Mrs. Hunt comes back from work. She tells Mr. Hunt about a nice dress. “I see it in the shop every day,” she says “and…”

    “And you want to buy it?” says Mr. Hunt. “How much is it?”

    “Two hundred and sixty dollars.”

    “Wow, two hundred and sixty dollars for a dress? That's too much!”

    But every evening when he comes back, Mrs. Hunt only speaks about the dress, so at last he says, “Oh, buy the dress! Here is the money!” She is very happy.

    But the next evening, when Mr. Hunt wants to have a look at the nice dress, Mrs. Hunt says “I don't want to buy it.”

    “Why not?” he asks.

    “Well, it's still in the window of the shop after a week. So I think no one wants this dress. And I don't want it, either.”

    Imagine moving to a new country. There you know almost no one and you don't speak the language. Eighty years ago, my grandmother, Jean Rizzi, did just that.

    Like so many immigrants from Europe, her first stop in America was Ellis Island, in New York. The immigration station on Ellis Island opened 125 years ago. From 1892 to 1954, over 12 million foreigners entered America through Ellis Island.

    My grandmother's journey started near Naples, Italy. Her father got a job in New York years earlier. After he saved enough money, he sent for his family to join him. In November 1936, his wife and three kids got on a ship to New York. At just 8 years old, my grandmother didn't know what to expect. "I was nervous," she says. "But I was also excited about finally getting to see my new home in big city."

    For nearly two weeks, they were at sea and couldn't see any land. They all stayed in one small room on the boat.  When the boat arrived at Ellis Island, my grandmother thought the journey was over. But she and her family still had to be examined by doctors. Finally, they were off to their new home in Queens, New York. My grandmother still lives there.

    Ellis Island is now a popular tourist attraction in New York. More than 3 million people visit it each year. To immigrants like my grandmother, the island is a symbol of freedom and the American dream.

    "Which meal do we all need most, breakfast, lunch or dinner?" Miss Baker asks. Boys and girls wave（挥动）their hands in the air. They know the answer.

    "What do you think, Jim?" Miss Baker asks.

    "Dinner. " he answers.

    "Dinner is the big meal of the day. " says Miss Baker. "But I don't think it is the meal we need most. "

    Tom puts up his hand. "Is lunch the meal we need most?"

    "No. " says Miss Baker. " Breakfast is the meal we need most. "

    "Why is this so?"

    "From night until morning is a long time to go without food. "says Ann.

    "That's right. "says Miss Baker. "We need food every morning. What may happen（发生）to us if we have no breakfast?"

    The class have many answers to give.

    "We may not feel like working. "

    "We may feel sick（生病）. "

    "Yes, you are right, "says Miss Baker. "Now, let's talk about what makes a good breakfast. Give me your answers. I will write them on the blackboard. "

    The first word Miss Baker puts on the list is milk. What else do you think she puts on the list?

    Suzie goes to her art class on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. She always looks forward to those days when she can do creative things all afternoon. She loves making bowls and cups out of clay(粘土).

    Last month she learned to put pottery(陶器) into a hot oven（炉子）, called a kiln, to make it hard and strong. What Suzie likes best about art is the good feeling she gets when she has finished working on a piece of art. And then when she takes it home to show her parents she feels so proud of what she has made.

    On Wednesday Suzie wrote an article about why she thought the school should have two short breaks a day rather than one long break. Lots of her friends thought that this would be a good idea too. Many teachers also agreed with Suzie's suggestion.

    The head teacher of the school asked everyone in the school to vote(表决)on Suzie's suggestion. During the vote, each person in the school had one vote. Together, the school decided that two short breaks would be better than one long break. All of this happened because Suzie wrote about her idea in the school newspaper.

    On the day the newspaper comes out, the first thing Suzie does is to check where her article is in the newspaper. And each month, at the beginning of her article, are the words: By Suzanne Jefferson.

    On the way home from school yesterday, Suzie got to think about how much art and writing are the same. In art class she thinks of creative things to make, and then spends a lot of time making it look just right.

    And when she writes articles for the school newspaper, she thinks of creative things to say, and then spends a lot of time making it sound just right. And when she has finished writing a really good sentence, she feels almost as if she has made a beautiful piece of art.

    Suzie rushed home so she could write something shortly before dinner. She already had lots of ideas for next month's newspaper. And she wanted to make sure that none of her creative ideas floated away before she wrote them down on paper

    Valentine's Day is a very old holiday. It goes back to the times of Ancient Rome (古罗马). One of the characters we often see on Valentine's Day is Cupid. He was the son of Venus, the goddess of love. He shoots people with arrows (箭) of love. When a man and a woman are hit by his arrows, they will fall in love.

Today people celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14. If a man and a woman are in love, they will give each other gifts. The most popular gifts are flowers (especially roses) and chocolates. Couples may also go to a restaurant for a very nice dinner or plan something else romantic.

    In the United States, Valentine's Day is not just for lovers. Children make special Valentine's cards for their classmates. Families and friends may give candy or other small gifts to each other. It can be a fun day.