Presentation - 2017 Variety Show 掩耳盗铃

 To Cover One’s Ears to Steal a Bell

by Aaron and Gordon

2017 School Variety Show

G: When people think about Chinese Hollywood superstars, they will probably think about Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, or even Kung Fu Panda. Are you tired of seeing martial arts?

A: We are! Today, we’re going to represent Hollywood stars and act out a traditional Chinese idiom story. Let’s see if you can guess the name before we say it.

G: This story happened in a small village at Spring and Autumn Era of Ancient China.

A: I am from a rich family of the village.

G: I am the thief of the village.

A: On the new year day, the rich family hung a golden bell at the porch. To present the family’s wealth, and hope the golden bell bring good luck to the family.

G: The bell is very beautiful. I like it! How about I steal it and put it in my house?

A: One day, the thief sneaked into the porch and tried to steal the bell.

G: However, once I touched the bell, it would ring. How can I steal the bell without making any sound? A Ha! It was my ears that heard all the noise I made. I have a brilliant idea! Why don’t I cover my ears up, so that no sound can be heard! I will use cotton to cover my ears.

A: The thief foolishly thinking the cotton quieted the bell so that he could pull it many times. The thief tried hard to pull the bell off the porch. But he made a loud clang. Of course, the thief never heard it because of the cotton. But The loud clang surprised the rich family. And of course, the thief was caught!

G: “How come you knew I was stealing your bell?”

A: “Ha Ha Ha! You covered your own ears, but nobody else’s ears were covered!”

G: “Oops! How silly I am!”

A: The idiom, “To Cover One’s Ears to Steal a Bell”, is used to describe someone who is foolishly deceiving himself. It is quite similar to, “bury your head in the sand” in English.

Thank you.

Essay - Places We Must Save by Gordon

Places We Must Save

by Gordon

     Our world has many beautiful places to play with. Some of the most important places are being harmed! Places may be popular, but people can harm the environment without knowing! Boats can cause pollution and so can other vehicles. Native plants are kicked out because the plants fight for water with plants not native to the park! Insects may look cute and small like the insects won't do anything, but the insects can kill an entire plant in months!

     So many people go to beautiful places! Some parks don't want to count how many visitors went there! Yosemite national park is one of them, every year over three million people including brave crowds. Many people enjoy the majesty and the animals that live in Yosemite national park. The scenery of the outlook places and angles are just right to get the best possible way to enjoy Half Dome and Glacier Point. In 1916, 35 parks and monuments were already in US. 75% of the 3.4 million people who go to national parks use free passes. People like to use at all the national park! I feel people should take care of all the hard work in the parks!

     In Florida Bay, there are a lot of boats. Sea grass beds are being damaged because of oil spills. Boats often cross animals which are migrating in the water. Boats go in front of the animal's path. This stops their migrating route. Boat crossings may also make the sea dirty and are polluted at the sea bottom. 58 acres at the Florida Bay have already been wrecked! Luckily, only 58 acres out of 10,000 acres has been damaged. After the 58 acres have been destroyed, the news put a mini alert to everyone. People decided to save 6.8 acres by not having any boats cross. Isn't that fantastic? Still, that is very small compared to the total amount of acres left. People must work hard!

     Many not native plants have harmed native plants living at the park. Many insects are killing plants and trees! Insects kill an entire plant in not years but just months. Aphids can eat a lot of leaves. Some hemlock trees are native and being attacked by Asian adelgid which just arrived in 2002. In 2001, a hot spring pool in Yellowstone called the Morning Glory Pool turned from the regular turquoise color to a dull green shade because of a few traditions. It is said if you throw a coin in the pool and wish for something, it will be true. But legends do not mean to do it every time you are there! This problem cause a beautiful turquoise natural spring to become a dull green pool. It may be shocking to hear only two cleaners can clean 10,000 hot spring pools in a day! That would mean one would have to do 5,000 to make it an equal split! This is probably the reason why cleaners tell you to be clean. People often ask cleaners questions. The most common one is," Why do you try to clean all of those pools in one day?" Their response is to look at the hot spring pools. It looks like junk is on the floor.

     People visiting the park think it is fun to watch battling deer, but the visitors don't know roadside animals are not exactly too friendly. Here is one tip... Don't go to a meadow and pet a roadside animal. Just because the animals live near people doesn't mean roadside animals are always calm. This is a common mistake. Still, the scenery is good. People can choose many ways to get around. There is a bus which gives you a little less exercise but it lets people rest and enjoy the beauty, not rushing to get somewhere.

     Our national parks may be beautiful and fun to play. But still we must remember to respect them. No ordinary park can have over 3 million people! Many humans want to help, and don't want to harm the environment. But still some people harm nature. Our national parks are in peril!

Presentation / Essay - My Little Brother in Chinese by Aaron 我的小弟弟

我的小弟弟

作者：旺仔

    我家有个小弟弟。他聪明，可爱，活泼，伶俐。他是爸爸，妈妈，和我的小宝贝儿。

    我的小弟弟是金猪年生的，所以我们都叫他小猪猪。我的小弟弟有一张圆圆的小脸蛋儿。猪猪跟我一样，都是黄皮肤，黑眼睛。他的眼睛大大的，但是戴着近视眼镜儿， 显得很有学问。哈哈，他读书太多， 跟我一样近视眼。他的小鼻梁不高也不矮，鼻尖儿圆圆的。弟弟有一张红红的樱桃小口。小嘴巴很甜， 非常讨人喜欢。猪猪有一排整齐的小白牙， 笑起来可爱至极。他有一对弯弯的黑色浓眉毛。猪猪的头发又黑又软，他非常不喜欢剪光头, 所以每一次剪头发，爸爸都给他留一点点儿。

    猪猪有一双灵巧的手。他弹钢琴弹得很好。他的胳膊很有劲儿， 打棒球的时候他是一个很好的投球手。他的梦想是做一个职业棒球运动员。

    猪猪喜欢游泳， 但是他游泳游得很慢。他是我知道的唯一一个小孩，很喜欢游泳， 但是游得像蜗牛一样慢。有一次，他游了23米蛙泳，他花了1分45秒才游完。

    猪猪很喜欢帮助别人。他有很强的领导能力。孩儿们都喜欢跟他做好朋友。

    但是，悄悄告诉你，猪猪有个小小的坏毛病；他喜欢藏东西，藏完了就忘了藏哪里了，一脸无辜地说，“我不记得了”。这个毛病让家里的人都很头痛。

    我很开心我的家里有这样一个小弟弟。我们大家都爱他。他也爱我们。

Essay - Mysterious Stonehenge by Gordon

Stonehenge

     by Gordon

     Have you ever gotten bored of seeing modern history in museums? If so, Stonehenge is the perfect place for you to start your ancient tour. The tour goes through the mysterious wonders of Stonehenge. Stonehenge is only a few miles outside of London. Have you also wondered why it was built? Your not alone, because no one knows!

     When you get to Stonehenge, ask yourself. What material did people in ancient times use to make Stonehenge this steady? It has never fallen down for over 4000 years! The truth is people did not use magical stones, like in fairy tales. The people used a type of regular stone called bluestones. Why are they called bluestones? Are they feeling sad to use those stones? No, the reason it's called that name is because when they are wet, they turn blue. What is very odd is that bluestones are normally found 250 miles of the coast of Wales. So, how did the stones get here? Many people believe the theory that a tide in the ancient times brought the stones here and the people found them. Can you imagine how they could lift up the heaviest stone? It's legendary to see a 70,000 pounded stone get lifted up! What do you think Stonehenge was built to be? Stonehenge was most likely built as a cemetery. The hypothesis is reasonable because there is a lot of ash and human bones near Stonehenge.

     Can you guess where ancient people had secretive places at Stonehenge? They had privacy at a place called Timber Circles. It really is a shock on how many people went to Timber Circles. A lot of skeletons were found at the Timber Circles, which became patches of grass. Did you know a village was near Stonehenge? That is the best reason of why Stonehenge was found with so many piles of wood which resemble modern houses. The piles look as if they have been built by people. Can you believe Stonehenge was a very popular spot in the olden ages? We know from the evidence many people were traveling and died. Many ashes and bones all near Stonehenge lie scattered. Many people think Stonehenge is a place of healing. People believed annually, at one day, the sunlight would strike through all the stones. On the same day, all of the ancient people would make prayers. This is from the belief which is the sun god was watching.

     Did you know that scientists were so curious that they used microscopes to confirm the Welsh origin of the stones? I wonder how the people got the rock under the microscope. What many people find shocking is that Stonehenge is a good secret keeper because it has a held a secret for over 4,500 years. How it is made is still a mystery that waits to be solved. Stonehenge is just so amazing for a place that has ancient relics. 

     Stonehenge is such an amazing place to learn history. Maybe you can figure why it was made! Come and visit Stonehenge. Make sure you comment how silent and well preserved this mysterious wonder of the world is. Maybe some day Stonehenge will reveal it's long hidden secret!