Tanya Ferguson lives in Sydney. On September 23, she woke up to a strong wind blowing through her window. She then saw that the room was completely orange.
"I could not believe my eyes," she told BBC news. She thought there was a bush fire. But when she went outside, the whole city was covered in a film of orange dust.
"It was like being in the outback, but it was right here in the city," she said.
On that day, a big dust storm swept through Sydney. It covered the city in orange dust for about eight hours, and people can't see landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge.
The storm influenced the transportation system. Flights were put off. Roads were busy in the difficult conditions. Children and the elderly were told to stay indoors until the dust had cleared. Later strong winds blew it out to sea and up the coast. No one was hurt in the storm, though health officials and emergency services answered hundreds of calls from people with breathing difficulties.
Dust storms are common in the Australian outback, where the land is poor. But the storms hardly reach the coastal areas. Officials said it was the worst dust storm of the past 70 years. Experts said that dry conditions in the outback and strong winds caused the sandstorm.
"Ten very dry years over inland southern Australia and very strong winds have co-operated to produce the storm," said Nigel Tapper, an environmental scientist at Monash University, Australia.
The teacher stood before his class of 30 students and was about to hand out the final exam papers. "I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test, "he said. "And because I know you are all able to understand this material, I am ready to offer a B to anyone who would prefer not to take the test."
A number of students jumped up to thank the teacher and left the classroom. The teacher looked at the remaining (余下的) students and said, "Does anyone else want to get a B? This is your last chance. "Two more students decided to go. Seven students stayed. The teacher then handed out the papers. There were only three sentences which were typed on the paper: Congratulations! You have received an A in this class. Keep believing in yourself.
I never had a teacher who gave a test like that, but I think that it is a test that any teacher could and should give. Students who do not have confidence in what they have learned are B students at most.
The same is true for students in real life. The A students are those who believe in what they are doing because they have learned from both successes and failures. They have learned life's lessons, whether from formal education or from events in their lives, and have become better people. Scientists say that by the age of eight, 80% of what we believe about ourselves has already been formed. You are a big kid now, and you realize that you have some limits. However, there is nothing you can't do or leant to be. Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the top of Mount Qomolangma said, "We do not conquer the mountain, but ourselves."
American people have the habit of saying thank you whenever something kind is done for them or something polite is said to them, no matter how easy or casual the thing is. This habit is1by people of many2countries. You should say "Thank you" when someone3 you the salt on the table, or when someone 4aside to let you 5 in a narrow corridor, or when someone 6ahead of you keeps the door open 7you, when someone says your work is well 8 or says you have bought a nice thing, or says your city is very beautiful. "Thank you" is 9 not only between strangers or new acquaintance, 10between friends and colleagues, parents and children, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives. Parents often tell 11 children that they should say "Thank you" in answer to a 12word or act when they are only four 13five years old. Perhaps that's 14 almost everyone has 15 this habit.
Connect to the world
Over the past 20 years, the Internet has greatly influenced our world and c our lives. The Internet makes it much e for people to search for information. For example, when we write a history report, we don't have to go to the library. We can find i about world leaders and historical events on different websites. Everything we want to know can be found at the click of a button.
The Internet helps us to stay connected to family, friends and the world around us. Not long ago, we wrote letters by h and waited weeks for a reply. Today, when we use QQ, we send and r messages across thousands of miles in a few seconds.
The Internet gives us a way to express our opinions in p. We share interesting ideas with other people on QQ, Baidu Tieba, blogs or forums. If we dislike the food at school, we can discuss it in the school's forum or in the Tieba of our own class.
A the Internet has made our world better in many ways, in some ways it can be a bad influence. There is a lot of false information on the Internet. It is important not to believe a we read on the Internet.
In addition, many teenagers choose to keep in touch with each other online instead of meeting face-to-face. People w that this harms their social communication skills.
Some teenagers spend too much time playing Internet games. They may lose focus on their studies.
There are millions of interesting sites to visit and so many wonderful things to do online. How could we live without the Internet nowadays? But remember to use the Internet p and wisely. Try to let the Internet be your good servant, not your bad master!
