Tony Wheeler was born to travel. His father worked for an airline. For the first 16 years of his life, Wheeler and his family lived in many counties.

    In the early 1970s, Tony met a young woman named Maureen. Soon they got married. Before getting jobs, Tony and Maureen wanted to travel. They took a year-long trip from England, through Asia, to Australia. On the trip, they visited places like Iran, India and so on.

    When Tony and Maureen arrived in Australia, people asked many questions about their trip. To answer these questions, Wheeler wrote a book called Across Asia on the Cheap. The book told people about different countries weather, customs, and places to see. But unlike other travel books of that time, Tony Wheeler's book also talked about places most tourists didn't go. He also wrote about special things to see and to do. The book was very popular.

    Tony and Maureen started a company called Lonely Planet. They went on traveling. They wrote books for each place they visited. Today, 800 people work for Lonely Planet. The company has over 650 books. Tony Wheeler, the great traveler, still writes about travels to many places and will bring us more surprises.

    Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one August afternoon, I thought of my unforgettable experience in my own childhood. When I was a boy of twelve in South Carolina, something happened to me that made me never put any wild creature in a cage.

We lived near a forest, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. Their singing is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

    I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way, I would have my own private musician.

    I finally succeeded in catching a young bird and put it in a cage. At first, being frightened, the bird fluttered(扑腾) in the cage, but finally it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing rom my little musician.

    On the second day, my new pet's mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.

    The following morning when I went to see the bird again, I found it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was terribly surprised! What had happened! I had taken good care of my little bird.

    Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, who happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had happened. "Mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poisonous berries(毒莓). She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in a cage."

    Since then I have never caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.

    Once there was an old farmer. He had a horse and the horse was almost as old as himself. One morning he set out(出发) with his young son to sell the horse before it died.

    The father and the son walked because the farmer did not want the horse to be too tired. They met two men on the road. They said, "Why are you walking, farmer? You have a horse. It's a long way to get to the market. "The farmer knew that this was true, so he rode on the horse while his son walked.                                          

    Then they met two old ladies. "What are you doing up there, farmer? Can't you see how tired your son is? "So the farmer got down, and let his son ride on it. Twenty minutes later, three old men stopped them. One said, "Why are you walking, farmer? Get up. It's too hot for an old man like you to walk today. "So the farmer got up behind his son and they went on riding.                                                      

    Sometime later, a young woman passed them. "Why aren't you walking?"She asked, "It isn't far to the market. Give your poor old horse a rest. " So the farmer and his son got down once again. It is a fact that you cannot please (使…高兴) all the people all the time.

Hi, I'm Hu Bin, a student of Class l, Grade 7. At school, My teachers and my classmates very 1to me. My school life is very 2. I like it very Classes begin 3 8:00 a. m. I have four classes in the morning and two classes in the afternoon. I study Chinese, English, math, politics and 4 other subjects. English is my favorite subject, and I often 5English with my classmates. I also like P. E. and music. 6 I don't like math. I think it's 7 difficult and boring. What do you think?

After school, I often play 8 basketball with my classmates. It is my favorite outdoor activity. Sometimes I swim in the swimming pool. Sometimes I 9 with my friends in the park. I go to the school library every Tuesday and Thursday. I think my school life is very interesting? What about 10? Can you tell me something about it?