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　　“BANG” the door caused a reverberation．“Never set foot in this house again!” shouted father．With tears welling(涌出)up in my eyes, I rushed out of the house and ran along the street．

　　A young father who held a child in his arm walked past rile．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space：happy and harmonious(和谐)．

　　But now I don't know whether it is because I have grown up or because Dad is getting old．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．

　　I wandered the street, without a destination in my mind．My heart was frozen on this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people in the streets, until I had only streets to keep me company．When I finally reached the high rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on．

　　I thought to myself, “Is father waiting for me, or is he still angry with me?”　　In fact, it was nothing．Perhaps, Dad was throwing some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps．

　　All the lights were off except father's．

　　Dad was always like this．Maybe he didn't know how to express himself．After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or regret．After an argument he will creep(蹑手蹑脚)up in my sleep and then tuck me underneath the covers．

　　This was how he always was．He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．

　　The light was still on．With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been．At last, I decided to open the door．As soon as I opened the door tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all．Love－it is second to none．

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　　Michael Joseph Jackson(born August 29, 1958)is an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman．In the early 1980s, he became an important figure in popular music．The popularity of his music videos, such as “Beat It”, “Billie Jean” and “Thriller”, helped bring the relatively new channel to fame．Videos such as “Black or White” and “Scream” made Jackson a famous person on MTV in the 1990s．With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk．His distinctive musical sound and sound style influenced hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists．

　　Jackson has donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial causes through his foundation, charity singles and support of 39 charities．The singer has experienced health concerns since the early 1990s and conflicting reports regarding the state of his finances since the late 1990s．Jackson married twice and fathered three children．

　　One of the few artists to have been inducted(进入)into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records－including one for “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time”－13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career－more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era－and the sale of over 750 million units worldwide．As one of the world's most famous men, Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, has made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades．

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　　I suddenly heard an elephant crying as though frightened．Looking down,I immediately recognized that something was wrong,and ran down to the edge of the near bank．There I saw Ma Shwe with her three month old calf struggling in the fastrising water,and it was a life and death struggle．Her calf was floating and screaming with fear．Ma Shwe was as near to the far bank as she could get,holding her whole body against the rushing water,and keeping the calf pressed against her huge body．Every now and then the rushing water would sweep the calf away．

　　There was a sudden rise in the water and the calf was washed clean over the mother's body and was gone．Ma Shwe turned quickly to reach it and pressed the calf with her head and trunk(象鼻)against the rocky bank．Then with a huge effort,she picked it up in her trunk and tried until she was able to place it on a narrow shelf of rock．

　　Just at this moment,she fell back into the river．If she were carried down,it would be certain death．I knew,as well as she did,that there was one spot(地点)where she could get up the bank,but it was on the other side from where she had put her calf．

　　While I was wondering what I could do next,I heard the sound of a mother's love．Ma Shwe had crossed the river and got up the bank and was making her way back as fast as she could,roaring(吼叫)all the time,but to her calf it was music．

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　　When I wake up on summer mornings, I know I am going to my favorite place to volunteer and make a difference in someone's life just by being with him or her－a summer school for autistic(患孤独症的)children．

　　By helping the kids read or do math, I am not only teaching important skills but also helping them feel like any other kid．There are many wrong ideas about autism．The kids I work with can think and feel．They need help only in certain areas．

　　Of course, each kid is special．For example, some kids like to draw, and others like to sing．

　　At the school, the kids learn through about 20 activities．These activities can help them learn skills they will need later in life．

　　The very first day I volunteered, a boy came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, and said “Hello．” From then on, I knew I could make a difference．

　　Another boy loved to have me read books that can help him learn to read．Sometimes he could be encouraged to read a few words or sentences．Finally, one day during reading practice, he read nearly 220 words himself！

　　Summer school is also a time for fun．Last summer, bagpipe(风笛)players came to perform．Most of us had our hands over our ears because they were so loud．When they asked for a volunteer from the audience, one girl raised her hand as high as she could, got up on stage, and even tried the bagpipes in front of everyone．

　　Through these experiences, I realize that the challenges these kids face do not stop them from doing many amazing things．I'm teaching them, but they are teaching me more．

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　　NEW YORK CITY?A hurricane warning has been given for New York City．Forecasters say Hurricane Irene could cause widespread flooding, power failure and billions of dollars in damage．About 65 million Americans live in Hurricane Irene's projected path－many of whom have been evacuated．

　　In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered the city's first-ever evacuation．Roughly 250,000 people have been told to leave their homes in low-lying areas, including the Wall Street financial district．

　　WASHINGTON D．C．－On Aug．24, 2011, Apple announced that Mr．Steve Jobs, who has battled cancer for several years, was stepping down as the CEO but would serve as chairman．

　　In January, he had announced that he was taking a medical leave of absence from Apple．In announcing his leave, he turned daily oversight of the company over to the chief operating officer, Timothy D．Cook, and it was Mr．Cook whom Apple named to succeed him as the next CEO of the company．

　　TRIPOLI－Opposition forces in Libya say they control more than 90 percent of the country．It is still not clear where Moammar Gadhafi is．The opposition has offered more than 1,600,000 dollars for his capture(逮捕)．The head of the opposition forces said his group supports a decision by local businessmen to provide the money in an effort to speed up the capture．Earlier Wednesday, government forces fired onto the former headquarters(总部)of Mr．Gadhafi, which is now controlled by opposition forces．Heavy fighting also continued near Tripoli's airport and in a town of Zuara．

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　　Most recently, it's very common in students who need a parent present for job interviews．Naturally, it's easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us．We－as parents－are so eager to shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them．As the mother of two young sons, I have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the skills needed to live in, to live without me．So, I'll let them fail．

　　I'll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow．And failure梐long with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc－will be part of growth for them．Call me the anti-tiger mom, but leaving them alone is, my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we know it today．From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and start teaching them how to fish．

　　My children now are becoming little masters of compromise, but they try to negotiate(协商)everything now．It's a small price to help them learn a skill they'll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don't accompany them on job interviews．

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　　The Rockford police chief and some city officials want to install(安装)video cameras in all 100 police cars．They think this will reduce the number of lawsuits(法律诉讼)．In the last five years, Rockford has paid out more than five million dollars to settle about 40 lawsuits．

　　The chief said, "If cameras had been in those cars．we wouldn't have．had to pay one cent．We're always pulling over drunks or drug users who try to fight the police or shoot them．Then they always claim(声称)that the police start beating them first or start shooting at them first．"

　　The cost of installing cameras will be about ＄500 each．The city council(委员会)will vote on the proposal(提议)next Monday．Ten of the 13 council members said that they like the idea．One member said that it makes good sense．

　　The police officers enthusiastically support camera use．One officer said that too many people think the police often lie; cameras would show citizens that police tell the truth．"The money that we've been spending on lawsuits will be better spent on more cameras," said one officer．

　　Citizen opinions to the idea of police car cameras are mixed．One person, said that the police should have started doing this years ago when video cameras were invented．But an elderly man strongly objected．'These police are trying to stick their nose into everything," he said．He was going to attend the council meeting to condemn the proposal．He hoped that other citizens would join him,

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　　A nine-year-old kid was sitting at his desk when suddenly there was a puddle(/JC^C)between his feet and the front of his trousers was wet．He thought his heart was going to stop because he couldn't possibly imagine how this had happened．It had never happened before, and he knew that when the boys found out he would never hear the end of jt．When the girls found out, they would never speak to him again as long as he lived．

　　He prayed this prayer, "Dear God, I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat!" He looked up from his prayer and here came the teacher with a look in her eyes that said he had been discovered．As the teacher was walking toward him, a classmate named Susie was carrying a goldfish bowl full of water．Susie tripped(绊倒)in front of the teacher and dumped(倒)the bowl of water in the boy's lap．The boy pretended to be angry, but all the while was saying to himself, "Thank you．Lord!"

　　Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy was the object of sympathy．The teacher rushed him downstairs and gave him gym shorts to put on while his trousers dried out．All the other children were on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk．The sympathy was wonderful．But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his had been transferred(转移)to someone else－Susie．She tried to help, but they told her to get out．

　　When school was over, the boy walked over to Susie and whispered, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispered back, "I wet my trousers once, too!"

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　　Scientists say they now have proof to support the old-fashioned advice that it’s best to sleep on a problem．They say sleep strengthens the memory and helps the brain organize the masses of information we receive each day．

　　The lead researcher Bob Stickgold at the Harvard Medical School said, “Sleep helps us draw rules from our experiences．It’s like knowing the difference between dogs and cats even if it’s hard to explain．”

　　The US research team studied how well students remembered connections between words and symbols, reports New Scientist．They compared how the students performed if they had had a sleep between seeing the words and having the test, and if they had not slept．They found that people were better able to remember lists of related words after a night’s sleep than after the same time spent awake during the day．They also found it easier to remember themes that the words had in common．But they forgot around one in four more themes if they had been awake．

　　Prof．John Groeger, of Survey University’s Sleep Research Centre, said, “People have been trying for years to find out what the purpose of sleep is, as we know that only certain parts of it have a restorative(促使康复的)value．”

　　“We form and store huge numbers of experiences in the head every day, and sleep seems to be the way the brain deals with them all．”

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　　Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture is in a traditional pub．But these friendly pubs can be dangerous places of potential gaffes(失礼)for the newcomers．

　　A team of researchers have discovered some of the unknown customs of British pubs - starting with the difficulty of getting a drink．Most pubs have no waiters - you have to go to the bar to buy drinks．A group of Italian youths waiting 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own．This may sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose．

　　Pub culture is designed to promote sociability(社交)in a society known for its reserve．Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served．The bar counter is possibly the only site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely suitable and really quite normal behavior．“If you haven’t been to a pub, you haven’t been to Britain．” This tip can be found in a booklet, Passport to the Pub：The Tourists’ Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customers’ rule of conduct for those wanting to sample “a central part of British life and culture”．

　　The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat．For example, if you are in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks．Nothing annoys the regular customers and bar staff more than a group of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and hesitate about what to order．