Roger, a young man from China, has taught Chinese in a primary school in England for 3 years. A lot of children like his class and he enjoys teaching them very much. All the pupils are quite interested in what Roger teaches them. They learn quickly and do everything carefully.

    One day he said to the children, “People in a lot of Asian countries wear white clothes at funerals (葬礼), but people in America and in Europe wear white in the weddings because white means purity and happiness. What colour does an English woman wear when she gets married?”

    Mary said, “White, sir, because she is happy.” “That is good, Mary,” Roger said. “You are quite right. She wears white because she is happy.”

    But then one boy in the class put up his hand. “Yes, Dick?” Roger said, “Do you have a question?” “Yes,” Dick said. “Why do men wear black in our country when they get married, sir?”

    Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Many heroes are not even human, such as dogs, horses and cats. They are so brave and helpful that human beings are proud of them, too. Lucca, a 12-year-old dog, is a great animal hero. She is a retired US Marine Corps dog. On April 5, 2016 she received the Dickin Medal from PDSA in London, England. And PDSA will provide free medical care for the sick and wounded animals in need. The Dickin Medal was founded in 1943 by Maria Dickin. The Medal is the highest prize for animals working in wars in the world.

    Lucca is the first U.S. Marine Corps dog to receive the medal. As a search dog, Lucca's work was dangerous. She was trained to find hidden weapons and explosive devices. According to the US Marine Corps, Lucca protected the lives of thousands of soldiers, and no soldiers were killed while she was going around. She completed over 400 dangerous pieces of work during six years in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2012, she lost her front left leg in an explosion while working in Afghanistan.

    Lucca is the 66^th animal to receive the Dickin Medal. 30 dogs (including Lucca) have got the Medal as well as 32 World War II messenger pigeons, three horses and one cat.

    Most people always like to collect things. For example, they like collecting stamps, books, pictures.… But my friend Mr King likes collecting clocks. He has five hundred clocks now.

    There are clocks everywhere in his house. You can see shelves standing in every room. All the shelves are full of clocks. Though Mr King is glad to do this, his wife doesn't enjoy it at all. She has a lot of work to do every day. It's not easy for her to clean hundreds of clocks. She is also angry at the noise. Each clock keeps its own time, so she can hear clock strike(敲) almost any time during the day and the night. "There is something even worse. I am never able to know what time it is with so many clocks around."

    Tommy hated school and was always looking for excuses(借口)not to go. If he sneezed(打喷嚏), he asked his mother to write to his teacher saying he had a cold. If he had a headache(头痛), he asked his mother to take him to the doctor during school hours. He spent more time at home than he did at school. On the days that he did go to school, he looked for excuses to come home early.

    One day he came home from school in the middle of the morning. His father was surprised.

    "You're home early," he said. "Is the school finished today?"

    "No, dad," Tommy said. "I came home early."

    "How did you do that?" his father asked him. "What did you say to the teacher?"

    "I told her that I had a new baby brother and that I had to come home and help you."

    "But your mother has had twins(双胞胎)," his father said, "a boy and a girl. You've got a baby brother and a baby sister."

    "Yes, I know, Dad," Tommy said, "I'm saving up my baby sister for next week."