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　　Walking down any of Shanghai's main shopping streets this week, newcomers might think the locals have been celebrating Christmas for centuries．Christmas may not be a customary holiday in China, but businessmen in Shanghai know it will bring something more valuable than tradition：people are willing to spend money．Most Chinese may feel little connection with the Christmas celebration, but with most shops offering discount(折扣), the message couldn't be clearer－it is the season to part with one's hard-earned cash．

　　Much of that marketing drive is directed towards thousands of foreigners and foreign companies that call Shanghai home．But for Shanghai's 13 million locals, regardless of personal interest, there seems no avoiding the season's commercial greetings．Along some major roads, nearly every shop window displays some symbols to the holiday：a man-made fir tree(杉树)with lights, or a snowman．

　　With an increasing number of westerners arriving in the city for work, young Shanghainese, eager to keep pace with the latest western fashions, have begun to show their interest in Christmas．But some people still don't think Christmas is an important festival in China．At least it is less important than the New Year and China's Spring Festival．

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　　Shay asked, “Do you think they’ll let me play?” Shay’s father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son, mentally and physically disabled, were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence．

　　Shay’s father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not expecting much．The boy looked around and said, “We’re losing by six runs(分)and the game is in the eighth inning(局)．I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the final inning．

　　Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in heart．The boys saw the father’s joy at his son being accepted．

　　In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three．In the top of the final inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the field．Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously joyful just to be in the game and on the field．In the bottom of the final inning, Shay’s team scored again．Now, Shay was scheduled to be next at bat．Would they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

　　Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat．Everyone knew that a hit was almost impossible．The first pitch(投)came and Shay missed．The pitcher again again took a few steps forward to throw the ball softly towards Shay．As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher．

　　The pitcher could have easily thrown he ball to the first baseman and Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game．Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of　the first baseman, beyond the reach of all teammates, The audience and the players from both teams started screaming, “Shay, run to first! ”Never in his life had Shay ever run that far but made it to first base, wide-eyed and shocked．

　　Everyone should, “Run to second!” Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second．By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team fir the first time, could have thrown the ball to the second baseman, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions and he too　intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third baseman’s head．

　　All were screaming, “Shay, Shay, Shay, all the way Shay．” Shay reached third base when one opposing player ran to help him and shouted, “Shay, run to third．” As Shay rounded third, all were on their feet, crying, “Shay, run home!” Shay ran to home, stepped on the home base and was cheered as the hero who the who won the game for his team．

　　That day, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece true love and humanity into this world．Shay didn’t make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy and coming home and seeing his mother tearfully hug her little hero of the day!

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　　Modern man has cleared the forests for farmland and for wood, and has also carelessly burned them．More than that, though, he has also interfered(干涉)with the invisible bonds between the living things in the forests．There are many examples of this kind of destruction．The harmfulness of man's interference can be seen in what happened many years ago in the forest of the Kaibab plateau(凯亚巴布高原)of northern Arizona．Man tried to improve on the natural web of forest life and destroyed it instead．

　　The Kaibab had a storybook forest of large sized pine, Douglas fir, white fir, blue and Engelmann spruce．In 1882 a visitor noted, "We, who．．．have wandered through its forests and parks, have come to regard it as the most enchanting region it has ever been our privilege(特权)to visit．”This was also the living place of the Rocky Mountain mule deer．Indians hunted there every autumn to gather meat and skins．The forest also had mountain lions, timber wolves and bobcats that kept the deer from multiplying too rapidly．

　　Then, in 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt made the Kaibab a national game preserve．Deer hunting was forbidden．Government hunters started killing off the deer's enemies．In 25 years' time, 6,250 mountain lions, wolves and bobcats were killed．Before the program, there were about 4,000 deer in the Kaibab, by 1924, there were about 100,000．

　　The deer ate every leaf and twig they could reach．But there was not nearly enough food．Hunting of deer was permitted again．This caused a slight decrease in the deer herd(鹿群)，but a far greater loss resulted from starvation(饥饿)and disease．Some 60 percent of the deer herd died in two winters．By 1930 the herd had dropped to 20,000 animals．By 1942 it was down to 8,000．