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　　For nine days in October, the New Mexico skies are painted as hundreds of balloons lift off from Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta(or festival)Park．For ballooning fans worldwide, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a pilgrimage(朝圣)．There's something for everyone to enjoy——special shapes filled with equal parts of hot air and wonder, and Balloon Glows that create a magical night landscape for spectators(or audience)to wander．

　　The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a world-famous attraction and destination for kids of all ages．For more than three decades, the first week in October brings the smell of roasting chiles(辣椒)and the beautiful, magical moving picture show of hot air balloons sailing silently through the crisp fall air．

　　Guests from all over the world come to Albuquerque to celebrate ballooning．Literally hundreds of balloons will be taking flight from the Balloon Fiesta Park this year．

　　From its beginnings in 1972 with 13 balloons launching from a shopping mall parking lot, the Balloon Fiesta has grown to various events launching year-round at the custom-designed, 365-acre Balloon Fiesta Park．Our signature event remains Balloon Fiesta－which, with 700 balloons, is the largest ballooning event on earth, the most photographed event on earth, and the largest yearly international event held in the United States．

　　Imagine 54 football fields, all put together．That's the size of Balloon Fiesta Park's 78-acre launch field! And at this Park's "playing field", there are no losing teams and no viewing stands．Guests walk the field and are part of the action．．．．

　　Balloon Fiesta Park is located north of Alameda Boulevard, one mile west of Interstate-25．

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　　The writings of Shakespeare are today little read by young people in Britain．His young readership is limited to those who choose to study literature at university．

　　Shakespeare' s work, together with most other classics, is seen as remote, and written in a 400-year-old version of English that is about as inviting as toothache．

　　Still, in British schools, it is compulsory to study the poet, and when something is made compulsory, usually the result is boredom, resentment(憎恨)or both．

　　This was my experience of the classics at school．But when I reached my late teenage years, I had a change of heart．Like every other young person since the dawn of time, the world confused me．I wanted answers, so I turned to books to find them．

　　I went on to take a PhD in literature and have taught it in Britain and China．I have never regretted it．There is something in literature that people want, even if they don't read books．You see this in the popularity of TV and movie adaptations of great works, the recent film version of Jane Austen' s Pride and Prejudice being a case in point．These popular adaptations may help increase people's interest in the classics．

　　Reading a simplified Romeo and Juliet may perhaps lead to a reading of Shakespeare's actual plays．If that is the case, then I welcome the trend．But do not make the mistake of thinking that it is the same thing．Shakespeare is a poet．His greatness is in his language．Reading someone else's rewriting of his work is like peeling a banana, throwing away the fruit, and eating the skin．Take on the original．It really is worth the effort．

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KISSI HEALTH-BEAUTY CENTER

　　With a busy life and job, pressure can make you look tired and aged．Kissi Health-Beauty Center gives classes, makes training plans according to your physical conditions, and sets up an individual file．All these things will help you to get to know your body and the way to keep it fit．

　　1)BODY-BUILDING

　　Imported gym equipment will help you build up your body’s muscles, making you look full of energy and strength．

　　GYMNASTIC EXERCISES

　　A bright and large exercise room with excellent equipment and music will give your body a chance to enjoy movement with rhythm．

　　3)SPECIAL “LAZY-BONE” FITNESS CENTER

　　“Lazy-bone” fitness equipment is the first bodyshaping set of seven beds in Houston．Designed according to human anatomic(解剖学的)and kinematic(运动学的)theory， the seven special beds will help you to exercise your waist, abdomen(腹), hips(臀)or legs．In the relaxing hours you may try them to strengthen your muscles and lose weight．

　　*Tuition：“Lazy-bone” fitness card, 1000 dollars/month(gymnastic classes　included)．

　　*Open Time：10∶30 a. m.－10∶30 p. m. every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

　　*Tel：59185700

　　*Address：16 Johnson Street, Houston

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　　Australia－a huge island continent that lies to the south of Asia．Australia－more than two hundred years old, a nation that is still growing．

　　Its big cities lie on the southeast coast, this is where most Australians live．Australians prefer to own their own houses, though some live in apartments．Australians are a suburban people．The suburbs surround the cities for many miles, and so efficient transport is of great importance．As the economy grows, so do its industries- a higher level of production, a wider range of products．

　　The Australian works hard, but he likes his leisure．The climate makes outdoor activities the most popular．

　　Canberra, the capital of Australia, is a planned modem city located inland．Australia is governed by a parliamentary democracy．The representatives of other countries have their embassies here．Australia wants to strengthen relations with her neighbors．

　　Australia is a strange land, a land of vast expanses- fertile valleys, snow fields and deserts- also a land with unique animal, many that can not be found on any other continent in the world today．

　　Much of the continent is dry, but man has utilized the land, made it productive, with its tools, with its technology．This is the driest continent of all, and water is a precious possession, more precious than all other natural resources．Large dams are built to collect the water, there to irrigate the fields of pastures and crops．

　　But Australia is changing．The land of wool and wheat is now a land of large-scale industry and mining．The costs of developing the new mineral discoveries are enormous, but the rewards are great too．

　　Australia－a young and developing nation．Australia－a nation that wants to communicate with its neighbors．

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　　“Hey, Jenna, do you think we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty – two?” I asked my friend．It was clear she was wondering where I had come up with such a question．Losing Jenna would be like losing a very close sister．We hung out together．We gave each other advice．

　　“Of course, we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty – two．” Jenna announced loudly．

　　The next year, in fourth grade, we met Jamie．The three of us soon became close friends．We played together almost every day．I thought even time couldn’t pull us apart, but I was sadly mistaken．

　　The three of us started fighting a lot．Before Christmas, we had a really big fight, and Jamie and Jenna were against me, both saying I was bossy．I felt helpless and lonely．I thought Christmas would be horrible!

　　I was surprised when Jenna came to my house and gave me an awesome Christmas card she had made for me．I was so sure that she was still disappointed with me．

　　“Wow, ” I said．breaking the silence as we stood on either side of my front door．“Thanks．”

　　“Okay…well…I have to go, ” she said softly．

　　“Okay．See you late then…” and I closed the door．

　　“Who was that at the door?” my mum asked．

　　The card stared off with “Merry Christmas”, but then it said, “I am so glad we’re friends．I am sorry about what I said when we were fighting．A fight won’t stop us from being friends．Besides, we said we were going to be friends even when we’re eight – two．”

　　I stopped reading and started laughing．I couldn’t believe I had forgotten what she said that day in her back yard．I couldn’t believe I had been so selfish in trying to get even and making my friends feel sorry for me that I had forgotten about real friendship．

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　　Once upon a time in a land far away, there was a wonderful old man who loved everything：animals, spiders, insects…

　　One day while walking through the woods, the nice old man found a cocoon(茧)of a butterfly．He took it home．A few days later, a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole．Then it seemed to stop making any progress．It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther．Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon．

　　The butterfly then appeared easily．

　　But it had a swollen body and small, fragile wings．The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would be smaller in time．Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling(慢慢爬行)around with a swollen body and fragile wings．

　　It never was able to fly．

　　What the man in his kindness and hurry did not understand was that the limited cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Nature's way of forcing fluid(液体)from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon．

　　Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life．If we were allowed to go through our life without any obstacles and difficulties, it would disable us．We would not be as strong as what we could have been．And we could never fly．

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What's On Stage

　　An acrobatic show：To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the China Acrobatic Troupe(剧团)will present “The Soul of China”, where the seemingly impossible is made real．Chills will run down your spine(脊柱)as you watch breathlessly as performers take their art and their bodies to the edge．

　　Time：7∶30 p. m., September 13-19

　　Place：Capital Theatre, 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District

　　Exhibitions

　　Joint Show：A group ink painting exhibition is running at the Huangshicheng Art Gallery in Beijing．About 50 works by 25 young artists including Ge Yun and Yu Yang are on display．

　　Time：9∶00 a. m.－5∶00 p. m. until September 10

　　Place：Huangshicheng Art Gallery, 136 Nanchizi Dajie, Dongcheng District

　　Oil paintings：The Wanfung Art Gallery will host a joint show of oil painting by 10 young and middle-aged artists．On display are more than 30 of their latest works, which capture the wondrous variety of life in unique styles．

　　Time：9∶00 a. m.－4∶00 p. m. until September 15

　　Place：136 Nanchizi Street, Dongcheng District

　　Literature museum：The National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature offers an in-depth study of the evolution of Chinese contemporary literature from 1919 to 1949．

　　Time：9∶00 a. m.－4∶00 p. m., daily

　　Place：45 Anyuan Donglu, Chaoyang District(Shaoyaoju area)

　　Concerts

　　Beijing rocks：“The Fashion Night of Chinese Rock” is set to bring rock fans out by the thousands next month．Nine Chinese rock bands　will perform at the concert, including older generation bands, middle generation and some recent arrivals．The audience will be given a chance to decide what songs they want to hear, which is sure to bring a storm．

　　Time：September 16

　　Place：The Olympic Center

　　Belgium Orchestra：La Petite Bande, the Baroque Orehestra of Belgium, will perform in Beijing at the Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities as part of activities across the world in memory of the 250th anniversary of Bach's death．

　　Time：7∶30 p. m．September 11－14

　　Place：Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities

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　　Scientists made a great break through this year in England when the first "test tube" baby was born．The birth was the result of many years of research by doctors．The doctors did the research in groups to help the women who cannot conceive a baby in the normal way．

　　What happened when the baby was born "from a test tube"? Well, the baby did not literally grow in a test tube．The first stage of the process was that the egg from the woman and the sperm from the man were put together in the test tube．After all, the embryo was put into the womb of a woman．This process was difficult．But it was successful, so the baby was eventually born, like any other, from a woman, only the woman wasn't the baby's real mother, but a sort of "carrier" of a baby produced by another couple．

　　Obviously, this method is to help the couples who can't have children because of physical problems in the woman．But very difficult moral problems arise in the kind of situation．Take it for instance, a case that happened this year．A couple who wanted a baby advertised for a woman to have a child by the father of the couple．They offered the woman a lot of money．The woman was made pregnant by artificial insemination; in this case, the woman "employed" to bear the child was its real mother．When the baby was born, the woman refused to give it back to the couple．But, in the eyes of the law, the woman had a right to keep the children because she was its biologic al mother．

　　You could argue that we should change the law to deal with this kind of situation．In earlier times, there were always healthy babies needing adoption, because family planning methods were not so effective as they are now．These days, however, most of the children who can be adopted are over six years old, often handicapped in some way．So a couple who want a young healthy baby cannot always adopt one, this is why the "test tube" baby is in demand．But is it normally right to use this method? Should we temper with nature in this way? Even if we change the law, would this be the right step to take?

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　　There is a new trend．TAIBEI－Increasing numbers of Taiwanese students are joining the island's “China rush”, seeking education on the Chinese mainland．

　　According to official Chinese figures, the number of Taiwanese students admitted into college and postgraduate(研究生)programs on the mainland totaled 461 in 1996, 928 in 1997 and 839 in 1998．Although no latest official numbers were available,” Netbig．Com said this number had risen between 30 to 50 percent annually in the past two years with well over 1000 entering mainland campuses last year．

　　The Internet site, based in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, provides education service and information on Chinese mainland college and universities．“Many Taiwanese believe a Chinese education giving more knowledge about the people and culture in the mainland will increase their chances in the Chinese job market, Net．Com vice-president Ingrid Huang said．“I believe it will give me hands-on experience in the business field in the Chinese mainland and a better understanding of the Chinese mainland people,” said Lydia Chang, a 19-year-old majoring in journalism at Shih Shin University．Chang plans to go on to get a master's degree in business administration in Shanghai, which she says offers the best environment for such studies．

　　A journalism graduate student, surnamed Lin, at the National Taiwan University said he would like to study law on the Chinese mainland since “there will be better career prospects(前景)now that more Taiwanese companies are going there”．“They hope the children could build up connections which could later become useful in their business operations,” said Yang Ching-yao, professor of the Chinese mainland studies．A Netbig．Com survey showed the campuses favored by Taiwan students included Beijing, Qinghua and Renmin universities in Beijing, and Jinan and Zhongshan universities in Guangzhou．The most popular studies were law, business and Chinese medicine．

　　At present, Chinese Taibei doesn't recognize diplomas earned in the Chinese mainland nor help with any inquiries about studying there．But recognizing the trend, education authorities are giving a final form to a policy accepting certificates(证书)from selected universities．

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As the human population grows, the population of rat also increases．Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave what they cannot finish of the fast food in the street, an environment group warned．Keep Britain Tidy said the rats were stopping their traditional hunts underground and were running across the streets, invited by burgers, pizzas and crisps left behind by man．“The rat population is on the rise and soon it'll be as common to see a rat on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat,” said group Director, Sue Nelson．The practice of spreading fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the dustbin－with young men the worst group－was behind the rise．According to the National Rodent Survey in 2005, Britain's rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 2000 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population．On average a rat can give birth every 24-28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a family of 2,000 a year．Around 200 people a year get Weil's Disease －an infection which can lead to liver or kidney(肝肾)failure and eventually death and which is carried in rats' waste．To attract people's attention to the problem, Keep Britain Tidy produced a cinema ad with a title “How close do you want them to get?” The ad gave a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats--reminding people of the terrible scene from James Herbert's classic horror tale The Rats, in which rats begin to hunt for humans．