A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms( 习语 ), though my teacher emphasized(强调) the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.

    One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished. Gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, he said, “You don't say!” “You don't say!” I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not an appropriate(合适的) topic. “Well, I'd better change the topic.” So I said to him. “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was magnificent(宏伟的).” He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide. “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very proud of it.” Soon I was interrupted again by his words “You don't say!” I couldn't help asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it?” “Well, I didn't request you to do so,” he answered, greatly surprised. I said, “Didn't you say ‘you don't say?'” Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, “‘You don't say' actually means ‘really!'. It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don't pay attention to English idioms.” Only then did I know I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions(习语表达). Remember -- what the English teachers said is always right to us students.

    Liu Yingying is a student at No. 17 Middle School in Shanghai. She is 14 years old. She likes English and she often (经常) reads English books at home. She can speak English well and write many English words. She likes speaking English with her classmates and teachers at school. Her teachers like her. Liu Yingying likes music and she can play the piano. She often practises (练习) it at home in the morning.

    Liu Yingying has got a happy family. Her father is a worker in a car factory and her mother is a hotel manager. Her father likes sports. His favourite sport is table tennis. Her mother likes sports, too. But she likes swimming. What about Liu Yingying? She likes playing tennis.

    If you like reading fairy tales(童话故事), do not miss the book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane(《爱德华的奇妙之旅》).It is a famous story by an American writer Kate Dicamilo in 2006．People, the young and the old, love this book. And it's so popular that it is one of the " “Top100Books for Children” in the US.

    The story is about a journey of a china rabbit (瓷兔子) called Edward. He lives with his

    ten-year-old owner (主人) named Abilene. Abilene loves him very much but Edward doesn't love her. During a holiday on a ship, Edward is lost. After spending 297 days in the sea, he reaches abeach and a man takes him home .Then Edward travels from one place to another, meeting manypeople. His name keeps changing, such as Susie and Maloney. Soon he begins to miss Abilene andwait for her. One day Edward falls into pieces. Someone repairs (修理)it and sells it in the market.

    Many years later, Abilene and her daughter come to the market and take Edward home. Finally

    Edward is with his owner again.

    There are many pictures in the book, so we can follow Edward's journey easily.

    You can learn that Edward learns love and never stops waiting for Abilene .This is why theymeet each other at the end of the story. The warm and sweet story will make you know more aboutlove．

    My friend Alice visited my city last week. She arrived in HongKong on Wednesday morning .She is from Australia. I showed her around the city.

    We visited the Clock Tower first. The Clock Tower was very tall. We took some photos there. Then we went to the City Museum. After that, we saw a good movie.

    The next day, we visited the Ladies' Street. There were a lot of clothes shops. The clothes were cheap and beautiful. Alice bought some clothes for her parents and friends. Then we went to the Seafood Street. We bought some seafood. We also had seafood in a restaurant. Both of us enjoyed the meal. Then we went to a concert in the evening. The music was fantastic!

    On the third day, the weather was very hot, so we decided to visit Hong Kong Wetland Park. We saw many kinds of plants and animals in it. They were very interesting.

    Alice went back to Australia on Friday evening. She enjoyed the trip. She invited me to visit Australia next summer.

Bob's father has a big farm.On New Year's Day，he asked Bob，"Could you work on the farm when you're free this year？"

"Farming is not my work，Dad. I have much schoolwork（功课） to do."Bob wasn't glad about it."If you help me work on the farm，I will give you anything you want."

"OK."Bob agreed happily.

So Bob gets up early and works hard on the farm in his free time this year，just like other farmers.His wheat（小麦） grows very well.

Time flies.Today is December 31st，the last day of the year.The father is talking with his son."I'm happy to see you work hard on the farm，Bob.Now tell me what you want as the gift（礼物）（已经得到）your gift，Dad.You are trying to give me a lesson——no pain

In the eighth grade, I had a good friend, Peter. He was an excellent sports star. 1 I never seemed to be any good at sports. But when Peter joined a team, I did, too. Or at least I2 .

 Peter was in the JV field hockey team. He was talented, so he learned the basic skills 3 on the other hand, couldn't seem to hold the stick comfortably. Then Peter spent more and more 4 with the other boys like him and I was beginning to feel lonely.

 Deciding to 5 our friendship; I asked my mom to buy me my own hockey stick so I could practise at home. Peter looked at my 6 , and I could tell that he was thinking it was a waste of money.

I was 7 by his reaction(反应), and felt sad. I thought I simply had to be good at this sport 18 I   was going to keep Peter as a friend. So I practised and practised. I often felt like there was no 9 , but I kept at it. Just during that dark time, Steve became my new partner.

 Then, one day,l10 happened. That day, when Steve sent me his first throw, I caught 11 . Then I caught his next throw, and the next. The stick was actually feeling 12 in my hands.

I still don't know what happened that day, but I will always be 13 tor it. By the end of the season, I was   chosen to 14 for the JV team. I scored 12 goals that year. My success on the field gave me the confidence and the true 15 that I really needed. And Steve turned out to be a great friend.