Volunteering Is Fun

   One afternoon I was sitting at home feeling so bored．Instead of feeling sorry for myself，I wanted to meet people and have new experiences so I decided to start volunteering．I searched on my computer and found a website where I could volunteer on a farm in France．

   My time working on a farm was a new experience for me．It was basically a free holiday as food and accommodation were provided．However，it was not your typical holiday as I had to look after fifteen horses and sleep at the top of a tower in a castle! I was an awful farmer but it did not matter because I made some great friends．

   However，you do not need to go abroad to volunteer．I have had plenty of adventures at home as volunteering can become a hobby．For example，I love singing so I had a good laugh waving my arms in an attempt to conduct my local choir．I did slowly improve and it felt great to conduct the choir in a concert．At university，I organised a concert for charity with my friends．It was really fun finding bands and raising money for a cause we believe in． 

   It is true that you feel good volunteering but there are also other advantages．I once volunteered as a server at a charity sports event where the organizers gave me cupcakes to thank me for my services. I also volunteered in a charity shop so I found loads of nice cheap clothes to update my wardrobe（衣柜）．

   While this is all fun，my favourite aspect of volunteering is creating and sharing stories．My terrible attempts at farming have given me hilarious stories to tell! Talking to volunteers from different countries and backgrounds has also helped me learn more about the world．I feel thankful to have had so much fun with many nice people thanks to volunteering．

Next, cover the hole with the plastic sheet, securing the edges of the plastic with dirt and weighting the sheet’s center down with a rock. The plastic should now form a cone(圆锥体) with 45-degree-angled sides. The low point of the sheet must be centered directly over, and no more than three inches above, the cup.

Christmas came in extravagant(奢侈的) fashion to the Muslim desert emirate(酋长国) of Abu Dhabi as a shining hotel uncovered a bejeweled(饰以珠宝的) Christmas tree valued at more than 11 million dollars on Wednesday.

It is “the most expensive Christmas tree ever” with “a value of over 11 million dollars”, said Hans Olbertz, general of Emirates Palace Hotel, at its inauguration(落成典礼).

The 13-metre (40-foot) evergreen, located in the gold hall of the hotel, is decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped decorations and small white lights. But the necklaces, earrings and other jewellery hung around the tree’s branches are what give it a record value. “It holds a total of 181 diamonds, pearls, sapphires and other precious stones,” said Khalifa Khouri, owner of Style Gallery, which provided the jewellery.

“The tree itself is about 10,000 dollars,” Olbertz said. “The jewellery has a value of over 11 million dollars—I think $1,141,150.”

“This will probably be an entry into the Guinness book of world records,” Olbertz said, adding that Emirates Palace planned to contact the organization about the tree which is to stay until the end of the year.

Asked whether the tree might be against religious sensibilities in the United Arab Emirates, where the vast majority of the local population are Muslim, Olbertz said he did not think it would. “It is a liberal(自由的) country,” he said.

The hotel has had a Christmas tree up in previous years, but this year “we have to do something different”, and the hotel’s marketing teamhatchedthe plan, said Olbertz.

Most children are now working longer hours than their parents with some slaving for over 46 hours a week, according to a new survey.

   The research shows that parents are creating crazy schedules for their children with after school activities in addition to school tasks. This means children are actually working harder than the average parents who only work for 37.5 hours a week.

   The average child already completes 30 hours and 50 minutes a week at school from Monday to Friday, as well as seven hours and 51 minutes of clubs and homework. Actively reading with parents daily takes a further five hours and 49 minutes a week. The Center Parcs study of 2,000 parents also found the average child also helps with housework for up to an hour and 37 minutes each week.

   Colin Whaley, marketing director from Center Parcs, said, "We made this report to further understand family life and what challenges parents and children are facing and overcoming, so we can always make sure we're offering what they need. What has undoubtedly come out of this is the need for families—parents and children alike—to take time out to relax."

   In response to the findings, Center Parcs let child psychologist (心理学家) Dr Sam Wass to develop a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for free time which needs three hours and 51 minutes every day. The RDA provides a variety of free-time activities, which will allow children to use their imagination and develop creative thinking. The RDA really creates the best environment to relax and the best short break possible for children.

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GRE scores are used by admissions or fellowship panels to supplement(补充) your undergraduate records, recommendation letters and other qualifications for graduate­level study.

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My Year Abroad                                                           

This month in Travelers Corner there are three teenagers’ experiences in year-abroad programmes.

Mariko Okada – Tokyo

My year abroad in the United States was a fantastic experience. I’m not a shy person, and I was very comfortable speaking to everyone. So I got lots of speaking practice. I also learned lots of interesting things about American culture. When I got home, my friends all said that I had improved so much! I hope to go back again in the future.

Carla Fonseca – Rio de Janeiro

I spent last year studying English in London. I’m from a small town, and London is a very big city. Sometimes I felt it was too big. There were so many people to talk to, but I always felt bad about my English. I missed my family, and I really missed my two cats. My roommate was always using our telephone, so I hardly had the chance for a nice long talk with my parents. I think it was a good experience for me, but I’m glad to be home!

Alvin Chen – Hong Kong

Studying in New Zealand was an interesting experience for me, but it was also lots of hard work! I had English classes six hours a day, five days a week——with lots of homework. I also kept a diary of my experience. I like to write, and I wrote two or three pages in my diary every day. On Saturdays, my home stay family took me to lots of interesting places and showed me so many wonderful things about the culture. I’m really glad I went!

How many things can you see in the night sky? A lot! On a clear night you might see the Moon, some planets, and thousands of stars.

But scientists believe there are some things in the sky that we will never see. We won’t see them with the biggest telescope in the world, on the clearest night of the year. That’s because they are invisible. They’re the mysterious dead stars called black holes.

 You might find it hard to imagine that stars die. After all, our Sun is a star. Year after year we see it up in the sky, burning brightly, giving us heat and light. The Sun certainly doesn’t seem to be getting old or weak. But stars do burn out and die after billions of years.

 As a star gases burn, they give off light and heat. But when the gases run out, the star stops burning and begins to die. 

As the star cools, the outer layers of the star pull in towards the center. The star squashes(挤压) into a smaller and smaller ball. If the star was very small, the stars ends up as a cold, dark ball. If the star was very big, it keeps squashing inward until it’s packed together tighter than anything in the universe.  

Imagine if the Earth were crushed(挤压) until it was the size of a tiny marble. That’s how tightly this dead star, a black hole, is packed. What pulls the star in toward its center with such power? It’s the same force that pulls you down when you jump--- the force called gravity. A black hole is so tightly packed that its gravity sucks(卷入) in everything---even light. The light from a black hole can never come back to your eyes. That’s why you see nothing but blackness.  

So the next time you stare up at the night sky, remember: there’s more in the sky than meets the eye! Scattered(散落) in the silent darkness are black holes--- the great mystery of space.