“My dear lady，”says Holmes．“You're shivering．Are you cold? Do you want a cup of hot tea?”

    “I'm not cold，”the woman replies，“I fear for my life!”

    “We are here to help you．Don't worry about anything．I don't know you．But I know many things about you．For example，I know how you traveled．You came to London by train．You also rode to the train station on a horse—drawn wagon．''

    “Why，yes．You‘re right.But how do you know these things?”

    “I see a return ticket in your glove．I see fresh mud on the left arm of your dress. Now tell us your problem．''

    “My name is Helen Stoner，”she states，“My mother and father are dead．I am living with my stepfather．Dr．Grimsby Roylott．He comes from a rich family．But they are no longer rich．They have nothing except a small piece of land and a huge old house．We are living in the house. Dr．Roylott is using my mother's mone37 for expenses．Part of it was for my sister and me. It was for our marriages．”

    Holmes is sitting in his chair．His eyes are closed．He is listening carefully to Helen's story．He hears every detail.

    Helen continues. “My stepfather has no friends．He fights with everyone．He is strong and gets angry quickly. Everyone is afraid of him．”

    “He has no friends at all?”asks Holmes．

    “No．He talks to no one except the gypsies(吉普赛人)．They are poor people who travel from place to place．A band of gypsies is staying on our land right now．''

    “Are you and your sister afraid of the gypsies?”

    “My dear Mr．Holmes．You are making me so sad．My sister is dead．That is why I am standing here in this room．”    ，  .

A Meaningful Gift

    Emily was an eight grader. To pass her Civics course（公民课程）,she had to do some volunteer service in a nursing home for a week.

    One Monday, Emily went to the nursing home after school. When she arrived, she was told she would1an hour every weekday with an elderly lady, Mrs. Blair. She was then led into a room, where an old lady in a flowery dress was sitting on a sofa.

    Emily2awkwardly（别扭地） in front of the lady. She cleared her throat and said,“Good afternoon. I'm Emily.”

    “Good afternoon, Emily. Take a seat,please,”Mrs. Blair replied.

    Then,3filled the space between them. Emily wondered what to say.

    “Tell me about yourself,Emily,”Mrs. Blair said suddenly.

    “Well,” Emily started, “I don't have any grandparents, so I can't relate to elderly people much. I love the performing arts. I'm here mainly because I have to 4here to get a good grade for my Civics class.”Mrs. Blair didn't seem to5.Many people, especially teens, don't seem to care about old people like me. Now you're here, and I'm going to change that about you. Ask me anything.”

    Emily thought for a moment, and finally decided, “What was your job?”

    “I was a Broadway star in the 1950s,”Mrs. Blair answered.

    “Cool! Can you tell me about it?” Emily asked, amazed.

    Mrs. Blair smiled. “Back then, only the lead actress had the honor to wear a 6bracelet. I was the lead in almost all of the plays, so I always wore the bracelet. Till this day, I still have it.”

    Emily smiled along with Mrs. Blair and listened to the other stories, attentively. She had become so interested in Mrs. Blair's7that she decided to come earlier the next day.

    Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday passed by quickly. Then came Friday. As she was leaving, Emily was really8to say goodbye.

    “Don't be sad. You can still visit me,” Mrs. Blair comforted her. She then handed a small box to Emily, “It's my gift to you.”

    Emily9opened the box and was surprised to see what was inside. “It's the bracelet that you wore. Thank you!” Emily said, with tears in her eyes. “I'm sure to visit you whenever I'm free.”

    On her way home, Emily thought of her own love for the performing arts. She touched the bracelet and made a10that she would keep her word to Mrs. Blair.

    A man asked his friends one evening, "What's the most beautiful  1in the world?" "The sound of bird  2?" one of his friends said.

    "No, it's the sound of a piano." the 3one said. "No, no," the third said. "It's the sound of a guitar." The three friends 4. Soon they were shouting.

    "Stop! Stop!" the man cried out. "You'll never 5each other this way. Come to dinner next week. I'll help you agree on what's the most beautiful sound in the world."

    A week later, the man's three friends came to his house. They were looking forward to （期待） a good dinner, 6the table was empty. Time passed and still there was no  7.

    At last, it was midnight. The man's friends were very 8 but they were too polite（礼貌的）to say 9. Then, as they were standing up to leave, they heard the "click, click" of dishes. A servant came in and put the dishes of food on the table.

    Soon they were all enjoying a fine meal. "Tell me now." the man said  10with a smile, "What is the most beautiful sound in the world?" And this time they all gave the same answer.

    Long long ago, there lived a1monkey. It had two heads and they faced2directions（方向）. One day, one head of the monkey saw a nice red3. The head ate it and kept4how delicious it was. The other head asked, "Can I taste it?" The first head said, "Though I ate it in my mouth, it will go into our5." The other head still wanted to taste the fruit. The first head6, "I saw the fruit and I have the right（权利）to eat it7sharing."

    Later, the second head saw a beautiful pink fruit on a tree. It tried to pick the fruit and eat it. The birds living in the tree said, "Don't eat it. It will8you. "

    The first head also shouted, "Don't eat it!" But the second head didn't9them, "I saw it, and I have the right to eat it. It will go into our stomach later. "And it ate the fruit. In a few minutes, the strange monkey with two heads died!

    A family should10each other instead of working for one's own good（好处）.

    The school music club opens. Tony wants 1 the club, but he doesn't like to go alone(单独）. He likes his friends to go to the 2 with him. So he 3 them at home, but everyone is 4 .

    Martin is doing his homework at home. It usually 5 him two hours to finish it.

    Peter is writing an e-mail to his pen friend Gina on the 6. He is telling 7 about his school life. In fact he doesn't like 8. Jim likes music very much, 9 Miss Green is teaching him and his classmates to sing songs at school. They are having a 10 contest.

Alice is having her 11 birthday party. Her parents are making a cake for her. We can see twelve candles(蜡烛)on the table.

    Kate is helping her brother 12 his English. He always doesn't do 13 in his tests.

    Tom is playing baseball with his sister. It is his favorite 14 .

Tony is not happy15no one can go to the club with him.

    A rabbit named Bunny lived in a village near a forest. He was very clever and he never gave up 1. He chose a dead tree and made a home in the trunk. People 2him singing in the morning every day. As soon as the sun shone on his door, he left his home and went across a bridge to the3. He looked for some food there.

    One morning, while he was getting ready to sing as usual, a big storm began. It rained 4. What was worse, the bridge was 5. Bunny was very hungry, but there was no food in his home. He needed to 6 to find some food. He couldn't swim, so how could he find food in such a storm?

    After thinking for a long time, he finally came up with a good idea. He thought he would solve the 7 successfully. He decided to 8 a boat with some lotus leaves. Here is his plan:

    First: Search for some lotus leaves by the pond. If necessary, ask the frogs for help.

    Second: Tie the lotus leaves together to make a little boat.

    At last: Get into the boat. Be 9 in the storm and don't be afraid at all.

    So, Bunny, the wise rabbit, crossed the river in the boat carefully. His plan was so successful that he arrived at the forest after only an hour. There he found some food and then he went home happily. He had a big meal and began to sing as 10.