My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.

Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, "Dad! The bear is right behind us!" An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back — the sign (迹象) of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally, probably because of hunger.

I held my camera tripod (三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.

Even so, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.

The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face; the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move, and I sensed that my bones were going to break.

Drawing back my free hand, I struck the bear as hard as I could for five or six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur, trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling (扭打) with the bear at this point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back towards the forest, before returning for another attack — the first time I felt panic.

Apparently satisfied that we caused no further threat, the bear moved off, destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured, but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I'm proud that my family remained clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome.

   The degree of individual freedom that exists in America seems loose and therefore uncomfortable to many visitors，while in many countries，people will tell you what they think you want to hear，whether it is true or not. To them，this is the _____ thing to do. To Americans，it is considered confusing — even dishonest — to _____ telling the true facts，_____ avoiding the truth is done only to be polite. It is helpful to remember that different cultures _____ some matters more important than others. To Americans，however，_____ and truth are the most important. One of the worst things that can be _____ about someone in America is that“you cannot trust him”.

_____ such differences in values among the many cultures of the world，it is _____ that misunderstandings will occur.“How far is it to the next town？”an American asks a man standing at the edge of a road. In some countries，because the man _____ that the traveler is tired and ______ to reach the next village，he will politely say,“______ down the road.”He thinks this is more encouraging, gentler, and therefore the ______ the traveler wants to hear. So the American drives alone for many more hours before he comes to the village. The traveler is ______, feeling“tricked”. He thinks that the man has lied to him ______ because he must have known quite well what the ______ is.

If a visitor to the United States asked an American standing at the edge of a road how far the next town was, the American would think it dishonest if he said it was near ______ he knew it was really 24 miles away. Although he, too, would be ______ to the tired traveler, he would say,“You have a long way to go yet; it is ______ 24 miles more.”The traveler might be disappointed, but he would know what to ______, and there would be no ______.

I took our foreign teacher Mr. Brown, he came to China for the first time, to the Great Wall last weekend. Having told about the history of the Great Wall, he was amazing at this world wonder. He was fascinated by the beauty of the Great Wall, so I took photos of himself, which would be a good memory for him. At the top, there was an activity about environmentally protection. Mr. Brown was so interested in protect the environment that he was eager to join in them. Both the Great Wall or the warm-hearted Chinese people deeply impress him. He decided to visit more place of interest when free.