The Beets were a new couple. The things in their rooms, such as the television, the computer, the fridge, furniture and so on, were all left by their parents. They only paid some money for their food and clothes. But they tried their best to save money. If they had something important to tell their friends, they always visited them instead of calling them.

    One day, it was a quarter past nine. Mr. Beet didn't come back. His wife was a little worried. The supper was cold and she had waited for two hours. She was sitting by the table in the dark room. Suddenly the woman heard someone coming upstairs. It was her husband's step. She hurried to open the door. In the dark she could hear his deep breathing (呼吸). As soon as he sat down, she turned on the light and found he looked very tired. "Why do you come back so late, dear?" asked the woman. "Haven't you caught a bus?" "Yes, but I didn't take it." "Why not?"

    I ran after it so that I saved two dollars this evening." "That's great!" the woman said happily. "Run after a taxi next time and you'll save both more time and money."

    Maybe you are an average student. You probably think you will never be a top student. However, anyone can become a better student if he or she does his or her best. Here are some tips to help you.

    Plan your time carefully. You should plan your time for such things as eating, sleeping and dressing. Then make a good, regular time for studying, but don't forget to set enough time for entertainment (娱乐).

    Keep your study quiet and clean. The study should have a desk, a chair and some study materials, but no games, no radio and no television! When you sit down to study, you can put your heart into it. Make good use of your time.

    Listen to everything that the teacher says. Listening carefully in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says.

    After you get home from school, go over your notes. Review the important points. If you know what your teacher is going to discuss next day, read the material. It will help you study better.

    Develop a good attitude (态度) to tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. It helps you know what you are not good at. The world will still go on even if you fail in a test, so don't be too worried.

    Have you ever done something foolish that made you feel so embarrassed?

    Well, that's exactly how I felt. On a Saturday morning last autumn, I had gone to town to do some shopping and as I was on my way home, it suddenly began to rain. I at once ran into a nearby phone box since I didn't have an umbrella. It was raining so heavily that I have to stay in the phone box until it stopped.

    A few moments later, I saw a young man walk up to the phone box, wearing a yellow raincoat and holding a box. I didn't want to go out into the rain, so I picked up the phone and pretended I was talking to someone. I thought the man would go away, but he didn't. He just waited in the pouring rain, watching me wave my hands about and act as if I was deep in conversation.

    Luckily, it began to stop after about ten minutes. "Okay，Mum," I said loudly into the phone," I'll see you later Bye!" I put the phone down, picked up my shopping bag and walked out of the phone box. "I'm sorry, I took so long." I said to the man.

    "Oh, I don't want to use the phone." he replied, smiling. "I've just come to repair it. It's out of order, you see." I felt myself go bright red in the face and I hurried away with my head down，feeling a complete fool. That was certainly one of the most embarrassing moments of my life!

    Pollution inside homes and other buildings kills more than 4 million people each year. Many people die as a result of breathing smoke or from cooking over wood-powered of coal-powered stoves.

    One way to reduce the number of deaths is through cooking equipment powered by the sun. Crosby Menzies, a solar power expert in a South African company, described his latest solar cooker called the"Sol.4". "It is four square meters of mirrors, six to eight meters in length. It is quite a large cooler."

    The"Sol.4" works by reflecting light from the sun off large mirrors. The mirrors direct (把……对准)the light at a cooking pan. Then the light heats the pan with solar energy. Within two minutes, the pan is hot enough to cook sausages and onions. In just four minutes, water can be boiled. That is as fast as cooking with natural gas or electricity.

    The cooker is also much "friendlier" than other models because people do not have to stand in the sun to use it. And people can prepare meals without having to collect firewood or spend money on coal. Such individuals would be less likely to have breathing illnesses from harmful smoke.

    At present, the cooker only works when the sun is shining. But engineers are working on a way to make it work without sunlight.

    Each cooker costs about $2000, which is a large amount of money for most Africans. To solve that problem, Crosby Menzies has crated a non-governmental organization called solar Cookers for Africa. It plans to raise money through donations to provide poor people with solar cooking equipment.

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is also the (big) city in Thailand. Bangkok is a good place (shop) for treasures and clothes. They are beautiful not expensive.

The people in Bangkok are very friendly. If you eat in a restaurant, the waiters (smile) at you all the time. The food is very delicious, but it is a little hot. You (enjoy) Chinese food there because lots of Chinese people live in Bangkok.

    One day, Bob and Tim wanted to play with water. When they got to a river, they saw a lot of people (swim) in it. Some people had great fun (play) in the water. Bob asked, "What are they doing in the river?" Tim said, "They (catch) fish." He told Bob to stay on the bank, then he jumped into the water. About an hour later, Tim (swim) back to the bank with a fish in his hand. Bob was very happy. He found a bottle and put the fish into it. Bob said happily, "I (not see）such a lovely fish before."

    An Internet friend is someone  you talk with online and you have probably never met. You may talk with this in a chat room and discover that you have a lot in common. You probably exchange messages with this person whenever you are online. Internet friends often live in another city, even another country! Having Internet friends is a special experience and gives us a chance to learn about other people.

    having Internet friends can be a lot of fun, it is important to remember that we need to be cautious(谨慎的). Since we have probably met the people we are talking with, we have no ways of knowing if they are telling the truth. It is important not to give too much personal information because it may be dangerous. Always think twicegiving an Internet friend your telephone number or home address.

    Having Internet friends can be very exciting, but it is important to remember not to believe in every one of them. There may be many people that you talk with online, but they don't really know about you. Internet friends can never take the place of your true friends. Good friends know all about you and will be there when you them. You can spend time with each other and share your feelings.

    You can seldom see homeless people on the street. So what could you do if you want to help them？Here are some ways.

    Donate money. The easiest way to help the homeless is to donate your money. When you want to do that，you can donate your money to local organizations. Most charity organizations know where the most help is needed.

    Donate things. Donate your used or new things is another easy way to help. Donate these things to local organizations which help the homeless or give them to homeless people you see often. The best things to donate like: professional clothing, new socks…

    Provide food. There are lots of ways that you can help homeless people get food. You can donate fresh fruits and vegetables to local soup kitchens. You can also drop off bananas, apples, or sandwiches.

    Call emergency (紧急) services. If you see someone who may be a danger to themselves or others, call emergency services. If someone is clearly having a serious problem, call for help also. If someone is in danger because of weather conditions，call Emergency Services also.