I don’t remember when my love of the protected Great Bear Rainforest began — it’s something that’s always been there, even though I haven’t spent longer than a month there in one go. I grew up in a small village by the sea and planned to study marine biology and live out on the water. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, my lack of scientific talent quickly put paid to that idea, but the love of nature remained and has been an anchor (锚) in my life and in my writing.

The Great Bear Rainforest is vast, splendid and wild but also friendly, fun and diverse. I travelled there by myself at the age of 20, planning to spend my 21st birthday camping, and hiking in the forests.

I woke up on my birthday in a tent on the edge of the water. Behind me, the trees of this largely untouched wilderness emerged. Endless carpets of pointed trees reached right down to a thin rocky shore. It seemed there was no way in. This wilderness held its secrets close. Stepping from the beach into the forest, I immediately sensed the history of the area — it felt ancient, and it was impossible not to be humbled.

With a guide for safety, I hiked a few miles through the wilderness. The sounds of the forest were everywhere. Birds sang. Insects buzzed. Something bigger moved through the undergrowth and my guide stopped dead. Listened. My heart was in my mouth. Then, after some invisible signal, my guide relaxed, and we went on.

We continued the hike and emerged onto a cliff with the most breath-taking view I’ve ever seen. From terror to wonder in only a few hundred steps. It was that sense of unsettled ground — of shifting emotion, secrets and awe, beauty and fear — that’s fed my writing across four books, none more so than Children of the Sun, and implanted in me a lifelong love of the wild.

A fine-looking gentleman sat down in the main dining room of an expensive hotel. He ordered grand meal and spent two hours enjoying himself very much. After the bill came, the man sent for the head waiter. “Ah, my friend,” he said. “That was a wonderful meal. Perhaps you remember that I was a guest at this hotel, at this very same table just about a year ago. And at that time just because I couldn't pay the bill, you, sir, had me thrown out of this dining room in full view of all the other guests!”

“My deepest apologies, sir,” said the head waiter. “You understand...” “Oh, it's all right!” said the gentleman, lighting his cigar, “But I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again.”

Mark Twain was a great writer. He was born in 1835 in the USA. He was also a famous speaker. He was famous for his sense of humour. Many people liked to listen to his talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time.

One day, Mark Twain was going to a small town because of his writing. Before he was going to leave, one of his friends said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes in the town and told him that he'd better not go there. Mark Twain waved his hands and said, "It doesn't matter. The mosquitoes are no relatives of mine. I don't think they will come to visit me. "

After he arrived at the town, Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station. He went into his room, but when he was just about to have a rest,  quite a few mosquitoes flew around him. The waiters felt very sorry about that. "I'm very sorry, Mr Mark Twain. There are too many mosquitoes in our town," one of them said to him.

Mark Twain, however, made a joke, saying to the waiter, "The mosquitoes are very clever. They know my room number. They didn't come into the wrong room. " What he said made all the people present laugh heartily.

But that night Mark Twain slept well. Do you know why? That was because all the waiters in the hotel were driving the mosquitoes away for him during the whole night.