Dick was born in a poor family. His father had a small boat and went fishing in the morning and sold the fish in the market in the afternoon. Then he bought some food for his family. When winter came, they were often hungry. One morning the hungry man fell into the river and wasn't found. Dick's mother left her three-year-old son without saying good-bye. His aunt had to look after him.

    Twenty years passed. Dick became a tall, strong man. He found work on a farm. He worked hard and wanted to get more money. He often went to see his aunt with some nice presents. The woman was very happy but one day she died in a traffic accident. The young man was very sad. After he buried her, he decided to buy a beautiful tombstone (墓碑)for her. He went to town and came in a shop, but all the tombstones were too expensive. He asked, "Do you sell an old tombstone, sir?" "Yes, we do, sir," answered the shopkeeper. "Is it as expensive as the new one?''

    "No, it's much cheaper," said the man. "But another name was engraved(刻) on it." "It doesn't matter," said Dick. "My aunt couldn't read."

    Among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the oldest one is the Great Pyramid of Giza. There are three large pyramids at Giza, outside the modern capital of Egypt, Cairo. The largest and most famous one is called the Great Pyramid. The workers built it as s tomb（坟墓）for the Pharaoh Khufu（法老胡夫）.

    It took more than twenty years to build the Great Pyramid When it was built, the pyramid was about 146.5 metres high. Over the years it has lost about eight metres off its top.

    The pyramid is made of large stone blocks（石块） 一 2, 300,000 of them! Each of these blocks weighs over 2, 000 kilograms. The ancient Egyptians did not have any modern machines. How did they build the pyramid? The pyramid shows that the ancient people were intelligent and had great skills.

    People once thought that the Egyptians made slaves(奴隶) do all the work on the Great Pyramid. But in fact, they used farmers.

    A year ago I paid no attention to English idioms though my teacher said again and again that it was important.

    One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner shook his head, saying, "You don't say! You don't say!" I was surprised. I thought, perhaps this is not a proper topic. Well, I'd better change the topic. So I said to him, "Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there?"

    "Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at mc if I leave China without seeing it. It was great."

    I said, "The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. It is a place of interest. "Soon I was interrupted again by his words, "          "

    I couldn't help. "Why do you ask me not to talk about it?" "Well, I didn't ask you to do so," he answered, gently surprised.

    I said, "Didn't you say' You don't say!'?"

    Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to shout, "'You don't say!' actually means 'Really?'. It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don't pay attention to English idioms."

    Then I knew I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idioms.

    Mrs Wilson, the middle-aged wife of a rich businessman, invited some of her friends to lunch. She was very anxious to try a new way of cooking a fish dish, and she was very pleased with herself when the dish was ready. As the dish was very 1, she put it near the open window to cool it for a few minutes.2, five minutes later, when she came back for it, she was frightened to find her neighbour's cat, Chester, at the dish. Luckily she was3to stop the cat from eating the fish. That afternoon was a great success and everyone enjoyed the dish very much.

    At the end of the afternoon, while she was4, Mrs Wilson felt tired but happy. She was in an armchair just near the window, when through the window she was surprised to see the neighbour's cat5in the garden. Why, the fish dish must be poisonous (有毒的). What would happen to her friends? She at once phoned the family doctor for advice. The doctor told her to telephone each of the visitors to meet him at the hospital as soon as possible. Finally, the danger was 6. Once again Mrs Wilson was alone in her armchair in the living room, still tired but7happy. Just then, the phone rang. It was her neighbour. "Oh, Millie, her neighbour cried, "Chester is dead. She was killed by someone in the car and thrown in your garden. "