Mrs. Green had a young dog which was very clever. It often helped her buy a newspaper. One winter evening, the dog went out to play. It was snowing heavily. Soon the ground(地面) became white.

     “The dog never loses his way. Where is he now?” Mrs. Green thought. She shouted(喊) his name.

    But still the dog didn't come back. So she telephoned the police and told them a lot about her dog.

    “My dog is very clever. He always goes out and comes back soon. Sometimes he plays with his friend, Mickey. He can buy a newspaper. He almost talks.”

    The policeman was tired and said, “I think you'd better put your telephone down. Maybe he is trying to telephone you now.”

    Home Alone is a very funny 1990 American film. It tells us a boy who is left at home alone by accident.

    One night before Christmas, McAlister family meet at their house. They are planning to fly to Paris for the holiday and are busy getting ready. Eight-year-old Kevin is the youngest child and he is fighting with his brothers, sisters and cousins. When he goes to bed, he is so angry that he wishes all his family would go away. In the morning, everyone wakes up very late. They are all in hurry to get to the airport, so they forget Kevin and he is left alone at home.

Although Kevin is alone, he is very happy at first. His terrible family have gone—his wish has come true. He watches TV, eats lots of fast food and play games. He has a good time. But later on, he goes out and hears two bad men called Harry and Lary. Many things in the house get broken as Kevin tries to stop them. Finally, the police come and the men are taken away.

    The house is now in a mess, so Kevin tidies it up and waits for his parents. They get back from Paris and are very happy to find that Kevin is safe.

    H. G. Wells lived from 1866 to 1946. He wrote many famous stories. He was best at writing stories about the future. One story is called The Time Machine. Here is the story.

    More than 100 years ago, there was an English scientist and inventor living in London. One day, four friends went to his house for dinner. The inventor was not there. Feeling hungry, they started dinner without him. Then they heard a sound. A few moments later, the inventor came in, looking dirty.

    He told his friends that he built a time machine. He could travel into the future.

    The inventor went thousands of years in the future. He met people called the Eloi. They were smaller than him. They had no machines. Growing fruit and vegetables was all that they did. They had no hobbies. Only one girl, Weena, spoke to him.

    Four days later, he met other people called Morlocks. They lived underground. They caught Eloi people and ate them! The inventor wanted to fight against the Morlocks. The Eloi didn't want to help him, not even the strong men. He tried to fight against the Morlocks. At last, Weena went underground with him. Unfortunately, Weena died.

    After that, he got in his time machine. He came back to his time. Seeing the future made him sad. The people in the future were worse. They were not clever.

    His friends didn't think it was a real story. But they never saw him again. Maybe he went to save the future.

    Esperanza lives in a poor Latino(拉丁美洲的) neighbourhood in Chicago, America. She dreams of having her own house one day. Her parents told her that when they moved from their last house, they would have a new and shiny(亮闪闪的) house. But the house is small and old.

    Many people live in Mango Street, in a big old house, Esperanza lives behind it with her family. A lot of the people who have come from Mexico don't speak English. Many miss their home country. Esperanza understands their sadness, but she also feels at home in America. She is an American, but her roots(根) will always be Latino.

    Esperanza is young. Like her friends, she has to grow up fast. She is stuck between being a girl and being a woman. In the poor and dangerous area where she lives, this is difficult for her. Mexican people usually live in a close neighbourhood. This means that people live packed(挤塞的) in together. Everyone knows everyone else. So Esperanza knows other older girls that do things she is not comfortable doing. It is just a fact of her life.

    But Esperanza has good friends too. She becomes friends with two sisters named Lucy and Rachel. They ride bikes and have adventures(冒险) together. Esperanza is also friends with a girl named Alicia. Alicia is afraid of the rats in her apartment. She shares her poems with Esperanza.

    A young couple decided to go camping in the mountains to celebrate their first year of marriage. They took with them all the things they would need to go camping—warm clothes, food and a tent.

    They went up to the mountains and found the perfect place to set up their tent. After that, they decided to go for a hike(远足)to see more of the mountains.

    After a long hike, they went back to their camp, built a fire and cooked dinner. Finally, it was time to go to sleep,

    Sometime in the middle of the night, the wife woke her husband up and said, "Look up at the sky. What do you see?"

    Her husband answered, "I see millions of stars."

    His wife said, "That's right. What does that mean to you?"

    The husband said, "Well, if there are so many stars out there, that means there might also be a planet just like the planet we live on: And if that's true, then there could be life on one of those planets, That's kind of exciting!"

    His wife said, "You are wrong. It means that someone has stolen our tent!"