Experts believe that there are more than 8 million restaurants in the world today. So it might surprise you to learn that restaurants, as we know them, have only existed for a few centuries. Before 1765, there were no restaurants. That is, there were no places that provided the restaurant experience. There was nowhere in which a waiter brought you food and drink that you picked from a menu. In fact, there were no menus anywhere.

    There were eating places travellers could go to centuries before that. The countryside was full of inns that would serve food. And there were taverns where one could get drinks. The rich could also eat special meals prepared by private cooks. But none of them could be called a "restaurant".

    A man called Boulanger changed that. In 1765, he opened a place in Paris that sold soups(汤). On his sign he used the word "restaurant" to describe what he was selling. At that time, soups were considered something that could help "restore"(恢复)your health- in French the word "restore" is "restaurer"- so he called the soups "restaurants". Soon, people started buying Boulanger's soups even when they were not ill. And over time, people began to use the word "restaurant" to refer to a place selling soup rather than the soup itself. More "restaurants" opened in France, and people began to buy soups more often.

    Later, restaurants in Paris began to serve other food besides soup. In the 1790s, menus started to appear. By the mid-1800s, there were many types of restaurants throughout the world. The United States offered coffee shops. Tea houses became popular throughout China. Paris created  beautiful restaurants for the rich. The British began to copy the French, and the restaurant idea spread throughout the British Empire.

    Today cities are filled with all types of restaurants. Diners have millions of options from which to choose.

    Joe was an old man. The 75-year-old lived very happily in a village and had a beautiful family. Joe had four grandchildren, and they visited him during their holidays.

    During one vacation, Joe was preparing his home for the kids: cleaning and buying their favorite foods. After he finished working, he realized he lost his favorite watch. The watch was a gift from his wife when their first child was born. Joe loved the watch very much, especially after his wife's death. He was very upset about losing it.

    Once his grandchildren came, they promised him they would find the watch.

    One granddaughter asked: "Grandpa, do you remember when you saw the watch last before it went missing?"

    "I guess when I was cleaning the barn(谷仓)！" Joe replied.

    The children looked for more than two hours with Joe, but they could not find it. The kids were now also sad, but they tried to comfort(安慰) their grandfather.

    One grandson went back to the barn to search again. Joe asked why he was going there a second time. But the little boy just asked the others not to follow him and to remain silent.

    He was there for about fifteen minutes and then rushed to his grandfather. He found the watch and happily gave it to Joe.

    Joe was surprised and asked how he was able to find it. The little boy replied: "I sat there without making a noise, and the barn was so silent. After a few minutes, I heard the ‘tick, tick' sound and found the watch."

Joe hugged and thanked the little boy.

    A famous study was done in a school by a professor from a university. At the start of the school year, the teachers were given the names of five children. They were told that these five were the most excellent students in the class. But the fact was that these students were only average, and they were not the best students at all. Well, guess what? At the end of the year, all the five average students scored among the highest in the class.

    What made these average students change so much to become top students? The only difference was the change in their teachers' attitude. Because the teachers believed that these five kids were top students, they expected more from them. And so these five average students became to believe and expect more from themselves. So they worked harder to do as well as they could.

    Do you know? If you expect the best from people, they'll usually want to give you their best. A great leader said, "Treat a person just how he appears to be on the outside, and you'll make him even worse. But treat a person like he's already a success, and you'll help make him the best he can be."

    Like the true story of 7-year-old Johnny, his teacher got so angry with him that one day she said, "Johnny, you're the naughtiest(最调皮的) boy in this class. I'm sure you'll never change." The next year Johnny had a new teacher. And on the first day of class, she met with Johnny after school and said, "Johnny, I've heard a lot about you! But do you know that I don't believe a word of it." And every day after that, this new teacher treated Johnny as if he was one of the smartest students even when Johnny did naughty things. Later on, Johnny became a school leader, because that's the power of our belief and attitude towards children.

    One of my best friends went abroad to enjoy her holidays, so the job of looking after her dog Missy has been given to me. A few months ago, Missy came to my friend's house. She looked terrible. She has been abused for a long time.

    When we first visited my friend and Missy, my friend had to gently pull her over on a lead (牵绳) to get her to come to us. She wanted to come but afraid to do so—the poor, beautiful thing. Clearly Missy came to the right home. My friend has given birth to a baby of his own and shows the love of a mother. This is just what Missy needs. Thanks to the love of my friend, she has changed into a new dog step by step. Sadly, she is still afraid of strange humans. I hate to imagine what the dog must have gone through.

    Now, Missy trusts me completely, so I can touch her berry（肚皮）.While standing, she will jump up so gently to be closer to me, putting her paws（爪子）on my legs as she looks at me with those beautiful eyes.

    Missy is really brave. She has the courage to try again, to open her hearts, and to know that not everyone is the same kind of people as before. Keep it in mind that tomorrow is another day.

    Walk into a store in East Asia, and you may see a cute little cat sitting there greeting you. It is not a real cat. It's made of ceramic, wood, plastic, etc. It's also known as a " welcoming cat", " lucky cat" or "money cat". Whatever its shape, size, or color, it is believed to bring good luck to the owner.

    It is said that the tradition of making maneki-neko started from Japan over 1, 000 years ago and spread to nearby countries.  Here is the most popular one. A rich man was sitting under a tree on a rainy day. He saw a cat in a temple greeting him. He felt it was funny and went to see the cat up close. As soon as he left the tree，it got struck by lightning(被闪电击中) .The cat saved his life.  The cat then became connected with wealth.

    Maneki-neko comes in different colors. The most popular maneki-neko is white with dark spots because this is thought to be the luckiest. The color white is a symbol of happiness and purity (纯洁) while black scares away evil spirits(邪灵).  For example，if you're looking for good luck in your love life, you should get a pink maneki-neko.

     Many people believe that it s necessary to have one for their business and their personal lives.

    Do you want to know what your dog is thinking about？Besides（除……之外)guessing from his barks（吠声）， we can also find out 1he thinks from his body language.

    First, 2 the tail. If it wags（摆动）gently, it means your dog is friendly and 3. It s a perfect time for you to play with your dog. If the tail wags fast, your dog is excited. That usually 4 when he meets other animals. When your dog wants to show that he is afraid, he will bend(弯曲) his tail downwards. When he wants to greet you, his tail will move 5 a big circle.

    When two dogs 6 each other, they are trying to show that one of them is more powerful. Usually, the bigger dog 7 and the smaller dog will look away.

    Now, you can look at your dog s mouth. If it opens a little bit and looks relaxed, that is the 8 we all like to see. Be 9 if your dog shows his teeth. This means " Are you threatening（成胁）10? See these teeth?I know how to use them."

    11, the dog's actual body position (位置) will tell you a lot. A position of front down, bottom up means"Let s play! "The 12position, front high, back low means he is afraid or excited. Standing straight hows his confidence.

Once you13 how to guess what your dog is thinking, you will be much better able to stop any harm 14 it starts. When you want to play with your dog, try to do the front down, bottom up position. It looks as if  you were speaking his 15!

    One of my most interesting experiences while traveling was in India. My sister and I were just  (finish) a tour of northern India and had 5 hours before getting on a train back to New Delhi. We had been with our driver the past 5 days so we had known him quite well. Since we had checked out of our hotel, had our last meal and seen all the sights we cared to see, we(ask) the driver to just take us to the train station. He would not want to leave us(alone) for 5 hours at the station. So he took us to his(uncle) house. When we arrived, we saw that we were going into a Persian rug warehouse（波斯地毯货栈). We, thought we were going to be forced to buy expensive rugs.

    When we walked in, we were(lead) to the back where the driver's two young and handsome cousins were waiting with tea and dominoes（多米诺骨牌）. They taught  (we) to play dominoes. We played mixed doubles, and we had a wonderful time. Later, they wanted to learn an American card game,  we taught them Rummy 500. They loved it. We had a happy afternoon!

    Later on the train, my sister and I discussed what we had taught our  (child) to do-to stay away from strangers. But that afternoon ended well. We had a great time with (stranger)!

—I think no one is more (create) than him. He's a boy full of strange ideas.

—In the office, she was (talk) with other teachers at that time.

要求：⒈可以适当发挥，信中不得出现真实姓名和学校名称；

⒉语言通顺，意思连贯，条理清楚，书写规范；

⒊词数：80-100词左右。书信的开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Headmaster,

    I was on duty yesterday.

Sincerely,

Li Lei