There was a robbery at City Central Bank last yesterday afternoon. Two men entered the bank at about 4 p.m. and told the bank teller on duty to give them $ 1,000,000. The robbers were carrying guns（枪） and wearing black masks（面具） to cover their faces. The robbers told all the customers （顾客）in the bank to lie down on the floor. Witnesses （证人）said that everyone in the bank was very frightened and did what the robbers told them.

    The teller agreed to give them the money but told them they'd have to wait a few minutes. She said the bank manager would have to get the money out of the safety. As the robbers were waiting for the money. the teller tried to press an alarm button(按警报按钮) that was hidden under the counter. It was a silent alarm, so the robbers didn't realize it had been set off. Just as the manager arrived with the money, ten police officers entered the bank. The robbers were very surprised that the officers caught them easily. The robbers are now in custody（拘留） , and will appear in court next week.

    Police congratulated Miss Alston, the bank teller, on brave act. The bank manager said that he would give Miss Alston a week's vacation to thank her.

    Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his penname.

    Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother's care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn't like to go to school, and he often ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi. He was nearly drowned nine times.

    After his father's death, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full time writer.In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him great fortune.

    Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments(投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of his children passed away.

    At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.

    That warm day was the only day of the week without rain. I opened the door, took a seat and began to enjoy the wonderful sunshine. Suddenly, I noticed that the house near mine had been sold. An elderly lady was in front of the door, with some beautiful flowers beside her. I walked to her. She looked to be in her early eighties and had the prettiest white hair.

    "Hi! My name is Karmen," I said smiling brightly at the old lady. She smiled back and said. "Hello, Karmen. I'm Henrietta." Her voice was very strong for someone at her age. Later, I learnt she was alone and had no family or relatives to help her. From that day on, I often visited her and helped her with her housework and sometimes she gave me some delicious food. A year passed, and I considered Henrietta to be one of my best friends.

    One day, I walked over for my morning visit and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I knocked again, and she still didn't turn up. So I let myself in, using the key she had given me. I checked her living room and then her kitchen. I finally went into her bedroom, and she was lying peacefully on her bed. Beside her there were two notes. One was her will, which said all that she had would be given to me. The other was a thank-you note. I went to her bedside and cried sadly.

    Though several years have gone by, I still miss her deeply. Whenever I look at the beautiful flowers in front of her house. I remember the wonderful friendship we had.

    Little Mike's grandma died weeks ago. He missed her very much. One afternoon Mike went to the city park where his grandma used to go. There he saw an old lady. She looked very kind. She was sitting there, watching pigeons(鸽子). Little Mike went up and sat next to her. He took out his food and drinks and gave some to her. She smiled at him. Her smile was so sweet that Mike wanted to see it again. She seemed to understand him, so once again she smiled. Mike was very glad.

    They sat there all the afternoon, eating and talking. As it grew dark, Mike got up to leave. Before he left, he hugged(拥抱) the old lady and she gave him her sweetest smile.

    When Mike got home, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. "I met a granny in the park. Her smile was like the kind of smile I had seen on Grandma's face."

    The old lady also returned to her home happily. She told her son that she had food and drinks with a little boy. "He was as lovely as Brittany." she said. Her son was surprised, because he had never seen her so happy since Brittany, her grandson, died weeks ago.