Pisces is the twelfth star sign. There is a legend about its name. 

      Long, long ago, there was a war between gods and a bad monster (怪物). It lasted ten years. One day, the gods were surprised to find that the monster was coming towards them. The goat god Pan shouted a warning and tried to change himself into a fish. One god, Aphrodite, took her little boy Eros and tried to hide among the bushes near Euphrates River. She was the god of love and her son was the god of war. It is said that two fish swam to carry Aphrodite and her child to safety. Some people also believe that Aphrodite and Eros changed into fish themselves and swam away to safety. Later the fish represent Aphrodite and her son Eros.

As they appeared in the sky, the two fish were tied together by a rope (绳子). Some said that Aphrodite tied the little boy to her body so that he would not get lost as they swam away to safety. That's the story about Pisces.

In Western countries, some people believe people will share similar characteristics if they have the same star sign. So if you're born between February 19^th and March 20^th, your star sign is Pisces. It means that you are generous, easy-going and creative.

B

    It's 14:00. The house is quiet(安静的). "Tom?" Mom says. No one answers.

    Mom comes to Tom's house. He is not in the bed. But his model plane is on the desk. "He is not in his room, and he is not in the yard(院子)," Mom thinks. Then Mom comes to his grandparents' room. Tom likes to play with Grandpa's tape player. But he is not there.

    Mom looks for(寻找) him everywhere. But where is Tom? Mom is worried. She wants to call Dad. She comes to the living room to get the phone.

    "What's that?" Mom sees something(某物) black under the sofa. Oh, it's Paul, Tom's dog. It loves sleeping(睡觉) there. But what is next to Paul? It's Tom!

    O. Henry was an American writer. He wrote lots of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy, he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for a long time, but he learned everything he wanted to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas. There he did different jobs. He first worked in a newspaper, and then he has a job in a bank. When some money went missing from the bank, O. Henry was suspected (被怀疑）. Because of that he was sent into prison（监狱）. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the poor life there. People liked his stories, because although simple(简单), to the reader's surprise, the stories would finish with a sudden change at the end.

    Dear Adam,

    I'm on vacation in Central America and having a great time. I'm in Guatemala. It's a small country but there is so much to see and do! There are volcanoes (火山), mountains, rainforests, beaches and Mayan temples (玛雅寺庙) in the country.

    The Mayan people have a long and interesting history. They built many temples. Last Friday I visited a Mayan temple at a place called Tikal. The temple has a history of about 1,300 years. It is a wonderful place to visit.

    I am staying at Lake Atitlan now. Some people say it is the most beautiful lake in the world. It is a very big lake and there are mountains and volcanoes around it. You can walk around the lake and even climb to the top of a volcano.

    The volcanoes at Lake Atitlan are not active volcanoes (活火山), but tomorrow I am going to see an active volcano called Pacaya. Active volcanoes can be dangerous because they still erupt (爆发) sometimes. I want to climb Pacaya. It erupted in 2010. I hope it won't erupt when I' m there!

      I'll send (发送,) you another e-mail soon.

                                                      All the best,

                                                       Kate