Jason,

你在2021年1月參加朗讀比賽的決賽，還烙英文，爸媽以你為榮。

先前為了準備班上初賽，爸鼻特地幫你把講稿重打一次，還分段落給你練習，但是你只是瞄一瞄，似乎不當一回事。沒想到過不久，你居然可以如行雲流水般背出來，還能對老師eye contact而不用看稿。你在班上的初賽勝出，讓爸鼻對你刮目相看，洗耳恭聽。

為了準備學校的決賽，老師幫你們這幾個入選的小家活特訓，加了一些手勢，要你們在家裡也要多練習。你在家裡站在電視機前模擬上台，真的很可愛。不過你只在乎是否能在2分鐘內講完，怕超時被扣分。這樣反而會越講越快，咬字發音變得不清楚。

你就這樣率性地參加決賽，爸媽也到場替你加油。你這一組有十個一年級的競賽者，其中有幾個講得實在太好了，不僅字正腔圓，手勢還有模有樣，彷彿天地水文都在股掌之間，讓爸鼻拍手叫好。輪到你時，似乎有點緊張，但你還是能背得很完整，手勢則有點僵硬。

最後頒獎揭曉，人人有獎。你也得到優勝獎，爸媽都很為你開心與驕傲。雖然你沒有得到前三名，但是不要灰心。這次比賽告訴我們：人外有人，天外有天。既然參加比賽，就要認真準備。內容背得起來，就要練習講得自然流暢；手勢做得出來，就要練習比得生動活潑。

爸媽都覺得你很棒！因為我們兩個都做不到你現在能做到的事：勇敢站上台，還烙英文喔！

爸鼻把講文記錄下來留念，留給以後的你來懷念… 

Land and Water

(1) Imagine that you are flying around the world. Look down. You see a lot of water. In fact, most of the earth is covered by water.

You also see land. It comes in many shapes. When land rises high, it is called a mountain. Many mountains in a row are called ranges.

When land is low, it is called a valley. Valleys can be small and narrow. They can also be big and wide. Some valleys have very steep sides. These valleys are called canyons. Rivers make canyons.  They cut into the land and carry it away. When the land is flat, it is called a plain.

(2) When it rains or when snow melts, water flows downhill into streams. Streams join each other to make small rivers. Small rivers join each other to make big rivers.

Streams and rivers flow into ponds, lakes, and oceans. Ponds and lakes are water with land all around them. Ponds are small, while lakes are bigger. Most ponds and lakes are filled with fresh water.  This means that the water is not salty. 

(3) Oceans cover most of Earth. Oceans are enormous and are filled with salt water.

The land under the ocean is called the ocean floor. The ocean floor has mountain ranges. When mountaintops stick out above the water, they make islands. The ocean floor also has plains, valleys, and canyons.

The earth is covered by land and water. The different shapes of land and water make the earth interesting and beautiful.