Americans with small families own a small car or a large one. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family is large, one of the cars is sold and they will buy a van (住房汽车)

A small car can hold (容纳) four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded (拥挤). A van hold seven persons easily, so a family with three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel. They could all travel together.

Mr. Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. This made them sell a second car and buy a van. Their children sixth and seventh seat are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases (衣箱) when they travel. When they arrive at their grandparents’ home, the suitcases are brought into the two seats can then carry the grandparents.

Americans call vans motor homes. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family are traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can usually enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. In America there are many parks for motor homes.

How do you get to school? Do you walk or ride a bike? Do you go by bus or by train? For many students, it is easy to get to school. But for the students in one small village (村庄) in China, it is difficult. There is a very big river between their school and the village. There is no bridge and the river runs too quickly for boats. So these students go on a ropeway to go across the river to school.

One 11-year-old boy, Liangliang, goes across the river every school day. But he is not afraid because he loves school. “I love to play with my classmates. And I love my teacher. He’s like a father to me.”

Many of the students and villagers never leave the village. It is their dream to have a bridge. Can their dream come true!