An Englishman was showing a foreign visitor around London. "What's that strange building?" asked the visitor. "That's the Tower of London." "I see. How long did it take to build it?" "About 500 years." "In my country we can build it in five months." Shortly after that they came to St. Paul's Cathedral（大教堂）. "Very interesting!" said the visitor. "How long did it take to build it?" "Nearly forty years." said the Englishman. "In my country we can finish it in forty days at most," said the visitor. This went on all day.

    They visited most of the best known buildings in the city. Every time they saw a new one, the visitor asked what it was and how long it took to build it. Then he said that they could do the same thing much faster in his country.

    At last the Englishman got angry with the visitor though he tried not to show it. Several days later they came to the House of Parliament（议会）and the visitor asked his usual question, "What is that? . "The Englishman answered, "I have no idea. It wasn't there last night."

    As we all know mother's love is the greatest love in the world. It's true that we should thank our mothers, without mothers, nobody could come to the world. I always believe the rule, so it's hard for me to feel father's love. I didn't realize how great my father was until last month.

    On a rainy day last month, I was sleeping in my bedroom when my father came in to wake me up. I was sleepy and upset, so I began to shout at him. He wasn't angry at all. Instead he said in a low voice to me, "Dear, it's time for lunch. I have already got everything ready for you. "I looked at the watch. My god, it was nearly twelve o' clock at noon. It was Sunday that day. That was why I got up so late.

    I went downstairs slowly and lazily. When I got into the dining room, I saw a table of tasty food. I felt surprised because all the food was cooked by my father himself. He had never done any housework before, because he was always very busy. I was still puzzled (困惑) why Dad cooked so much food for us two that day . Suddenly, I heard the voice of happy birthday. I was so excited that I cried, for I knew it was the first time I had felt father's love since my mom was not with us anymore.

    Four beggars (乞丐) usually met at an old shack (小窝棚) at the end of the day. One day, they were very upset because none of them had got much in their begging bowls.

    "I only got this piece of meat today," the first said. "I hardly got anything," the second said. "I just picked up these few vegetables outside the fruit and vegetable store." The third complained that all he was given was a handful of herbs(香草) that he couldn't eat on his own. The fourth beggar didn't do much better. "I only got the handful of old, dried beans, but they aren't very nice!"

    As they sat around the fire, one of them had a great idea. "Let's put all our bits together and boil them. In this way, we can make a tasty dish and share it." They all agreed.

    However, the first beggar thought, "I don't want to share. I'll just pretend (假装) to throw my meat into the pot. They'll never know and I'll eat my meat later." So he pretended to put the meat into the pot. Now the same idea had also hit the other beggars and the shack was so dark that no one could see what the others were doing.

    Finally, one of them suggested that the dish should now be ready and, in turn, each of them helped himself to a bowl. They drank the hot water in absolute(绝对) silence, learning that selfishness doesn't taste all that good.