Lastyear,IwenttoGuilinfortravel,itwasagreattripforme.Inotonlyhadalookatthebeautifulscenery,butalsomadefriends.IknewalovelygirlfromAmerica,wemeteachotheronthetrain.Aswewerealmostatthesameage,wecommunicatedalot.Wesharedouropinionaboutthecultureandlearnedalot.Whenourtrainreachedthedestination,weneededtoseparate,wepromisedtokeepintouchbytheInternet.Nowayearhaspassed,wemakeourpromiseandkeepintouchallthetime.IhaveimprovedmyEnglishandsheissointerestedinChina.Itseemsthatwecanneverfinishourtopic,becausewealwayshavesomuchtosharewitheachother.Iamsoluckytomakeagoodfriend.
去年,我去了桂林旅游,对我来说这是一次完美的旅行。我不仅看了美丽的风景,也交到了朋友。我认识了一个可爱的来自美国的女孩,我们在火车上相遇。由于我们几乎在同一个年龄,我们交流了很多。我们分享各自的文化,学到了很多。当火车到达目的`地时,我们要分开了,我们承诺通过网络保持联系。现在一年过去了,我们旅行了承诺,保持着联系。我提高了我的英语,她对中国也感兴趣。似乎我们总有说不完的话题,因为我们总是有那么多东西要相互分享。我很幸运交到了一个好朋友。
IamgoingtoHawaiiforvacation.IamgoinginDecember,andIamstayingforthreeweeks.Hawaiiiscomprisedofachainof132islands.WeusuallythinkoftheeightmainislandswhenwethinkofHawaii.Thisisnotsurprisingastheother124islandsonlytotalabout3squaremilesinlandarea.
Hawaiiishomeoftheworld'smostactivevolcano,thecraterofKilaueaonMaunaLoa.Sandybeaches,toweringvolcanoes,andlushvalleyslurethousandsoftouristseachyeartothistropicalparadise.
Hawaiiisthemostethnicallyandraciallydiversestateofanystateintheunion,amixthatincludesCaucasians,AmericansofJapanesedescent,andPolynesians,amongothers.NativeHawaiianshaveheldontomanyoftheircustomsandtraditionsdespitetheinfluxofnon-nativesovertheyears.Hawaiiistheonlystatethathasanofficialnativelanguage.StatehoodhadbeenproposedmanytimesthroughoutHawaii'shistory,butitwasnotuntil1959thatHawaiibecamethe50thstateoftheUnitedStates.
Americanflagforarectangularshape,lengthandwidthratioof19:10fortheStarsandStripes(theStar-SpangledBanner),theupper-leftcornerflagforthebluestarssurfaceareaofthestarsafewprovisionsintherespectivedepartments,theUnitedStatesisthestateflagonthenumberofafewofthestars.Star13isoutsidetheredandwhitestripes,13stripesonbehalfoftheoriginal13coloniesinNorthAmerica.AccordingtoWashington,said:symboloftheUnitedKingdomwithredstripes,whitestripesandasymboloffreedomfromit.Moregeneralargumentthattheredsymbolofstrengthandcourage,asymbolofpurityandinnocenceofwhite,blueisasymbolofvigilance,perseveranceandjustice.In1818theU.S.Congresspassthebill,redandwhiteflagonthefixedwidthforthe13,thenumberoffive-pointedstarshouldbeinlinewithseveralstatesofAmerica.Eachadditionalstate,thenationalflagonastartoincrease,thegeneralinthenewstatestojointhesecondyearaftertheimplementationofJuly4.Sofarhasbeenthenationalflagto50stars,representingthe50U.S.states.June14eachyearas"thedevelopmentoftheanniversaryoftheAmericanflag."Onthisday,commemorativeactivitiesheldthroughouttheUnitedStatestoshowrespectfortheflagandloveofAmerica.
美国国旗为长方形，长宽之比为19：10，为星条旗(theStar-SpangledBanner)，旗面左上角为蓝色星区，区内的星数于有关部门规定，美国的州数就是国旗上的星数。星区以外是13道红白相间的条纹，13道条纹代表最初北美13块殖民地。据华盛顿说：红色条纹象征英国，白色条纹象征脱离它而获得自由。更普遍的'说法认为，红色象征强大和勇气，白色象征纯洁和清白，蓝色则象征警惕，坚韧不拔和正义。1818年美国国会通过法案，国旗上的红白宽条固定为13道，五角星数目应与合众国州数一致。每增加一个州，国旗上就增加一颗星，一般在新州加入后的第二年7月4日执行。至今国旗上已增至50颗星，代表美国的50个州。每年6月14日为“美国国旗制定纪念日”。在这一天，美国各地举行纪念活动，以示对国旗的敬重和对合众国的热爱。
LosAngeles,cityinsouthernCalifornia,themostpopulouscityinthestateandthesecondmostpopulouscityandmetropolitanregionintheUnitedStates,afterNewYorkCity.LocatedonthePacificOceanneartheU.S.borderwithMexico,themetropolisisnotedforitspleasantclimateandscenicsetting.Itissituatedonahillycoastalplainsurroundedbybeachesinthewestandmountainsanddesertsinotherdirections.Referredtocasuallyas“LA,”LosAngelesisoneofthemajorindustrial,commercial,andfinancialcentersoftheUnitedStates.Itisknownespeciallyforitsmotion-picture,aeronautics,andaerospaceindustries.Thisinternational,multiculturalcityisalsohometothelargestMexican,Korean,Salvadoran,andGuatemalanpopulationsoutsideofthosecountries.LosAngeleshasgrownataphenomenalratesincethelate19thcentury.Sincethe1920sithasbeentheleadingcityofCaliforniaaswellasthemostimportantmetropoliswestoftheMississippiRiver.
Ahistoryoflongandeffortlesssuccesscanbeadreadfulhandicap,but,ifproperlyhandled,itmaybecomeadrivingforce.WhentheUnitedStatesenteredjustsuchaglowingperiodaftertheendoftheSecondWorldWar,ithadamarketeighttimeslargerthananycompetitor,givingitsindustriesunparalleledeconomiesofscale.Itsscientistsweretheworld'sbest,itsworkersthemostskilled.AmericanandAmericanswereprosperousbeyongdthedreamsoftheEuropeansandAsianswhoseeconomeicsthewarhaddestroyed.
Itwasinevitablethatthisprimacyshouldhavenarrowedasothercountriesgrewricher.Justasinevitably,theretreatfrompredominaceprovedpainful.Bythemid1980sAmericanshadfoundthemselvesatalosssovertheirfadingindustrialcompetitiveness.SomehugeAmericanindustries,suchasconsumerelectronics,handshrunkorvanishedinthefaceofforeigncompetitiong.By1987therewasonlyoneAmericantelevisionmakerleft,Zenith.(Nowthereisnone:ZenithwasboughtbySouthKorea'sLGElectronicsinJuly.)Foreignmadecarsandtextilesweresweeepingintothedomesticmarket.America'smachine-toolindustrywasontheropes.Forawhileitlookedasthoughthemakeingofsemiconductors,whidhAmericahadinventedandwhichsatattheheartofthenewcomputerage,wasgoingtobethenextcaualty.
Allofthiscausedacrisisofconfidenc.Americansstoppedtakingprosperityofrgranted.Theybegantobelievethattheirwayofdoingbusinesswasfailing,andthattheirincomeswouldthereforeshourtlybegintofallaswell.Themind-1980sbroughtoneinquiryafteranotherintothecausesofAmerica'sindustrialdecline.Thirsometimessensationalfindingswerefilledwithwarningsaboutthegrowingcompetitiongfromoverseas.
Howthingshavechanged!I1995theUnitedStatescanlookbackonfiveyearsofsolidgrowthwhileJapanhasbeenstruggling.FewAmericansattributethisSelfdoubthasyieldedtoblindpride.Americanindustryhaschangeditsstructure,hasgoneonadiet,haslearnttobemorequikwitted,accordingtoRichardCavanagh,executivedeanofHarvardsKennedySchoolofGovernment.'ItmakesmeproudtobeanAmericanjusttoseehowourbusinessesareimprovingtheirproductivity,saysStephenMooreoftheCatoInstitute,athinktankinWashington,DC,AndWilliamSahlmanoftheHarvardBusinessSchoolbelievesthatpeoplewilllookbackonthisperidoasagoldenageofbusinessmanagementintheUnitedStates.