Alex, Nicole and Vickie are friends. They live in the same neighborhood. They want to make some money to buy Christmas presents.

    "We need to print out fliers（传单） and pass them around to all the houses, "says Nicole. Alex's dad helps them print out fliers. The three friends go to all the houses and put a flier in everyone's mailbox.

    "It's winter," says Vickie. "There is lots of snow on the ground. Maybe people will need us to sweep the snow for them."

    First, Mrs. Jones hires the children to sweep the snow from her driveway（车道）. She says, "I have twin baby girls. I am much too busy to sweep the snow myself."

    Then, Mrs. Smith calls them. She says, "I am very old, and the snow is much too heavy for me to move."

    Then, Mr. Lee visits them. He says, "My garden is much too big to sweep all by myself. Can you help me?"

    The children work very hard sweeping the snow. It is cold, but they also have great fun. They make 30 dollars in all. Now they can buy nice Christmas presents for their friends and families.

    A crow, having stolen a piece of cheese, held it firmly in her mouth and stood in a tree. A fox, who was very hungry, took the following ways to get the cheese for himself.

    "How handsome is the crow!" he said. "How beautiful is her shape and how fair her feather! Oh, if her voice were only equal to her beauty, she might rightly be called the queen of birds!"

    This he said in a soft voice. The crow, anxious to show that her voice was equal to her other attractions, made a loud caw, and dropped the cheese.

    The fox caught it as it fell. "My good crow," said he," your voice is all right, but your brain is not good."

    I started playing the piano when I was about eight or nine. But when I got to university, I stopped playing it. I just didn't have enough time and there were so many other things to do.

—Eliza

    When I was little, I thought I should play the guitar like my dad. But later I decided to try something else. I chose the violin. I want to be a musician when I grow up, but my dad says it's difficult to make a living from music. But I don't want to be a doctor like him. It's so boring.

—Robin

    Nobody likes living near someone like me because when I practice, I make a lot of noise! I''m sorry for that but I have to keep practicing. I have drum lessons every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon, and I practice the drums every evening. I love playing them and now I play in a fantastic band.

—Lisa

    I''ve played the guitar as long as I can remember. I used to play in a subway station to make some money. Now I keep on playing it when I'm free, but I work as a cook in a restaurant to make a living.

—Carmen