Pablo Picasso was born in Spain in 1881. His father was a painter and art teacher who gave his son the first lesson in drawing. He won a prize — “Science and Charity” for his first important painting when he was only fifteen. He studied in several cities in Spain. But there was no one to teach him all that he wanted to know. When he was nineteen, he visited Paris.

Paris was then the center of the world for artists. Everything that was new and exciting in the world of paintings seemed to happen there. When he was twenty-three, Picasso moved there to live and lived in France for the rest of his life.

    When he was over ninety, this great painter still lived his life like a young man. He was still looking for new ideas and new ways to use his artistic materials.

    When he died in 1973, he was ninety-one years old.

    When people find something valuable and return it to its owner，they are often given a reward．This is because the person not only found what was lost but also spent time finding its owner or taking it to the police station．

    There was once a young boy who found a woman's purse in a shopping center．Inside the purse there was some money and the woman's driving license．Her name and address were printed on the license，so the boy knew where she lived．That evening he went to her house and knocked on her door．When she opened it，he said，“I found your purse，''and handed it to her．

    “Thank you very much，”she said．She opened her purse and took out all the money．She wanted to give the boy a small reward，but there were only bills of$20 in the purse and she thought that$20 was too much to give the boy．“I'm sorry，”she said. “but I don't have any small change to give you．”

    The boy said，“That's all right，”and he went away．

    A few days later he found another woman's purse．It also had her driving license in it，so he knew where she lived．He went to her house and said．“l found your purse ,”and handed it to her．

    “Thank you very much，"she said．  She opened her purse and took out all her money．

    “That‘s strange，”she said．“Before I lost my purse l had a $100 bill and a $20 bill in it．Now I have a $100 bill ,a $10 bill and two $5 bills．''

    “Yes，"the boy said，and smiled．

    Here is a story told an American general（将军）who was a very important figure in the American army during the First World War. Everybody in the United States knew him and many people wished to have a picture or something of his in their homes.

    Soon after the war, the general returned to Washington. One day he went to a dentist（牙医）and had six teeth pulled out. A week later the general heard that his teeth were being sold in curiosity shops at $5 each. On catch of the teeth there was a label（标签）with the name of the general and words, "Buy these teeth and show them to your friends at home. "The general got angry. He rushed to his office and ordered six officers to go around the city and buy all his teeth.

    The officers went out and visited every curiosity shop in the capital. They were away from the office all day. In the evening they returned and put on the table in front of the general the teeth they had bought. They had collected 175 teeth.

    My teacher said to a student: "Give me your phone."

    We all looked in surprise. Kyle, a student who I never saw text (发信息) in class, gave the teacher his phone.

    When the teacher left, two students who I often saw text in class started boasting (吹牛) about how they sent text messages and never got caught.

    "Kyle, you don't text in class that way!" one of them said. "I put my phone under my desk so it looks like I'm looking at my textbooks."

    "Isn't it funny that we always text and never get caught, but the first time Kyle does it, he gets caught?" the other one laughed.

    They must have thought they were smart, because they never got caught and Kyle did. But which situation is worse: getting caught, or getting away with it? Rules are there for a reason. These two students might not have got caught, but neither of them had good grades. They keep texting in class, not paying any attention. I think they will keep breaking the rules in the future.

    People don't just break the law and get thrown into jail (监狱) right away. They take it one step at a time, starting with smaller rules. Kyle might have got caught, but at least he learned a good lesson. He will not break the rules in the future, so he will learn more in class and stay out of trouble. It's smarter not to break the rules.

    Helen is a kind and hard-working girl. Her father is a bus driver, and her mother is a worker. They're busy every day and sometimes they have no time to cook for their daughter. So her mother teaches her to cook some simple food. Helen learns very quickly and soon she can cook pancakes(煎饼) and hot dishes.

    Today is Sunday. Helen is free. She hopes her parents can eat hot food when they get home. She cooks some pancakes first. Then she wants to cook tomato soup, but she doesn't know how much salt(盐) she should put into the soup. She puts spoons(勺) of salt. Her parents are very happy after they see the hot pancakes and soup on the table. But they look very painful(痛苦的) after having the soup. "Oh dear Helen, how much salt did you put into the soup?" Her parents ask and begin laughing.