It was nearly dark, the sun was dropping down the mountains far away. Little Tom came back home, with tears in his eyes.

“What's the matter, Tom? How's your trip?" his mother asked with a big smile. “I failed. The mountain is so high and full of big or small stones on the way, I still go ahead. But I was tired and it was so late that I had to come back." Tom cried. “It doesn't matter, you are only 14 years old after all. You will have another chance.”his mother said. "But, standing at the top of the mountain is my dream!”Tom said. His father came over and asked, "Did you see the green trees on your way to the mountain?”"Sure, and there are a lot of beautiful flowers by the side of the road.” Tom replied. “Did you hear the birds singing?”his father asked. "There were many kinds of birds singing in the trees, and the sound was very sweet." Tom said. "Did you feel the beauty of nature?”his father asked. "Yes, the blue sky, the white clouds, the green trees and the colorful flowers made a nice picture." Tom answered. “That's enough!" his father smiled and said, "Please remember, son. For often, achieving what you expect is not the most important thing. Although you didn't reach the top of the mountain, you got a lot on the way.”

 It is true that not every goal will be achieved, not every job will end up with a success, and not every dream will come true. The most beautiful scenery (风景) is on the way.

    Sometimes talent runs in families. Let's look at some famous (著名的) brothers and sisters.

    Andy Murray and Jamie Murray are very famous brothers. They are both professional (职业的) tennis players and they play in competitions all over the world. Jamie is older than Andy, but only by about a year. They look very similar. They are the same height and they have the same dark hair. Jamie became a professional player in 2004, one year before his younger brother Andy. But Andy wins more competitions than his brother!

    Kylie Minogue and Dannii Minogue are famous Australian sisters. Kylie began her career (事业) as an actress on Australian TV, then she began singing when she was 19 years old. She soon became famous all over the world. Dannii is younger than Kylie. She is also taller than her sister and she has darker hair. She began singing after Kylie, but she is also very famous. Dannii is also famous as a judge (评判员) on TV talent shows. Sometimes Kylie and Dannii sing together, and they sing really well.

    A dentist (牙医) was starting his in work in the morning. Suddenly a man ran in. His face was red and he could only say "Quick! Quick!" The dentist thought he must be very sick. His assistant(助手) helped to make man sit in a chair. The dentist gave the man some medicine to make him sleep. Then, he looked into the man's mouth and pulled out all the bad teeth. When the man woke up, he said in a low voice, "Quick, doctor, quick."

    "It's all right now," the dentist told him. "It's over."

    "You don't understand," said the man," I came to tell you that your house is on fire."

    Dave is a 12-year-old boy. There are three people in his family: his father, mother and he. They are in Shanghai. Dave likes blue. Look, his jacket and backpack are blue. He is in Class 3. 22 boys and 18 girls are in his class. His good friends Liu Kun and Li Lei are in Class 3, too. Miss Wang is their math teacher. She is a good teacher. Her classes are interesting. Math is not difficult for them!

    Dave likes playing computer games, but he doesn't play them every day. He plays sports every day. It is good for his health.

    One dark night, two blind men were going home from work. "I need to buy some 1." said one of them suddenly.

    "OK!" replied the second man, "I think I'll buy two or three pairs for 2, too"

    In the shop, the salesgirl asked them. "What size do you wear, sir, and what color would you like?

    "Size eleven. Give me one pair of black socks and two pairs of white, please, answered one of them. "And you, sir?" the salesgirl asked 3 customer. "The same for me. I wear size eleven, too, And the same color the same 4, said the second blind man.

    A moment later they were back in the 5 streets. But just then, a boy riding a bicycle bumped into (撞上) them.

    The blind men dropped all the socks on the ground! All the six pairs- black and white all mixed up. The boy quickly said sorry and left. The two blind men 6 all the socks but couldn't tell which were black and which were white. 7 could they be sure that each of them got one pair of black socks and two pairs of white?

    They tried to ask for help. But 8 else was in the streets.

    One of them soon 9 the problem Can your guess how he made it? They separated each pair of socks and both took one sock 10 each pair. When they got home, each of them had two black socks and four white ones —just what they wanted. Weren't they smart?

    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.