A university professor recently made several tests with different animals to find out which was cleverer than other animals.

    In one test the professor put a monkey in a room where there were several small boxes. Some boxes were inside other boxes. One small box had some food in it. The professor wanted to watch the monkey and to find out how long it would take the monkey to find the food. The professor left the room. He waited a few minutes outside the door. Then he got down on his knees and put his eye to the keyhole (钥匙孔). What did he see? To his surprise, he found himself looking into the eye of the monkey. The monkey was on the other side of the door and looked at the professor through the keyhole.

    Larry is going to be a pilot. He wants to fly an airplane. But Larry is not a rich man. He doesn't have an airplane. He has only a chair. Larry ties 45 big balloons to his chair and then sits in the chair. The chair goes up.

    For a few minutes, everything is fine. The view from the chair is beautiful. Larry can see houses and trees below him. He is happy. He is flying!

    The chair goes up very high. Larry is afraid. “I don't want to go very high,” Larry thinks. “I want to go down a little.” With a small gun, Larry shoots 10 balloons. Then something terrible happens. Larry drops the gun, and it falls to the ground. Larry can't shoot more balloons. The chair goes up and up.

    Larry is three miles above the ground. Airplanes are flying over him. Larry has a small radio. “Help! Help!” he says into the radio. “I'm flying in a chair, and I want to come down!” People hear Larry, but they can't help him.

    Larry flies in the chair for 45 minutes. Then the balloons begin to lose air, slowly the chair comes down, and Larry is back on the ground. He is not hurt.

    Jack walked up to Sue and said, “Hello, how are you? May I sit and talk with you for a moment?” “Of course, please sit down,” Sue said. Jack sat down next to Sue on the bench (板凳), and they talked quietly together. The dog continued to look up at Sue, as if（似乎) waiting to be given some food.

    “That's a nice dog, isn't he?” Jack said, pointing at the animal.

    “Yes, he is. He's handsome. He's strong and healthy.”

    “And hungry,” Jack said. “He hasn't taken his eyes off you. He thinks you've got some food for him.”

    “That's true,” Sue said. “But I haven't.”

    They both laughed and then Jack said, “Does your dog bite（咬）anyone?”

    “No, ”Sue said, “ He's never bitten（咬）anyone. He's always gentle and friendly.”

    Hearing this, Jack decided to hold out his hand and touched the animal's head. Suddenly it jumped up and bit him.

    “Hey!” Jack shouted. “You said your dog didn't bite.”

    Sue answered in surprise, “Yeah, I did. But this is not my dog. My dog is at home.”

International Museum Day is coming! Here are some special museums that you must see.

    Working as a vet(兽医), I met a family who taught me an unforgettable lesson. They came to my clinic with their dying dog, Coco. I examined Coco and found he was old and had a serious illness. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Coco, and euthanasia(安乐死)would be best for the dog.

    On that day, their little boy Eric seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if Eric understood what was going on.

The little boy seemed to accept Coco's death without any difficulty. We sat together for a while after Coco's death, explaining that animal lives are shorter than human lives.

    Eric, who had been listening quietly, piped up:\"I know why. \"

    He said, "People need a lifetime to learn how to live a good life-like loving everybody and being nice, right? The six-year-old boy continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

    I'd never heard a more soft-hearted explanation as to why animal lives are so short. It has changed the way I live. I see every day as the day that my life could be easily taken away, so I try to live my life to the fullest.

Pack Up and Fly Away

    Hainan Island

Hainan Island is a wonderful place of sun, sand and sea. It is in the south of China. It's famous for its underwater beauty. Tianyahaijiao is also very famous. It attracts lots of tourists around the world every year.

    Thailand

Thailand is in the heart of Southeast Asia. Its capital Bangkok has some of Thailand's greatest buildings, like the Grand Palace(大皇宫). Chiang Mai(清迈) is a big city in Thailand. There are many historic temples(寺庙)there, such as Wat Phra Singh. The temple has a history of over 650 years.

Australia

This country is the land of beauty and diversity(多样性). It is famous for the Sydney Opera House and Ayers Rock(艾尔斯岩). Ayers Rock is 3, 600 meters long and 348 meters high. What's more, children can also see many animals here like koalas, kangaroos and sheep.

    South Korea's Jeju Island(韩国济州岛)

As a volcanic(火山) island, Jeju once was chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders(奇迹)of Nature. Besides that Jeju attracts children with its Teddy Bear Museum. There, people show historical events with teddy bears.