Pisces is the twelfth star sign. There is a legend about its name. 

      Long, long ago, there was a war between gods and a bad monster (怪物). It lasted ten years. One day, the gods were surprised to find that the monster was coming towards them. The goat god Pan shouted a warning and tried to change himself into a fish. One god, Aphrodite, took her little boy Eros and tried to hide among the bushes near Euphrates River. She was the god of love and her son was the god of war. It is said that two fish swam to carry Aphrodite and her child to safety. Some people also believe that Aphrodite and Eros changed into fish themselves and swam away to safety. Later the fish represent Aphrodite and her son Eros.

As they appeared in the sky, the two fish were tied together by a rope (绳子). Some said that Aphrodite tied the little boy to her body so that he would not get lost as they swam away to safety. That's the story about Pisces.

In Western countries, some people believe people will share similar characteristics if they have the same star sign. So if you're born between February 19^th and March 20^th, your star sign is Pisces. It means that you are generous, easy-going and creative.

Florida teen band The Garbage-Men is performing on the stage. The band has five members. They are Jack Berry, Ollie Gray, Harrison Paparatto, Austin Siegel and Evan Tucker. The five teens are making music from waste. The Garbage-Men band's instruments are made from recycled things. The guitars are boxes. A horn(号) is made from pipes. The keyboard is formed from old bottles.

    The band started about two years ago. Jack Berry who was in eighth grade at the time decided to make a playable, home-made guitar. After some trial-and-error(反复试验),                he ended up building it from a cereal box,  a yardstick and toothpicks. After Jack showed his creation to his friend Ollie Gray, Ollie had the idea to form a band using other home-made instruments as a way to improve recycling. “We want to show people there is more to recycling than throwing things away in the bin.” Jack, 16, told TFK. “You can actually reuse materials.”

Last year, the Garbage-Men played at local events, including festivals, farmer's markets. Typically， the teens set up on the street and performed popular songs from the 1960s， including classic Beatles and crowd favorite “Wipe Out”. They talked about recycling and offered tips for how to improve the environment. While they were performing, Jack's little brother Trent, 11, gave out leaflets about recycling and helped sell the band's CDs and other musical products.

The band donated the money from sales to charity. They have raised more than $2,500 for Heifer International. The organization gives farm animals, seeds and agricultural training to people in poor countries to help end poverty and hunger. “It's a good, sustainable-development (持续发展的)charity,” Jack says, “By donating one animal, you help the whole community.”

The band, all tenth graders, tries to play a show every week. They've also played on a Florida radio station. The teens hope to take their shows on the road by touring in other states. “Music is a really good way to get a good message across to people because it's really close.” Jack says. Their instruments may be rubbish, but their message isn't.

    Several days ago, Brenda had a car accident that led to one of her legs being cut off. Since then she didn't talk to anyone.

     “I wish I could bring her friends to visit her,” said Brenda's mother. “But it's a long bus trip.” The nurse smiled, “Don't worry. We have a plan.”

    Later that day, the nurse had taken Brenda to another room. “Here's your new roommate, Annie Wiggle-Do,” the nurse introduced a dark-hair teenager on the other bed.

    As soon as the nurse left, she jumped out of her bed with her only foot and sat at the other end of Brenda's bed, “I lost my leg from bone cancer,” she said. “What happened to yours?” Brenda was so shocked that she couldn't say a word. “You're lucky.” Annie continued. “You've still got your knee. They had to take mine.”

     “I'd like to have a chat with you, but my friends are coming any time now, so I have to get ready.” Annie said when she took off her hair! Her head was completely bald(秃头的).

     “Oh, I forgot to tell you, the medicine they gave me to kill the cancer also killed my hair.” Annie looked out her wigs(假发), brown and yellow, short and long, straight and curly.

     “That's why I thought up ‘Annie Wiggle-Do'.” Annie smiled. “Get it? Any wig will do? Annie Wiggle-Do?” “When Annie's friends came, she introduced Brenda to them all. Before long, Brenda started chatting with Annie and her friends. They didn't make her feel like a strange person at all!

    The girls shared their names with each other. When it was time to go to bed, Brenda said, “Good night, Annie-Wiggle-Do. Can't wait till morning.”

    My sister and I went to an art museum last weekend. The museum was having a two-week show. Lots of very old artworks from two cities in Italy were on show.

    I liked one of the paintings best. The light on the woman's dress made it look as if she was really sitting there. A note on the wall told me about the artist and the painting. I was also interested in a very old sculpture(雕像). Parts of it had broken off. But I could still see how the man looked.

    There were quite a lot of paintings in the museum. Some paintings were stored away (保存). We saw them on the computer. The computer had a note about each painting and artist.

    After enjoying the artworks, we went to a room with costumes (戏装) in the museum. There my sister dressed up like one of the people in the old paintings. That was her favourite part of visiting the museum.

    In the museum, we also made art ourselves. I drew some flowers. And my sister drew a cute cat.

    At last we went to a gift shop in the museum. My sister chose a book for kids, and I chose a little sculpture.

    My sister and I were tired, but we had fun. I hope there can be more shows as exciting as this one in the museum.

    Mr Brown is a famous doctor. He lives in Sydney with his wife and three children. His wife's father, Mr Black, lives with them too.

    Mr Black is too old to work and he always sits in his chair near the bed all day; but in spring, if the weather is nice, he will sit outside. Sometimes, he even takes his chair into the garden if it is warm enough.

    Recently, Mr Brown found that spending more than three hours playing outside every day can reduce a child's risk of becoming short-sighted. It challenges the people's belief that short-sightedness is caused by using electronic products or reading in weak light. Many people come to see Mr Brown and ask him why Mr Brown shows his research and believes that natural light has a special chemical which stops the eyeball from growing out of shape and prevents people from becoming short-sighted.

    Mr Brown's oldest son, Andersen Brown, is twenty-seven. He is also a doctor like his father. He agrees with his father's idea and he suggests that everyone should spend some time outside. It doesn't matter that time is spent in travelling, playing sports outside or just sitting outside like his grandfather.

    Mr Brown's oldest daughter, Wendy Brown, is twenty-four. She is a music teacher. She teaches students in a junior high school. She likes teaching very much. She thinks those teenagers are very lovely.

    Mr Brown's youngest son, Mike Brown, is not old enough to go to work. He still goes to school. He is a very clever and hard-working boy. He is good at studying. He wants to be a scientist when he grows up.