust eats its own weight in plants every day — so a swarm of desert locusts can eat more than 150,000,000 kilos of food in one day. They can also fly very long distances — in 1954 a swarm of locusts from northwest Africa flew thousands of miles to finally land in Great Britain.
It's no wonder that farmers in many countries of the world fear the desert locust more than snakes and spiders. It's the desert locust that damages the harvest and brings hunger to people all over the world.
It was 12:45 pm on January 2, 2007. Fifty-year-old Wesley Autrey was waiting for the train at a subway station in New York. His two daughters, ages four and six, were with him.
Suddenly, a sick man fell down on the platform (站台). The man, 20-year-old Cameron Hollopeter, got up, but then fell again — this time, onto the track (轨道) between the two rails. A train was coming into the station. It was a frightening moment.
But Mr. Autrey wasn't frightened. He looked at the man, and he looked at the space that the man was in. It was about half a meter deep. And he thought, "The train is going to travel over this man. If he tries to get up, the train will kill him. But if he lies on the ground and doesn't move, he'll be OK."_____
He jumped. Mr. Autrey lay on top of Mr. Hollopeter, and kept him down on the ground. The train driver saw them. His heart missed a beat, but he couldn't stop in time. Five subway cars traveled over the two men before the train stopped.
The people on the platform were shocked. When Mr. Autrey heard the shouting from the people, he shouted back, "We're OK down here, but I have two daughters up there. Let them know their father's OK." People on the platform clapped and cheered. They were amazed at Mr. Autrey's courage. Subway workers helped the two men out. An ambulance took Mr. Hollopeter to the hospital. He had no serious injuries (受伤).
In an interview on a TV show, Mr. Autrey said, "The only thing that happened to me was my blue hat got dirty." He added, "I wasn't brave. I didn't do anything special. I just saw someone who needed help. I did what I thought was right."
Hi, Sandra!
I'm so excited. Guess what? It's my dad's 40th birthday next month, so he's taking us all to London for a v. Cool, right?
We're flying over on Thursday evening. As soon as we arrive, we're going on a t of the city. They say London is really beautiful at night, and I'm really looking f to seeing all those famous places.
On Friday, we're going to the Tate Modern (the art gallery near the river Thames), and then to the. Design. Museum. It's not f from our hotel, so we're planning to walk there. In the afternoon, we're going on the London Eye. I can't w to see the Houses of Parliament from up there!
Saturday is for shopping. There's no doubt about that! We're going to Portobello Road first. Then in the afternoon, we're visiting Harrod's — the most famous store in London. Dad's not very happy about it, but I'm sure he'll enjoy it o we're there.
On Sunday morning, we're going to Hyde Park, and we're flying home in the afternoon. It's my dream trip, and it's really happening!
Hope everything's OK w you.
Hi Olivia,
You can't imagine happened last night. Dad took us out to a famous restaurant, but there weren't many people there last night. " unforgettable experience," their website says. Well, it certainly was unforgettable! We ordered the "exotic surprise" and thought it was going to be wonderful, but it was the most awful meal I've ever had!
The first course was chicken and chips! The chicken was bad; the chips were even (bad). Yuck! Then they gave us "picnic-style special ham with strawberries". When the waiter (bring) it, we saw little ham sandwiches hiding under some salad. And you can't believe what was coming next. The waiter tried (put) the plates on the table, but he dropped one. And then the worst thing happened! He picked the sandwich up the floor, put it back on the plate and then gave the sandwich to mum. Mum required him to throw away. "Aren't you hungry?" the waiter asked. My dad got (real) angry and told him off. But he only laughed! I tried the dessert. Ice cream. No comment! (But I didn't eat much.) Next time we'll take you to the same restaurant! Just (joke)!
Yours,
Thomas
