My Favorite Athlete--by Leo

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (Shaq) was born on March 6th, 1972 in New Jersey. He has a different childhood from other children. His father was a soldier, so their family moved often from one town to another.
First, he was much taller then other classmates in his school when he was twelve years old. He didn't have any friends, and usually played with his father. His father tought him how to play basketball on his twelfth birthday. After that, he met the third important person in his lift when he was thirteen years old. He was Coach Brown. Next he studied at St.Louis University.
He won two awards for NCCA Best Athlete when he studied at university. He left university when he joined the NBA team in 1992. He plated batter and batter in each game. Finally, he won the award for Best Player in the NBA, and he became a movie star and a singer.

Open Land - A Beach Clease To My House--by Leo

There was a bay which was 6 kilometers long, close to my house. I could go for a long walk along it. The end of the beach was full of "Star Sand". It had been weathered from shells; If you saw the beach, is was very beautiful. Each grain of sand are like a small star.People camped there, had barbecues there, and swam there. Although the town passed a low to protect the beach., still people took away star sand bag by bag.

Constructionworks and the local goverment worked together. The goverment allowed them to build hotels on the center og beach, more people took sand away, and the hotels polluted the ocean. White beaches became dark, and instead of star sand, a lot of garbage was left there; people never traveled there again, so the hotels were all closed. If I go there now, I can't see a white, beautiful beach now.

Chin-Feng Chen--by Wendy

Chin-Feng Chen was born in Tainan in 1977.He was a baseball outfielder.He was the first player born in Taiwan to play Major League Baseball.First,he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers frome 2002 to 2005 but only sparingly.Then,in 2006,Chen tired out with the Japanese Professional League and eventually decided to play in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan.He had the best performance in the second Asian baseball tournament and gained lots of attention from Japanese and Korean baseball clubs.Finally,he rejected the offer from the Japamese team and made the decision to stay on the La New Bears team in Taiwan.

Lifestyle--by Leo

I do several things to stay healthy and keep fit.

What I do is get enough time to sleep every night, but I have only got six to seven hours of sleep each night recently, so I should get two more hours.

Sometimes I ride a bicycle for exercise with Wendy. But I usually work overtime so I can't get exercise every day. I also take enough vitamins in fruit, and the most important thing is to eat fresh food.

Most importantly, I always keep relaxed. That will make me do things more easily.



Week days

During the week, my days are very boring. I wake up at 7:00 every morning. First I cok eggs at 7:20 and cooke toast 20 minutes later. Usually I brush my teeth at 7:35 and finish breakfast at 7:40. Then I go to take the skytrain at 7:50.

When I reach the skytrain, it is almost 8:10, and it tkes me 40 minutes to get to ALMA. At 4:00 PM we are dismissed from class and I come back home to cook dinner. Then I finish homework at 10:30. I usually take a shower after that. When I go to bad. It's 11:00.
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Lifestyle--by Wendy

What do you do to keep fit?
I belong to a health club where I usually exercise after classes.I like to ride a bike and walk on the track.I ride a bike two or three times a month.I don't eat lots of chocolate,hamburgers,french fries,cake,or sugar.I usually cook some vegetables for dinner.Sometimes I get enough sleep at night.I don't have any special methods.

Week days
During the week,my days are very boring.I wake up at 7:00 a.m.every morning.I take the skytrain at 8:00 a.m. and go to my first class at 9:00 a.m..I eat lunch at 12:30 p.m..I go home at 4:30 p.m. and buy some thing at 5:20 p.m..I take a shower at 8:00 p.m. and sleep at 11:00 p.m..

My Classmate--by Wendy

My classmate's name is CHIO. She's from Mexico.She speaks English and Spanish and works in a store. She's an attendant. She likes listening to music,surfing the internet,and putting on make up.Her favorite activities are writing e-mails and talking on the phone with her friends.

My Classmate--by Leo

My classmate's name is Mikiko. She She is a nice person and answered me patiently. She's in English 200 but is also a volunteer at ALMA.

She comes from Japan and made up her mind to learn to speak English well. After she finishes her homework she likes to listen to music. There are five people in her family, she said and she always smile s when she speaks. All in all, I think she is a nice person.

Ridiculous Life

Redicioulus Life

Fadi is a clever man and his job is related to crime, but nobody knows what he does exactly. His life is busy and a little bit dangerous. One day, he decided to travel around the world to find the best place to live, but his money was robbed when he was eating lunch in a small restaurant near a country town. Although, he didn’t have money, he didn’t want to go back home. He roamed around the country trying to find a way to earn money for traveling. Then, he heard about Nerd, a stingy and greedy farmer, who had a lot of money. Nerd liked to save money rather than spend it on living or helping poor people in need. He kept his money in a secret place in his house. Fadi wanted to steal the money, so he made a plan including every minute detail and put it in practice meticulously.
He went to Nerd’s house and pretended that his car had broken down. After he had made his clothes dirty and oily, he knocked on the door gently.
“Who’s there?” An irritated voice answered.
“Can you open the door?My car is broken and I need some help,” replied Fadi.
“How can I help you?”asked Nerd after he opened the door.
“ Sorry for bothering you , my car has broken down,” he pointed to his car. “See, I can’t fix it,” he showed his dirty hands to Nerd, “And it’s getting dark, I don’t know the city and I don’t know where I can find a mechanic.Is there a garage around?”asked Fadi pitifully.
“It’s too late to find a garage, you have to wait until tomorrow,” replied Nerd.
“Is there a hotel around?” asked Fadi disappointed.
“There is an inn on the other side of town. Take that street and you can see it on the left side ,” Nerd pointed to the street.
Fadi looked in the direction that Nerd showed him, and then looked at the Nerd pleadingly.
“Is there any chance that I could stay at your home until tomorrow morning?” begged Fadi.
Nerd thought for a while. He thought that he could earn some money by renting his room to this gentleman, but he didn’t have any idea about the price of a room at an inn, and he wanted to get the best price.
“Oh, Um….. I’m afraid that there is no place at my home, as you see it’s small and …… .”
“ Ok, I’ll pay for it. Please, I have nowhere to go,” Fadi inturrupted.
“ I’ll give you my golden watch,” he showed Nerd his watch.
“Oh, Ok. I guess I can find room for one night, come in,” said Nerd with a mishievious smile.
Fadi enterd the home and sat in an old armchair and looked around thoroughly.
“May I have a cup of coffee?” Fadi requested politely.
They talked while they drank their coffee.
“What do you do?” Fadi asked.
“I’m a farmer . I have my own farm, and I grow several kinds of fruits and vegetables. Also, I have a small business,” Nerd answered.
Then he asked, “What about you, what do you do?”
“I’m a businessman. Perhaps we can trade together. Anywasy, your home is cozy and your coffee is excellent,” Fadi changed the subject thoughtfully.
“Sure, it’s a good place. I don’t want to spend my money, I prefer saving money rather that spending it,” replied Nerd directly.
“Ok, I see. I’m tired, and I have to wake up early in the morning to fix my car. Can you show me where I can sleep?” asked fadi with a yawn.
“Sure, come with me. This is my own room, you can sleep here until tomorrow and I’ll sleep on the couch,” said Nerd sympathetically.
“That’s very kind of you. Thank you,” Fadi replied.
In the deep of the night, Nerd thought that Fadi was asleep. He wanted to hide the golden watch, so he went to the secret place where he hid his own money. He didn’t realize that someone was silently following him. He looked around carefully for a while, and dug in the backyard. Nerd finished hiding the money, looked around again, and returned to his home. He was convinced that nobody knew the secret place, so he went to bed happily.
Fadi returned to his room quickly when Nerd came back. Fadi waited until Nerd fell asleep. After a while, he dug up the secret place and the stole farmer’s life saving. After bringing the money to his car, he left town quickly before dawn.

The moral idea is that money is for spending, not for saving.

Kurt and his girlfriends

Kurt is a very famous local police officer. He solved a lot of cases. All the girls want to date him because he is handsome, but there is a person in his heart named Ann. She is an English teacher who works at a high school.
One day after work, Kurt remembered his best friend Bob was going to have a party at his home, Kurt had been invited to his party. Kurt took out his cell phone and called Ann...


“Honey, would you like to go to Bob’s party?” he asked.
“I’d like to go, but I have to work until 8:00pm,”Ann said.
“When you finish work just come meet me there,” he replied.
“Ok, see you later,” Ann said.


When Kurt arrived, people were talking and dancing.
“Hey-yo! It’s so wonderful to see you my brother,” Bob said.
“You too. Who is that beautiful woman?” Kurt asked
“She is my relative, she lived in Russia with her husband, but her husband died last year in an accident. So, she plans to travel all over the world to help forget her sadness. Come on, I’ll introduce her to you.”
“Erin, this is my best friend Kurt,”
“Kurt, this is Erin,” Bob said.
“Nice to meet you,” Kurt said.
“Hi, nice to meet you too,” Erin said.
“I’m going to excuse myself, I have to treat the other guests. Enjoy yourselves,” Bob said.
“Would you like to dance with me?” Kurt asked.
“Of course. Your eyes are so charming, just like my husband’s were,” Erin said.
“Really? Thank you. I’ve never seen a woman as beautiful as you. Can I get you a cup of whisky?”
“Yeah, why not.” Erin said.




Then they sat together and talked. Erin thought that Kurt was a nice gentleman. She remembered her husband, leaned on Kurt’s shoulder and began to cry. After a long time chatting, they looked at each other and then they kissed. Unfortunately, at this moment, Ann came in the room.


“What are you doing?” Ann shouted.
“We are just sitting and talking,” Kurt said.
Then, Erin explained, “Hello, Ann, your boyfriend is so good at listening to me. He is so generous. Do you want to have a drink with us?”


“No, you kissed my boyfriend and fortunately I found you. Would you mind if a person kissed your boyfriend?” she asked.

“I am his girlfriend! If I hadn’t arrived, would you have kissed him for a long time?” Ann said,
“Don’t be angry,” Erin said. “You know I had a bad husband and he died a year ago. I wanted to compare my husband with yours. My husband was a bad man and always drank and fought. Please believe me, nothing happened.”
“Erin, do you know each other?” Bob asked.
“Yeah, we just met.”
“Good, we will have dinner in the kitchen now.” Bob left the room.
While they were having dinner, Ann kept pinching him under the table.


After the party, Ann asked,“Do you like Erin?”
“No,” he replied.
“Why were you kissing her?”
“We just talked and you know her husband has been dead for a year. I think that time she needed a kiss. We were just sitting and chatting. Don’t worry too much. We won’t talk any more.”

“Bad guy, I will never forgive you! I will go to my parents’ home. Don’t call me! I won’t call you! You don’t love me! Get out!”
“Sorry, baby, I was wrong. I will never see her. You are my favourite. I love you more than anyone else.” Then he kneeled down and cried!

“I won’t hurt you. Honey, forgive me. I want you to marry me. Only you are important in my heart! Will you marry me?” he asked Ann and showed her a diamond ring.

She said, “Please give me some time to think.”

Then, he stood up and kissed her for a long time. Her breath stopped and hit his body! A moment later he said, “I LOVE YOU.”
She laughed and said, “I know.”
“That means you agree?”
She nodded her head! He was happy and hugged her! He put the ring to her finger and said ,“ I love you . You are more valuable than any other person in the world!”
Then they were walking in the street and went into their home!


A moment later, Ann said to him, “Baby, I forgive you! But if you do this again, I will kill you!” she warned.

A few days later, Kurt and Erin met secretly on a date. They met at Starbucks occasionally and chatted with each other happily.
At last, Kurt and Ann got married, but Erin and Kurt always had a secret relationship that Ann and Bob didn’t know about!




by Ivan and Bruce

How Stress Effects People's Lives and how to Deal with it

JU-HUI,CHEN (Winnie) (09.04.21)

 

Stress is a serious problem which people get from different situations. According to a report, 50％ of illnesses in America are caused from stress and the government has to spend lots of money on health insurance and benefits because some people are unable to work. Stress can be caused by changes in lifestyle, because people are busier now than in the past. They are worried about their jobs and money. They also have various responsibilities in their own lives. There are three main effects of stress: people have bad health, they lose their self-confidence, or they become isolated.

 

Nowadays, people's modern lifestyles are changing so fast. When people work for long a time sometimes they do not eat on time which increases stress. People deal with stress in different and unhealthy, such as eating too much (or not enough), smoking, and not sleeping enough that all effects their health. Also, they become anxious, sad, and apprehensive. According to an ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) report, people who live with stress for a long time can die earlier because of hypertension. Therefore, people should find healthy ways to reduce stress, for example, do exercise, talk with family and friends, or plan a small trip.

 

Stress not only effects people's health, but it also effects people's self-confidence. When they feel stressed, they think that they can't do anything. For example, when kids learned a new language, they are stressed and their parents are angry with them if they fail. Then, they will lose interest and self-confidence. The best way to help them and to reduce their stress to is to encourage them and they will do better next time. Adults also need to try to reduce stress. They need to find time to relax and calm down. For example, after people finish work, they should listen to music for five minutes in their car before they enter the house. Stress also leads people to become less social and they lose their ability to communicate. For example, some people who are faced with stress don't want to talk with other people and express their thoughts. After that, they are not accustomed to being with people. Therefore, people should notice everyone around them and spend time listening to what is important to them. They can also join community organizations, like stress management where they can share their experiences with each other and find ways to resolve personal problems.

Stress is an invisible disease that can cause all kinds of other illnesses. If people want to have less stress they should eat, sleep and exercise regularly. People should also learn how to plan their work time better. The most important thing they must remember is, "People are not perfect and life is too short". They need to save some time for themselves and their family, and not take their problems with them everywhere. Finally, happiness and health are more important than money and jobs.