Somebody says that it is raining cats and dogs. We know it means it is raining heavily. Here you can know why people say like this.

    There are many large rats (老鼠) in a country. People need cats. But there are many mountains in the country. It's hard for a plane to land. So the cats come down by parachute (降落伞). In another country, the people need dogs to help people to find the people in the snow. Where can they get them? You can guess. The dogs come down by parachute. Both cats and dogs are coming down by parachute, just like the raindrops coming from the sky. So there is the saying "It is raining cats and dogs".

    These cats and dogs help the people. And the people often say it rains cats and dogs. This kind of old saying is very interesting.

    I have a problem. Her name is Luca, We do not see eye to eye.

    Like yesterday, we saw the number 9,999. She said, "All those nines. They feel so.... so purple!?"

    Purple? I saw it as logical and orderly. Not as colours. I think Luca and I live in different universes.

    But we have to do a report on the Statue of Liberty I really doubt if I can work with her.

    At our first meeting on Friday, we come up with a plan. She will make a Statue of Liberty, and I'll write the report. But on Monday, with only one week until our report is due, she tells me she's leaving to visit her great-grandfather for six days, because he's ill. It means that I, the one who can't even draw a stick figure, will have to make the statue. And she, the one who doesn't like to think logically, will have to write the report.

    "Please be at my house at 2:00 on Sunday," I say. I cross my fingers.

    While she's gone, I spend lots of hours making the sculpture according to some directions I find online.

    Sunday at 2:00 arrives, and Luca is late. Finally, I see her skipping down the sideway, carrying only a small piece of equipment.

    "What's that?" I ask." Where's the report?"

    "It's a digital recorder," she says." A report didn't feel right, so I did something else."

    I try to keep my voice calm as I say," But this is not about feelings. I's about the Statue of Liberty. Statues don't have feelings." Our project is due tomorrow. We're doomed.

    "Statues don't have feelings, but my great-grandfather does." Luca says.

    Now I am quite sure that we're from two different universes because I have no idea about what she's talking about.

    "I interviewed him about when he came to America and saw the Statue of Liberty," she continues." Listen." She turns on the recording.

    A scratchy voice comes on." In Hungary, I had no food and hoped to go to America, where I could eat, have a better life. Finally I got on the ship. Then the sunshine started. Oh! There she was, Lady Liberty. Like hope itself All of us cried. All my life, I remember that feeling, of seeing the Lady.""

    Looking at Luca, I think awhile. "You are right. That's what the Statue of Liberty is all about. Who says a report has to be on paper?" I say quietly. And a smile spreads over her face.

    Can you imagine what happens while we are making the presentation the next day? When Luca's great-grandfather says" All my life, I remember that feeling, of seeing the Lady," everyone is staring at our statue, quiet.

    Jackson was excited！He and his family were on their way to the White House, Jackson could not wait to see the President's official residence. He had been reading all about it so that he might recognize some things he saw. After standing in a long line, Jackson, his sister, and their parents were allowed to enter the 132-room, six-floor mansion. They entered through the East Wing. Jackson knew that he and his family were only four of the 6, 000 people who would visit this incredible house that day.

    The first room they were shown by the guide was the State Dining Room. Jackson learned that 140 dinner guests could cat there at one time. "What a great place for a huge birthday party！"Jackson thought.

    The Red Room was shown next. Red stain(绸缎)adorned its walls. The third room the visitors entered was the Blue Room. This room serves as the main reception room for the President's guests. Jackson wondered when the President would be out to greet him. After all, he was a guest, too.

    The Green Room was the fourth room on the tour. Jackson and his family were not surprised to find green silk covering the walls in this room.

    The last room was the biggest room in the White House. It is called the East Room. Here guests are entertained after formal dinners. Jackson wondered if they could vary the entertainment by rolling in huge movie screens so they could all watch the latest movies. He wondered if kids were invited sometimes; maybe they had huge, bouncy boxes you could jump in. Perhaps they even set up huge ramps(坡道)so all the kids could practice skateboarding and roller blading. How fun！

    Jackson loved his tour of the White House. He was just sorry that he did not get to see the living parts of the President's family. He wondered if the President had to make his bed every day！

I am a middle school student. I come from Haikou, a beautiful city in the south of China. It is part of an island— Hainan Island. Haikou has a history of more than 1,000 years, and it has a {#blank#}1{#/blank#} of about 2.9 million. Apart from (除了) Han population, there are many minorities (少数民族), such as Li, Miao and Hui. As the city has a low latitude (纬度) and is near the sea, it is warm at any time of the year. It is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} for its beautiful coastal sights (风景). Every year lots of {#blank#}3{#/blank#} visit the beautiful city,{#blank#}4{#/blank#} in winter. The Holiday Beaches and the Bell Tower are pretty popular for holidays. The Arcade House and Wildlife Park on the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} are also famous. Welcome to my home town!