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　　It was August 10, 2011．Diana Nyad was dozens of miles into her dream to complete a 103-mile swim from Cuba to Key West．Because of the currents in the Florida Straits, Nyad would have to last 60 hours-if everything went perfectly．

　　For two years, this dream of swimming from Cuba to Florida had been part of her every waking hour．She was about to turn 60．"I wanted to be filled with commitment to the best of myself so that 1 wasn't looking back later saying, 'What have I done with my life?''' says Nyad．

　　Those extreme physical struggles are not new to her．In 1974, 25-year-old Nyad became the first person to swim across Lake Ontario against the current．A year later, Nyad's 28-mile swim around the island of Manhattan made the front page of the New York Times．

　　"Physically, I'm stronger．I weigh a lot more," Nyad said after a training swim in Key West in June．"There are also mental advantages to being older," says Steven Munatones, an expert in swimming．

　　Feeling a sharp pain in her right shoulder, she changed the angle of stroke(划), telling herself to go gently until her hand caught the water．In the 17^th hour, she swam over to the boat, and the crew located a pain reliever．Nyad took it．She lay on her back, rolled onto her belly and continued swimming, and then she'd turn on her back again, gasping(喘气), unable to fill her lungs．"I'm trying to make it．I'm barely going forward．I feel so sick．This has been my dream forever, but I can hardly make it another hour," Nyad told David Marchant, the boat's navigator(领航员)．Between the 23rd and 27th hours, Nyad had gone just five miles．"OK, Diana, I'm going to touch you, and it's going to be over," Stoll said．Nyad agreed．And with that, 29 hours and 43 minutes after she'd jumped into the water, the swim came to an end．

　　"She just wouldn't quit．It was more amazing to see her not make it the way she fought than if everything had gone exactly right and she'd made it the whole way," says Mark Sollinger, who piloted Nyad's lead boat．

　　At a press conference in Key West after being pulled onto the support boat, Nyad choked back tears and said, "Sometimes the will is so strong．But I was shaking and freezing, and I thought, 'There's no mind over matter anymore．' I think I'm going to have to go to my tomb without swimming from Cuba to Florida．"

　　But when Nyad returned home to Los Angeles, the pain began to fade．"Something says to me the goal is still there," says Nyad．

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Work your brain!

　　Between 2 and 3 pounds of wonder, it controls everything we say, do or think, who we are and what we care about．The way we walk or laugh or figure out things．What we like and the talents we possess．How we see and talk and run and jump and process our food．

　　The brain uses 20 percent of our body's oxygen and 20 percent of its blood．Somewhere within its protein, fat, 100,000 miles of blood vessels(血管)and 100 billion nerve cells, it helps us remember where we put our gym shoes．Change our temperature so we don't die because of the heat or cold．Speed us up or slow us down．Help us choose between orange juice or orange-flavored drinks．

　　Its complexity are stunning, far beyond anything most of us can imagine．To keep this work of art as smooth as possible we need to eat right, exercise and keep mentally stimulated(刺激的)．

　　Good nutrition helps brain cells communicate with each other．Exercise stimulates a hormone(荷尔蒙)in our brain that improves memory．Mental stimulation keeps you sharp even as you age．

　　“It's very important that we tell people to be physically active and mentally active,” said neurologist Malcolm Stewart．

　　“People cannot stop aging, but you're able to reduce the damage; you're able to keep the function up．”

　　Following are Dr．Stewart's advice for improving brain health：

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　　Some problems are difficult to solve! But there are a lot of number expressions that can help．For example, if we put two and two together, we might come up with the right answer．We know that two heads are better than one．It is always better to work with another person to solve a problem．

　　Sometimes we can kill two birds with one stone．That is, we can complete two goals with only one effort or action．But we must remember that two wrongs don't make a right．If someone does something bad to you, you should not do the same to him．

　　If you are going out with your girlfriend, or boyfriend, you do not want another friend to go along on your date．You can just say to your friend：twos company, three's a crowd．

　　A young child in school has to learn the three Rs．These important skills are reading, writing and arithmetic．These three words do not all start with the 1etter R, but they have the sound of R．Teachers will give three cheers when their pupils do a good job．

　　Some of my friends were confused and did not understand their schoolwork．They were at sixes and sevens．In fact, they did not care whether they could finish high school．They saw 1ittle difference between the two choices．But they were really happy when they completed their studies and graduated from high school．They were in seventh heaven．They were on cloud nine．

　　Last year, one of my friends applied for a better job at her office．I did not think she would get it．I thought she had a hundred to one shot at the job．Other people at her office thought her chances were a million to one．One reason was that she had been caught catching forty winks(打盹)at the office．She slept at her desk for short periods during the day．But her supervisor appointed her to the new job at the eleventh hour－at the very last minute．I guess her lucky number came up．

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Fishy Film Goes Deeper

　　Avatar director James Cameron is now taking his camera deep into the ocean．

　　On March 25, he did a lone submarine(潜水艇)dive nearly 11 kilometers down to the deepest place in the ocean, the Mariana Trench(马里亚纳海沟)in the western Pacific．

　　Compared with the colorful forest of Avatar, the Mariana Trench is dark and icy cold．Cameron became the first person to explore the deepest valley in the ocean since two men made a 20-minute trip there in 1960．

　　“I felt like I really had gone to another planet and come back,” Cameron told the Associated Press after returning from his dive．“It's really the sense of isolation(与世隔绝), realizing how tiny you are down in this big, black and unexplored place．”

　　The filmmaker has spent the past few years working with his team of engineers to design and build the submarine call Deep-sea Challenger．Unlike ordinary submarines, it is wrapped in cameras and lights so that Cameron can film the ocean from the inside．

　　The minute-long video that Cameron took while under the sea has been released by the National Geographic．There are no words in the video, but there is something fascinating about this extremely quiet and remote place．Cameron said he was thankful that he of all people had had the chance to go there．

　　“There had to be a moment where I just stopped, and took it in, and said,′This is where I am; I'm at the bottom of the ocean, the deepest place on Earth．What does that mean?” Cameron told reporters．

　　The Mariana Trench was once thought to be of little interest to scientists．It was assumed that nothing could live under so much pressure and with so little light．But in recent years scientists have found creatures there like fish and shrimps that can resist the heavy pressure．They are also trying to figure out what role deep-sea trenches play in earthquakes．

　　Cameron told the BBC that he does not want this dive to be a one-time thing．He wants to use it as a platform for further ocean exploration．

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　　Some strange,wi1d and wonderful stories colored the news in 2011：

　　★A Copenhagen(哥本哈根)bus company has put “love seats” on its vehicles for people looking for a partner．“Even love at first sight is possible on the bus”, said a spokesman to explain the two seats on each bus that are covered in red cloth and a “love seat”sign．

　　★Shoppers at an international fair in Verona, Italy, found a cellphone-equipped golden coffin(棺材)among the items on display．The phone will help“the dead” contact relatives if they have been buried alive by mistake．

　　★A man in New York came up with a disarming(解除疑虑的)way to set off his latest bank heist(盗窃), approaching the clerks window with a large bunch of flowers and handing over a hold-up note saying “give me the money”!

　　★An Englishman who lost all his legs and arms in an electrical accident successfully swam across the Channel, a challenge he had been preparing for two years．The whole cost is 400 dollars．

　　★A set of artificial teeth made for British war-time prime minister Winston Churchill known as “the teeth that saved the world ”sold for nearly 18，OOO pounds(21,500 Euros, 24,000 dollars)at auction．

　　★A British woman caused an Internet hate campaign after she was caught on camera dumping(丢弃)a cat in a rubbish bin．She was fined 250 pounds(280 Euros, 400 dollars)after admitting guilty．

　　★The BBC apologized completely and without any doubts after a radio presenter jokingly announced that Queen Elizabeth II had died．

　　★TWO Australian men who needed surgery(外科手术)after shooting each other in the bottoms during drinking to see if it would hurt were charged 400 dollars separately．

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　　In the six months that he'd worked at his aunt's shelter, Bryan had never grown close to a dog, but Patch was different．Aunt Kim had warned him, “Bryan, your mom says no dogs．” The fact that Patch was deaf did not help．

　　“It's not your fault you're deaf,”Bryan said, “Don't worry, because I've got a plan!” Later, Bryan got ready to leave．Making sure no one was coming, he secretly put the dog into his bag, and waved his aunt goodbye．

　　Two hours after arriving home with Patch, Bryan sat sadly in his room．He had told his mother he would take care of Patch, but Mom didn't agree．

　　Bryan lay awake that night, Patch jumped onto his bed, and soon he fell asleep．

　　Unbearable barks woke Bryan sometime later．Bryan got up to quiet the dog, but he froze when he saw black smoke snaking into his room．He pulled the door open．Red-yellow flames licked(窜)greedily at the hallway entrance, blocking the front door．Suddenly, Patch ran down the hall．Bryan followed and found the dog in his sister Sarah's room．Bryan pushed Sarah to the window and shouted, “Jump with Patch!”

　　Racing back into the smoky hallway, Bryan saw his mom．She seemed hardly able to catch her breath．Bryan tried to drag her to the hall window．But he failed．He looked up just in time to hear voices and feel strong arms pull them both to safety．

　　A neighbor had heard Patch's barks and called 911．The firefighters thought a few candles had caused the fire．

　　“I can't believe I forgot to blow out my candles,” Mom said．

　　“Sorry about the house, Mom,” Bryan said quietly．

　　To his surprise, Mom smiled, “It's OK．The important thing is that our family is safe．” She patted Patch's head, “Our whole family．”

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　　It doesn't matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive．That's what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin．Al Herpin, it was said, never slept．Could this be true ? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves．

　　Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey．They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind．So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made．But they were surprised．Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day, they never saw Herpin sleeping．In fact, he did not even own a bed．He never needed one．

　　The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers．The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness．They found only one answer that might explain his condition．Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born．But that was all．Was this the real reason? No one could be sure．Herpin died at the age of 94．

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　　A Week ago, “Sports for Life” programme was sent to the parents, requiring them to select a sport they wanted their child to play．Since then, our staff have received lots of calls from parents asking for more information about it．Here is a memo(备忘录)for your reference when you answer the phones：

　　We expect that this will be the most popular of the four sports．Therefore, students should be advised to sign up as soon as possible．Students will take a private bus to and from Kwun Tong Sports Park．To cover the cost of hiring a bus, each student will have to pay ＄10 each time．There will be four basketball courts available for our use with one teacher watching over each game．

　　We will be using St．Peter's Memorial Park．There are two reasons for choosing this park．First, it is not very busy and crowded before 6：00 pm．Second, it has a lot of trees with plenty of shade．Students must bring along two bottles of water to prevent thirst．Three activities, skipping, jogging, outdoor aerobics(有氧运动), all of which are free of charge, will be arranged．And there will be a teacher on duty for each of the activities．

Sports 3：Hiking．(远足)

　　Hiking will take place at Kowloon Peak．The activity will start at 2∶30 pm and finish 90 minutes later．Three teachers will accompany the students, and a hiking instructor will accompany each group of 15 hikers．Each instructor will cost ＄ 75/hr．

　　The Kowloon City Aquatic Centre is a 10-minute walk from our school．Four teachers will go to the pool and conduct the goings-on from the poolside．We will only be able to reserve the pool for one hour(i．e．2∶45pm to 3∶45pm)．Only students skillful at swimming can take up this activity．The pool will have two lifeguards present．Girls must wear a swimming suit．The cost is ＄10 per visit．

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Interview with a president

　　While many teenagers may dream of meeting with pop star Jay Chou or NBA hero Yao Ming, Li Jing had a far more powerful person on her mind．The Senior 2 from Beijing No．35 High School dreamt of meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin．

　　After more than a year of hard work and with a little good luck, Li fulfilled her dream．On October 11, 2004, the 16-year-old girl joined a team of Chinese journalists who went to the Kremlin, in Moscow, to interview Putin．

　　Li felt nervous before talking with Putin．“But his greeting and warm smile put me at ease,” she said．

　　Li admires Putin very much, because of his strong will and style of leadership．“He looks very cool,” Li said．During her interview, Li asked Putin whether he plans to educate his two teenage daughters to be officials in the future．Putin smiled and answered he hopes they can do whatever job suits their interests and personalities．

　　Although Li would only have several minutes, she started working on her interview questions last August after applying for the opportunity．“Journalists work is by no means easy．You need to do lots of homework on your interviewee,” she said．She read many books about Putin and Russia in her spare time．?

　　Li's parents encouraged her to be a student journalist．“We fully support her, as long as it does not affect her studies,” said her father．Previously in her job for a student magazine, Chinese Young Journalists, she wrote a letter to President Hu Jintao during the SARS epidemic．

　　Li has learnt a lot from her experience．She said learning to manage her time and developing the confidence to speak with important people were not the things she could learn in class．?

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