D

    Mike's eleventh birthday is next Saturday. He wants to have a dinner party at his house. He asks some good friends to his party. David and Sally are two of them. Now they are discussing (讨论)what they will buy for Mike.

    David: Hey, Mike's birthday dinner is next Saturday. Let's thin k about the food.

    Sally: Sure, does he like birthday cake?

    David: No, he doesn't. He is tired of(对……厌烦)butter(奶油)a lot.

    Sally: Well, what does he like?

    David: He likes burgers and fried chicken．

    Sally: That's great. I like them too. What about vegetable salad?

    David: No, he doesn't like. But he likes fruits.

    Sally: What fruits?

    David: I think his favorite fruits are apples and bananas.

    Sally: OK. Oh, don't forget ice-cream. He likes it too.

    Sally: All right. Let's take all.

    There was a very rich man named John. He gave a great puzzle (谜语) to the people in the town.

    In his house, he had a very large room. "If anyone of you can fill my room in one day, I will give you 100,000 dollars." Everyone in the town wanted to try.

    The first man tried to fill the room with stones. At the end of the day, he was very tired, but the room was still empty.

    The second man tried to fill the room with wood. He worked all day, but the room was not full. "That room is too big," he said. "No one can do this."

    The third man said, "I can do it. It's easy." Everyone laughed. They thought he could not do it. Then, the man went to the park and played all day. His friend said, "Why are you playing? You should be working." The man said, "I can do it. Don't worry." At 8 o'clock at night, the man came to the room with a small bag. The rich man said, "Haha……that bag is too small. It doesn't fill the room." The man reached into the bag and took out a candle. He lit (点亮) the candle and said, "You see, the whole room is filled with light!"

    People all over the world celebrate the New Year. However, not all countries celebrate in the same way, and in some countries, the New Year doesn't begin on the same date every year. It can depend on the seasons, the moon or the sun.

    In many countries, the New Year begins on 1st January, but people start celebrating on 31st December, New Year's Eve. In New York many people go to celebrate in Time Square. While they're waiting for the New Year, they listen to music, sing traditional songs and have fun. Just before 12 o'clock, everyone counts down from 10: 10, 9, 8 … As soon as it's 12 o'clock, everyone shouts very loudly, "Happy New Year!" and they say, "Out with the old year and in with the new!" Suddenly there are fireworks and special drinks. Sometimes people sing an old song called Auld Lang Syne. New Year's Day is often a family day. Some people relax at home. Some families get together for a special meal with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. When the weather is fine, many families go out for a walk.

    On New Year's Day, many people make resolutions for the New Year. They write down a list of things, such as "I will help out more at home. I will work harder at school." or "I won't spend so much time playing video games." When they have made their list, they read it to their family or friends and promise to follow their resolutions.

    How do you often go to school? Do you take a bus or a car? These ways mean you have to stay on the ground. But have you ever dreamed of flying to school? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Now let me introduce the first flying motorcycle in the world to you.

    Its name is Speeder and it's made in the USA Speeder has no wheel is, but there is a screen on it. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It can fly for 10 to 22 minutes each time. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}That's much faster than a car. It can fly more than 4, 500 meters high.

    What's more, Speeder can move things or people more easily than a helicopter(直升机). {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Maybe you want to have one and fly it to school right now. But if you want to ride Speeder, you have to have a pilot's license first {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    If you're too heavy, it will be too hard for Speeder to take off.

Five tips for a successful yard sale

    Each summer, yard sales become popular and many people come to yard to get great deals on second-hand objects. Have you ever had a yard sale? What can you do to hold a successful yard sale? Here are five tips for you.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Every yard has its own advertisement. The best as is signs. Draw some big signs with just "Yard Sale" and a large arrow(箭头) on a board in front of your yard. Pointing customers(顾客) in the right way is always better than just putting your address on the sign and hoping they know how to get there.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    The more organized you are, the less busy it will be in the morning of your yard sale. You want to make sure that you have everything set up before people arrive so you can have more time for answering questions and collecting money.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    This is something a lot of people don't think about when preparing for a yard sale. You don't want to turn away customers because you don't have enough change. I suggest at least $50 in change, which means mostly $1's and $5's

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Running a yard sale on your own can be really stressful, especially if you have a lot of objects to sell. It's hard to run inside to go to the bathroom or try to talk to and collect money from several customers at once. Ask a friend or two if they have something they'd like to sell too and that way you'll have some help in case things get busy or you need a break to get a drink or some food.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Yard sales are fun and you can make a good amount of money. It's also a good chance for you to chat with your customers, make them feel comfortable, and enjoy yourself.

    Mr Brown was at the theatre. He had got his ticket at the moment, so he had not been able to choose tis seat. He now found that he was in the middle of a group of American ladies, some of them middle-aged and some of them quite old. They clearly all knew each other well, as before the curtain went up on the play they bad come to see, they all talked and joked a lot together.

    The lady sitting on Mr Brown's left, who was about sixty years old, seemed to be the happiest and the most amusing of the American group, and after the first act(幕)of the play, she apologized to him for the noisiness of her friends. He answered that he was very glad to see American ladies so obviously enjoying their visit to England, and so they had a friendly talk. Mr Brown's neighbour explained what they were doing there.

    "You know, I have known these ladies all my life, "she said. " We all grew up together back in our hometown in the United States. They have all lost their husbands, and call themselves the Merry Widows(寡妇). It is a sort of club, you know. They go abroad every summer for a month or two and have a lot of fun. They always go everywhere together. I have wanted to join their club for a long time, but I didn't qualify(具备……的资格)for membership until the spring of this year. "