There is a hiking trail (远足小径) near Sara's home. The trail begins at the foot of the mountain and leads all the way to the top. One day, Sara and her father planned to go on a hike. Sara had packed lunches earlier that morning. Her lather filled their backpacks with other things and they set out!

    As they started up the trail, Sara's father pointed out many different plants along the trail. He showed Sara the difference between the leaves of an aspen tree and a spruce tree. Sara was glad that her father knew so much! She always learned something whenever they went on a hike.

    "Look over there," Sara said in a low voice. They had just turned a comer on the mountain trail. Lying in the grass next to the trail was a small baby deer(鹿). It looked at them with wide eyes, but it did not move.

    "Where is its mother?" Sara asked. "Do you think we should stay here and watch it?"

    "That's a good idea," answered her dad. "We must not go any closer, though." As they sat down and unpacked their lunch, Sara asked her dad why they couldn't go any closer to the deer. He explained that sometimes, if the mother smelled humans too close to her baby, she would be too afraid to come back. Sara and her father agreed that they would wait for the mother to come back, but that they would not get too close to the deer.

    Soon a larger deer walked slowly up to the baby deer. The mother and baby ran quickly down the trail.

    Sara and her father packed up their things and continued up the mountain. They knew that the deer was now safe.

    Ali, who was working a long way from his home, wanted to send a letter to his wife, but he could neither read nor write, and he had to work all day, so he could only look for somebody to write his letter late at night. At last he found the house of a letter writer whose name was Nasreddin.

     Nasreddin was already in bed. "It is late," he said. "What do you want?" "I want you to write a letter to my wife," said Ali. Nasreddin was not pleased. He thought for a few seconds and then said, "Has the letter got to go far? What does that matter?" answered Ali.

    "Well. My writing is so strange that only I can read it, and if I have to travel a long way to read your letter to your wife, it will cost you a lot of money. "Ali went away quickly.

    I like listening to music in my free time. My favorite song is Another World by One Direction. I also like reading books and one of my favorite books is The Old Man and the Sea. But I like making clothes best. I think it is very interesting.

Emma

    In my free time, I often help my parents do the housework. I clean the rooms, wash the dishes, walk the dog and help my sister with her studies. But my favorite thing is cooking. I want to be a great cook in the future.

Tina

    In my free time, I like, drawing, playing volleyball and reading books. I also enjoy talking with my friends and playing the piano. I have piano lessons every Thursday and Sunday.

 Bill

    I like doing volunteer work in my free time. I go to the old people's home with my classmates twice a month. And sometimes I go to the market to help old people. I also help clean the park in my neighborhood.

Jessica

    Mr. and Mrs. Turner live outside a small town. They have a big farm and they are always busy working on it. Their son, Peter, studied at a middle school. The young man studied hard and did well in his lessons. It made them happy.

    Last month Peter finished middle school and passed the entrance examination (升学考试). Mrs. Turner was very happy and told the farmers about it.

    Yesterday morning the woman went to the town to buy something for her son. On the bus she told one of her friends how clever and able her son was. She spoke very loudly. All the people in the bus began to listen to her.

    "Which university (大学) will your son study in?" a woman next to her asked.

    "In the most famous university in our country!" Mrs. Turner said happily.

    "The most famous university?"

    "Oxford University (牛津)."

    Most of the passengers (乘客) looked at her carefully. Some of them said to her, "Congratulations!"

    A woman said, "I'm sure he'll know Fred Smith."

    "Who's Fred Smith?"

    "He's my son."

    "Does he study in the university, too?"

    "No," said the woman. "He is one of the professors."

Mushrooms are tasty and rich in healthy nutrients (营养物), which makes some people  collect them in the wild. However, eating the wrong mushrooms can make you sick or even dead. Therefore, growing mushrooms yourself inside your own home is getting popular.

There are two ways to do this. You can buy a set of materials from a garden store called a "grow kit (工具包) "or you can put them together yourself.

Grow kits(GK)

Grow kits are a great way for beginners to try growing mushrooms. These grow kits include partly-grown mushroom starters, called "spawn." (菌种体) The spawn is set in soil (土壤) and is planted in its own grow box. You put the spawn in water overnight. Then you return it to the box and open it to fresh air. Water it twice a day.

Within two or three weeks, you will be eating mushrooms with more on the way. It is fun and easy.

Putting them together yourself(PTTY)

If you want a larger harvest, it will cost less to put the materials together yourself. It is easy, too.

For starters, you will need a wooden, metal, or plastic box and some soil mixed with compost (肥料) and other materials. You will also need to buy fungal spores (真菌孢子) (something like seeds).

With clean hands, fill the box with your soil and materials. Put the spores evenly over the soil substance (物质) and water it twice a day gently.

To grow quickly and effectively, the spore-topped soil material should be kept away from direct sunlight. It should be kept at or close to 21℃. Put a piece of cloth lightly over the top of the box to keep moisture(水分) in. But do not cover it tightly (紧紧地). After it was coated with mycelium (菌丝体), move the box to a cooler place —12℃ to 15 ℃.

Mushrooms grow very quickly. With their tops fully open, they will be ready to harvest. That will be in about three to four weeks. Use a sharp, clean knife to cut them at soil level to avoid influencing nearby growth.

Do you want to taste safe and nutritious mushrooms? Grow them at home right now.