What will you do when you have something difficult to do? I used to ask my mother for help. But she always said, "Do it yourself, dear." or "God helps those who help themselves , girl." I was not glad at all. I thought she was the laziest mother in the world.

For example, one day, I decided to invite some friends to my home. My bedroom was not in order. Books were everywhere. And I didn't make the bed. I asked my mother to help me to clean it, but she still said, "Do it yourself, girl."

Because of my "lazy mother", I have to wash my clothes and clean my room. I have to help my parents do some housework. I even have to go to the dentist by myself. It is really hard for me to do everything well, but I have learned a lot.

    As time goes by, I come to understand my mother. She makes me clever and active! What a great mother!

    Many expressions(表达方式) we use in American English come from movies and books. Today we will learn some expressions from Lewis Carol's famous book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This book is better known as Alice in Wonderland.

    The story is about a young girl falling for a long time down a rabbit hole. When she finally lands, she finds herself in a strange world. In this strange world are some of the most popular characters in children's books. Many of the expressions from the book have found their way into American English.

    The first character Alice meets is the White Rabbit. The White Rabbit is not a usual rabbit. Alice chases (追赶) after him, and that is where her adventures begin.

    In English, "chasing a white rabbit" means to chase an impossible dream. "Following the white rabbit" means you are in the middle of an unusual situation. This situation often challenges your thinking and changes your life. Like "chasing a white rabbit", "falling down the rabbit hole" means we get interested in something else and lose ideas about time.

    Later in the story, Alice is the guest at a tea party— a crazy tea party! There she meets the March Hare. The hare seems to be truly crazy. To be "mad as a March hare" means that someone is completely mad or crazy.

Using expressions from popular books can add special flavor(味道). And when used properly, they also show you have a deeper understanding of the English language.

    There is an elephant and a monkey. They're friends. But one day they want to know who is stronger （更强壮）. One of them says, "Who can get apples from the tree across the river, who is stronger."The monkey says, "I can't swim." The elephant says, "I can swim. Please sit on my back."Thus they go across the river. The apple tree is very high. The elephant can't reach the apples on the tree. The monkey climbs（爬）up the tree and gets many apples. Now they know they should help each other.

    Once, some fish lived in a pond. One evening, some fishermen passed by the pond and saw the fish. "This pond is full of fish!" They told each other excitedly. "We must come back tomorrow morning and catch them!" they said.

    When the oldest fish heard this, he was troubled. He called the other fish together and said," Did you hear what the fishermen said? We must leave this pond at once. The fishermen will return tomorrow and kill us all!" The second oldest fish agreed. But the youngest fish laughed.  He said," We have lived in this pond all our lives, and no fisherman has ever come here. Why should these men return? I am not going anywhere-my luck will keep me safe."

    The oldest fish left the pond that evening with his family. The second oldest fish saw the fishermen coming the next morning and left the pond with all his family at once. The youngest fish didn't want to leave even then.

    The fishermen caught and killed all the fish left in the pond.

    The first fish that saw trouble ahead and acted before it arrived and the fish who acted as soon as trouble came-both survived. But the fish that only depended on luck and did nothing at all died. It is also the same in life.

    Chris Rock was born in the state of South Carolina in the United States. When he was a child, his family moved, and he grew up in a poor area in Brooklyn, New York. As a teenager, Rock left high school and told jokes in comedy clubs in New York City. Even at age 18, Chris Rock was very funny. He told jokes about his family(his parents were very strict), and about growing up in Brooklyn in the 1980s.Many of his jokes were also about high school, which Rock says was terrible.

    Famous comedians(喜剧演员)went to see Rock's performances. One comedian (Eddie Murphy)helped him get work on television and in the films. Chris Rock still acts in films, but he does not want to be a serious actor. For him, comedy is more important. It makes people laugh, but it can also make people think.

    Today, Chris Rock still does live comedy shows around the world. He also created a TV show called Everybody Hates Chris. It is about his teenage years growing up and going to school in Brooklyn. In 2006, it was considered as one of the best comedy shows on American TV.