As he was sitting up in bed, Bunny heard a big noise on the roof(屋顶) and a sound downstairs. It was Santa Claus, he realized. Bunny jumped out of bed and ran down the hall to the stairs. He hoped to take a look at the old man before Santa left for his next stop.

By the time Bunny was at the bottom of the stairs, everything was silent again. Lots of presents were put under the Christmas tree, but Santa was gone. A little disappointed(失望的), Bunny turned to climb back upstairs when he heard a cry.

“Hello,”said Bunny. "Is somebody there?”

He was answered by another cry. Bunny looked around the big pile of presents to see what was making the noise. Right under the tree was a funny looking brown animal with big feet and sad eyes. It also had antlers(鹿角) on its head. Bunny almost mistook it for a dog.

“Are you a reindeer?”asked Bunny.

“Yes,” replied the brown animal with antlers. “My name is Ralph.”

“And you were pulling Santa's sled(雪橇)?”

“I was until I got air-sick,”replied Ralph. “Santa had to leave me here and go on with the other seven reindeer.”

“Isn't it a bit unusual for a reindeer to get air-sick? I mean, isn't flying what reindeer are famous for?”

“Not me, I'm afraid. It makes me scared. I always feel sick when it comes to flying,”replied Ralph. "But everyone wanted me to pull Santa's sled, so when it was my turn I gave it a try. I'm afraid I just wasn't cut out for the job. Now I'm stuck here and I don't know how to get back to the North Pole.”

“Well, if you like, you can stay with us as a friend," said Bunny. As he made the offer, Bunny suddenly realized the special present he wanted from Santa was a new friend!

C

    When my wife and I went to live in an Arab country, my friends told us to be prepared for a culture shock. Later, we realized that the advice given to us by our friends was correct.

    The culture shock started with the weather. Here, the burning sun can cook an egg in a minute! The hot weather made us feel so tired that we were falling asleep at mid-day!

    Another culture shock was the working week. We worked from Saturdays to Wednesdays, including Sundays. It was also strange to see people praying in a certain direction! They have strict rules for women. They do not let people see their faces in public. They do not let women drive cars, either. All dresses worn by women have to cover the body completely. They believe that women cannot be seen in public.

    At the weekends, we went camping in the desert. I will never forget watching the sun setting over the desert. We also enjoyed riding on the camels. In the end, we enjoyed living there, but their culture is very different from the American culture.

     A priest (神父) lived with his small white cat. One day, the cat climbed up a tree and was afraid to come down. The priest called its name and gave it its favourite drink, warm milk, but the cat still didn't come down. So the priest decided to tie rope (栓一根绳子) between his car and the tree. He thought as he drove, the tree would bend down (弯曲) and he could get the cat. He did so. But he drove too far, and the rope broke (断).

    The tree went "boing!" and the cat went through the air. The priest couldn't see it. He felt terrible. He walked around and asked people if they'd seen his cat. But nobody had seen it. At last, he said, "God (上帝), I just give this cat to your keeping."

    A few days later, he met one of his friends in a shop. He saw cat food in her shopping bag. This woman didn't like cats and everyone knew it, so he asked her in surprise, "Why are you buying cat food?"

    She answered, "My little girl always wanted a cat, but I didn't agree. Then a few days ago, she asked again. I told her if God gave her a cat, she could keep it. She went out of the house and said something to the sky. Then suddenly a cat flew out of the blue sky and landed in front of her. "

    The priest smiled and said, "How lucky your little girl is!" Then he went on shopping.

    I remember one day in primary school, there were five of us who wanted to sit together and only one four-seated table. I, sadly, was the last to get my lunch, so I had to eat my food all alone at a table. Watching them laugh and have a good time while I was sitting by myself, I cried hard. Now, I am quite sure I overreacted a little bit that day, but my tears (眼泪) just show what everyone feels when he or she is alone at lunch or even in life.

    I had another lonely lunch situation in high school. There was not enough room for me at my usual table, so I had to sit with another group of students I had never talked to in my life. Now, I am not saying I heard some wonderful ideas that day, but I did hear quite new ones on life. It was really one of my most interesting lunchtime experiences.

    The point is, at least I sat with someone that day. I did not have to suffer (忍受)through eating my cold turkey sandwich all alone. No one felt pity for me, and I was not shy about having no friends.

    This lunch table is the same as life. No one wants to go through life on his or her own whether it is at lunch, class, or work, we all want to be included. So the next time you see one quietly sitting alone, you can invite him to sit with you. You could hear some interesting stories, and you could even possibly find a new great friend.

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

    How are you? I am fine. School is out already. On our last day, we went to a museum. It was fun until we all had to run through the rain to get on the bus. Even that was kind of fun, though.

    How was your camping trip? Dad says you're just getting back home this Wednesday. I've been taking good care of Sparky for you. The dog sleeps at the foot of my bed on most nights. He and the cat have even been getting along.

    Dad says to tell you that our yard is looking good this year. We've had lots of rain, especially last Friday— the last day of school

When are you coming to get Sparky? See you soon.

Love,

Kyle

Dear Kyle,

    Our camping trip was wonderful! We've already decided to come here again next year. From Ohio. We drove south to Kentucky. We enjoy looking at rocks, so we had decided to go to Mammoth Cave National Park. I'd never seen so many rocks!

    Each day, we chose a different cave. We saw narrow(狭窄的)places and huge ones. In one cave, we were underground for more than two miles.

    We'll come to get Sparky next weekend, if that's okay.

Love,

Grandma and Grandpa