Have you ever heard of a rattlesnake? It is a poisonous (有毒的) American snake.When it is angry or afraid, it makes a noise like a rattle with its tail. It's very scary. But Heather Ramirez and her husband, from California, in the UnitedStates, make a living in an unusual way. They are self-employed (自雇的) snake catchers!They catch snakes, especially rattlesnakes which have gone indoors, and returnthem to the wild.

    Heather describes her work as “protecting people from rattlesnakes — andprotecting rattlesnakes from people!” In the area where they live, rattlesnakesoften come face to face with people. They are found in stores, offices, housesand gardens. Heather explains that it's not the snakes that are moving into places where people live, but it's the other way round. The snakes lived in these places first and then the people built houses.

Most people who see a rattlesnake are feared. If you keep your distance,however, the snake won't bite (咬) you. In twelve years as a snake catcher, Heather has nevertouched a snake. She doesn't take the risk. She picks up the snakes with aspecial tool. This doesn't hurt them,but it keeps them at a safe distance so that they can't bite her.

    Heather and her husband are very busy because they are never off duty.Catching snakes is a full-time job and they don't often have a day off. Peoplecan get to them at any time of the day or night. Not everyone can do this job,but Heather doesn't want to do anything else. “I just love my job,” she says.

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Last Sunday I saw the worst storm in years. It came suddenly and went on for more than three hours. After lunch, I went into my room to have a rest. The air was hot, and all was quiet. The strong wind started blowing into my room. Pieces of paper on my desk flew high into the air and some flew out of the open window. As I ran out to catch them, big drops of rain began to fall. When I came back into the house, it was raining harder and harder. I tried very hard to close the window. Then I heard a loud crashing（碰撞的） sound from the back of the house. I ran out of my room to find out what it was— a big tree had fallen down and broke the top of the back room.

    One day, while I was walking on the street, I heard the piano music and singing rising above the noise of the people. I stopped and saw a young lady sitting at a piano.

    She was singing songs about love. The way she was singing made me a little comfortable. I stood there watching her playing on such a crowded New York square. I thought that she must be brave enough to perform in front of so many people.

    She noticed me. I walked over and told her how good her music sounded. “Thank you.” she said.

    “I have been going through a hard time recently, but you've made me hopeful again.” I said to her.

    “I'm glad that I could help,” she replied, “Why are you so sad?”

    “Well, my mom has lost her job, and I'm not sure what to do …”

    “Did you notice the way you were walking? Your head was down.” she said. “Don't be upset, because opportunity (机遇) comes in different ways and if your head is down, you might not see it. You should smile more… lift your head up.”

    I looked at her, surprised at how she was encouraging (鼓励) me. “Why are you playing the piano here?” I asked her with a smile.

    She explained that she saw a lot of unhappy people in the world and she tried to cheer them up by playing music.

    I smiled a little wilder, realizing that no difficulties could stop me from going on.

    Most children like the summer holiday. It is usually long. During the summer holiday, children like to have a good time outdoors (在户外).

    Jimmy is a 15⁃year⁃old American boy. His summer holiday is coming. It is from July 1st to August 20th. He wants to travel. He usually travels in America, but this summer he wants to do something different. He learns a lot about China on the Internet, so he wants to take a trip to China. He also wants to learn about Chinese history, so he plans to visit Beijing and Xi' an. He is going to leave on August 3rd and take a plane to Beijing first. He plans to stay in the two places for 10 days. During these days, he plans to visit the Summer Palace, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors (兵马俑) and Huashan Mountain. He hopes he will have a great time in China. He can't wait!

    Holmes said， “Somebody sent a letter with five pips (桔核) in it from India， and arrived seven weeks later to kill John's uncle. Then they sent five pips from Scotland and arrived three days later to kill John's father. Now they have sent five pips to John from London!”

    “The letters are all from sea ports. The writer was on a ship when he wrote the letters，” I replied.

    “Very good， Watson! And John's enemy is in London already!”

    “Well， I hope they won't kill young John，” I said.

    But they did. The next morning， we read in the newspaper that a policeman found him die near Waterloo station. Holmes was very angry about it.

    “He came to me for help and those men murdered him! I'm going to find them， if it's the last thing I do!” he said to me， and he hurried out of the house.

    At night， when he came back， he was tired， but pleased， he said， “I know the names of John's enemies! And now I'm going to send them a surprise! This will frighten them!” He took five pips from an orange and put them in an envelope (信封). On it he wrote “S. H. for J. C.”

    “I'm sending the pips to captain James Calhoun. His ship is called the Star. He and his men are sailing back to Georgia， USA.”

    “How did you find him， Holmes?” I asked.

    “Ship's papers，” he said， “I've looked at hundreds of them today. Only one ship， the Star， was in the three ports at the right times， this morning the Star left London to sail back to Georgia. I found out that the captain and two of his men， all Americans， weren't on the ship last night， so I'm sure they killed John. When they arrive in America， they'll get the pips and then the police will catch them!”

    There is an old man in a house. In the house there are many mice. The old man has a cat. Every day the cat catches the mice and eats them.

    One day, the old mouse says, "All mice must come to my room this evening. We must find a way to deal with (对付) the cat."

    All the mice come. Many mice speak, but they don't know what to do. At last, a young mouse stands up and says, "We must put a bell (铃) on the cat. When the cat comes near, we can hear the bell and run away. So the cat can't catch us." "Who can put the bell on the cat?" asks the old mouse. But no one answers.