This story is about a young man. He worked very hard at his lessons, so he was too busy to have a rest. At last, he couldn't go to sleep every night. When he went to bed, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.But the more he tried, the more he stayed awake.

    After a while, he decided to visit the doctor."I just can't go to sleep at night. What should I do?" "I have a suggestion,"said the doctor, "try counting numbers. By the time you reach one thousand, you'll be asleep. I'm sure of it. The next day the man returned to the doctor's office."well," said the doctor, "How are you today? Did you try my suggestion?"

    The man still looked tired, "Yes,"he said, " I tried counting one, two, three…up to one thousand. But when I reached five thousand and sixty-nine, I began to feel sleepy. I had to get up and drink some tea so that I could go on counting up to one thousand, but then I still couldn't fall asleep.

    Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.

    Finally, there was only one family between the ticket office and us. This family made a big impression on me.

    There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn't have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children talked excitedly about the clowns. It was clearly a very important day out for them. The father and mother seemed happy as they could be.

    The tickets lady asked how many tickets the father wanted, he proudly answered, "Please let me buy eight children's tickets and two adults' tickets, so I can take my family to the circus."

    The ticket lady told him the price.

    The man's wife lowered her head. There was no longer a smile on the man's face. He quietly asked, "How much did you say?"

    The ticket lady again told him the price.

    The man obviously didn't have enough money. But how could he tell his kids the bad news?

    Seeing what was happening, my dad took a $20 note from his pocket and dropped in on the ground. (We were not rich ourselves at all!) He then tapped the man on the shoulder and said,

    "Excuse me, Sir, you dropped this."

    The man understood my father was helping him. He picked up the money, looked straight into my dad's eyes, and in tears replied, "Thank you. This really means a lot to me and my family."

    Although we did not go to the circus that night, we didn't go without.

    Mr. and Mrs. Black opened a small restaurant. In order to attract customers, they put a notice in front of the restaurant that said "Meals on the House for Three Days."

    A foreign student who didn't know much English happened to pass by the restaurant on the second day. It was lunchtime and he felt very hungry. "Well, here is a restaurant. I am going to have something to eat."

    He walked towards the restaurant when he saw the notice. "American people are really strange. They even eat dinners on their houses! But how can I get up to the top of the house?" he said to himself.

    He looked around and found a ladder against a tree nearby. He started climbing up. But as he reached the top, he heard someone shouting at him.

    "Hey, what are you doing up there?" Mr. Black shouted at him. Next to him was a policeman. "Doesn't your notice say 'Meals on the House for Three Days'? Is it just a joke?" the foreign student answered.

    On hearing this, both Mr. Black and the policeman laughed. "Do you know what ON THE HOUSE means? Look it up in the dictionary," the policeman said.

Dereck and Beverly are wildlife animal filmmakers(制片人). They have made lots of films about animals and plants. Their job is to keep and protect the big cats of Africa from damage(伤害).Beverly also takes photos of the lions, and her pictures have appeared in National Geographic magazine.

When they were kids, Dereck was quiet and healthy, he was good at maths and science. Beverly had a twin brother. At that time, her brother and she often got their mother into trouble! Beverly was a dancer, an athlete, a class leader and she could play the piano. Her favourite subject was science and she always got excellent grades in her science exams.

When in the field, their work starts at around 4 am. After drinking a cup of tea, they drive out into the bush(灌木丛) to find their subjects. Sometimes that is a lion pride(狮群).Lions are family animals and they usually live in groups of 15 or more. Sometimes that is a single leopard(豹). They follow the animals for the day, filming, researching, and collecting facts, information or pictures. They don't stop working even when they have lunch. They are often back in camp by 8 pm.

When talking about the favourite places to explore, Dereck says, "We live in it!"Beverly thinks being in nature is her favourite. Dereck thinks running or taking a swim in the Okavango swamp (沼泽) — especially swimming close to crocodiles(鳄鱼) is great fun, but Beverly says,"Swimming is fun but crazy in these waters!"

When my father was getting ready for work, our house was ruled by knocks and words. He used to come downstairs to breakfast. The morning paper lay beside his plate. He always read the' Deaths' first; and then he knocked once on the table. One of my sisters brought hi toast, already buttered for him.1 he said nothing, but once I heard him say, "I love you very much, Edith. I would love you more if you buttered my toast on2 . "He read the paper all through breakfast. 

Two knocks on the table meant 'I am ready for my tea', If a single knock followed, that meant 'More toast, please. ' After breakfast he said, "Boots. " The paper was3 for him over the back of an armchair. Yesterday's paper was put on the chair for his feet, and his boots were brought to him, freshly cleaned. He read standing,4 putting on his boots and tying the laces. 

With one boot finished, he said, "Bus. " At that point one of the girls went outside to the garden gate and waited there. Her job was to stop the bus when it came. It came early sometimes, and it had to wait for my father. "Overcoat, hat. " One of my sisters had already brushed his overcoat. Now she held it open for him and guided his arms into it. Then she pulled his jacket down under the coat.5 girl came with his hat, nicely brushed. "Handkerchief, pipe. " They were brought and put, with his tobacco, into his pockets. He looked out of the window and said either 'Walking stick' or＇Umbrella'. It was handed to him. 

Ready now, he was still reading the paper. He did not put it down until he heard the shout "Bus coming! " Then he kissed my mother and went out. The girls breathed freely. How lucky a man is to have a wife and five daughters at home!