Have you ever seen a kite flying? Did you fly kites when you were a child? Most of the children in China fly kites.
The kite is made of very thin bamboo1 slices as framework, then pasted2 with thick paper. It is designed to climb and fly in a steady breeze at the end of a long string, while the person on the ground holds the other end of string to control the kite. Most of the kites in China are made in the shapes of animals such as flying birds. Kite flying has been very popular in China since the sixth century, according to the historical records.
Kite flying was one of my most favorite childhood pastimes3 in every spring. One of my senior cousins knew how to fly kite well and he also knew how to make a good kite. According to him, balancing the two wings was the key to make a kite stay in the sky.
I have lived in Wyoming for twenty years, yet I seldom see the children here flying kites. Last year, I had a vocation in San Francisco and was glad to find many children flying kites by Fisherman's Wharf4. And I discovered many shops along with the wharf selling kites. With the advancement of modern techniques, the kites now were made of plastic cloth instead of thick paper such as the ones I used to play with, and they were much more colorfully painted than before.
When the people hold the end of string in their hands, they can control the kite's movement in the sky. Once the string is broken, the kite will suddenly fly higher and farther. But it will soon drop down to the ground because of loss of the support of the string, according to my cousin's explanation.
Once there were two kites flying in the sky. One was in the shape of an eagle and the other one, a wild duck. The white clouds amused themselves by floating around in the sky. The sun beamed5 with smile toward every one. The spring breeze6 made all creatures happy. The two kites flew side by side.
“Are you happy?” the eagle asked the duck“Yes, I am very happy,” the wild duck replied.
“If I could get rid7 of the control of the boy on the ground to get freedom, I would fly higher and farther.” The eagle said,“Then，I would be happier.”
Soon, the weather changed. The nice weather suddenly disappeared. The white cloud left, the sun returned home, and the wind blew harder and harder. Taking of this opportunity, the eagle finally broke the long string and got his freedom. He indeed flew much higher and farther.
But soon, the eagle kite was dropped by the strong wind toward the ground and broken into pieces, while the boy withdrew8 his long string and took the duck kite home.
Freedom is the target every person pursues9 . But freedom does not mean that people can do whatever they want, regardless of laws and rules. It is a part of a reasonable political system. People have freedom; the government must create laws to restrict and protect the freedom. That is the way a well-organized society is supposed to be. Without close cooperation, there will be chaos10 , like what the above eagle kite met.
你见过放风筝吗？你童年时放过风筝吗？在中国，大多数小孩都放过风筝。
风筝是用很薄的竹片做成骨架，再糊上厚纸而成的。一端用长线系住的风筝可以在稳定的微风中盘旋飘扬。长线的另一端被地面上的人攥在手中以便控制。中国的风筝大都做成动物形状如飞鸟等。根据历史记载，从6世纪起，中国人就开始放风筝了。
放风筝是我童年时每年春季最喜欢的消遣之一。我有一位表兄对放风筝很在行，也很会糊风筝。根据他的介绍，让风筝的两翼平衡是风筝能够停留在空中的秘诀。
我在怀俄明州已经生活了二十年，可我很少看到此地的儿童放风筝。去年我到旧金山度假，在渔人码头，我高兴地看到很多小孩在那儿放风筝。接着我又发现了码头沿线的商店里有各式各样的风筝出售。随着时代的进步，现在的风筝用塑料布代替了我童年时用的厚纸，而且也比以前更五彩斑斓了。
当人们握着长线的一端时，人们可以控制天空中风筝的飞行。一旦线断了，风筝就会猛地远走高飞。可是我的表兄告诉我，风筝很快就会掉落地上，因为它失去了线的支持。
有一次，两只风筝在天空飞翔。一只是老鹰形，另一只是野鸭形。白云飘来飘去地玩耍着，太阳带着微笑照射着万物，和煦的春风吹得大家心情舒畅。两只风筝比翼双飞。
“你快乐吗？”老鹰问野鸭。
“是的，我很快乐，”野鸭回答说。
“假如我能挣脱地面上那个男孩的控制，获得自由，我会飞得更高更远。”老鹰说，“我将更快乐了。”
不久，天公变脸了，晴天一下子不见了。白云飘走了，太阳回家了，风也愈吹愈紧。老鹰把握住这个机会，终于挣断长线，获得了自由。他真地愈飞愈高，也愈远了。
可是，没过多久，老鹰被大风刮落到地上而跌得支离破碎。而另一只野鸭风筝，已经被男孩收了线带回家了。
自由是每一个人所追求的目标。但是，自由并不是说人们可以不顾法律及法规而为所欲为。它是理性政治制度中的一部分。人民享有自由，但必须靠政府制定法律来限制及保护。一个组织良好的社会就应该如此。没有密切的合作，就会发生混乱，如同上面的老鹰风筝一样。
1. bamboo adj. 竹的，竹制的 2. paste [peist] v. 用浆糊粘
3. pastime n. 消遣，娱乐
4. wharf n. 码头
5. beam v. 照耀
6. breeze n. 微风，轻风
7. get rid of 摆脱
8. withdraw v . 收回，取回
9. pursue v. 追求，寻求
10. chaos n. 混乱，紊乱