Long long a 90, two geese(天鹅) went to a pond to eat fish. A lonely tortoise lived in the pond. The geese had a chat with him. They chatted happily and became good friends.

One day, the geese realized there were no more fish in the pond, so they decided to move to a new pond. They told their decision to the tortoise. The tortoise wanted to go with them. The two geese agreed.

    The tortoise was delighted, but he had a problem. “How can I go with you? I cannot fly.” The geese came up with a plan. They said to the tortoise. "Don't worry. We will hold a stick between us. You can bite the stick. This way, we can fly to our new place, but you must be careful. Never open your mouth."

When they flew through a village, some villagers looked up and saw the tortoise. They shouted excitedly, "Look at the tortoise! It can fly."

    When the tortoise heard the words, he was proud and forgot the geese's words. He opened his mouth and couldn't help laughing. As soon as he opened his mouth, he fell down.

    I live in a wonderful neighborhood. My neighbors are all very nice and kind, 1 the best of them is Mr. Lee. He lives on the left of my house. He is a 2 in a hospital. He has two sons and one daughter. One of his sons is my classmate, so I often 3 their house. Every time I go to their home, Mr. Lee welcomes me with a warm smile. Mr. Lee is very 4. If we have any health problem, he is always ready to help 5. And he will never 6 us for money. Mr. Lee is also a person with a sense of humor (幽默感). He 7 telling us jokes(笑话) and making us laugh. 8 in our neighborhood thinks highly of him.

    Peter is also one of my neighbors, and he does 9 in all his lessons. When I have some questions, I 10 ask him for help. We often play football together after school, sometimes we go 11 in the swimming pool. We like talking with each other on his balcony(阳台), we can 12out at the beach and the sea from it. After dinner, we often watch TV and enjoy cups of tea. The best place for us to stay is the 13, because we like eating.

    We are very 14 to live in a neighborhood like that, we often help each other. We are here like a big 15. What about your neighborhood? Please let me know.

My dear son,

    Your letter of last week reached us yesterday, and I only have $13 left at present, which I will send to you with this letter. I may sell the other pig next week and meet the need of what you wanted. I will probably have to wear the old overcoat to meetings again this winter, but that doesn't matter as long as you are getting education(教育).

    I want you to be well educated so that you can go anywhere and spell the hardest word. I want you to be able to go among the Romans or the Medes and Persians and talk to any of them in their own language. I never had any advantages when I was a boy, but your mother and I decided that we would support(支持) your learning no matter how much it may take though it means cutting down our daily living costs.

    I hope you will get your education as cheap as you can, for it is a big job for your mother and me to pay the school fees. I knew education comes high but I didn't know the clothes also cost so much. Now look at that basketball suit, and that bathing suit, and that lawn-tennis suit, I don't care about the money, because you say a young man can't really educate himself successfully and completely without them, but I wish you'd send home what you get through with this fall, and I will wear them through the winter under my other clothes. We have much colder winters here than we used to, or else I am failing in bodily health. Last winter I tried to go through without underclothes, the way I did when I was a boy, but a Manitoba wave came down our way and picked me out of a crowd.

    I am not much of a mean man, so you will have to excuse this letter. We are all quite well, except your old grandpa, whose shoulders badly hurt, and hope this will find you enjoying the same great blessing.

Your father

    Once upon a time in Greece, there lived a young man called Narcissus. He lived in a small village and was famous on land because he was quite handsome. Villagers would turn up in the street to stare at the beautiful child.

    When he grew up, people always said, "How handsome Narcissus is!”Villagers thought that Narcissus could not be more handsome than he already was. But as years passed, Narcissus became a teenager. His beauty increased and became so great that he was known all over the country.

    As he grew, Narcissus was very proud of his good-looking face.

    "Oh! You are so handsome, Narcissus!" Narcissus said one day as he looked into a pool. "There's nobody more handsome in the whole world! I'd love to kiss you. And that's just what I'll do!”

    He leaned closer to the water. Suddenly he lost his balance and fell into the pool.

    Narcissus tried to reach the bank of the pool, but he could not swim and he drowned.

    Kwanzaa is a celebration of African American history and culture. It begins on December 26th and continues until New Year's Day, January 1st.

    During the festival, a family member, usually the youngest child, lights candles in a special candleholder. Each night a candle is lit. Traditionally there are three green candles, three red candles and a central black candle. They represent the seven Kwanzaa principles (原则). The principles are believed to play a big role in building strong, successful families, neighborhoods, etc. In the evenings, adults share stories and explain how to follow the seven principles in daily life. On the sixth day, which falls on New Year's Eve, family and friends get together to enjoy a large meal.

    Kyle, a third grader, wrote this about Kwanzaa, "When we celebrate Kwanzaa, we have many people at home, light the candles, and have a nice dinner. We learn the meaning of Kwanzaa and remember family members. We say something good about them. Last year, we remembered my grandmother."

    In 1966, Dr. Karenga created Kwanzaa. He was studying the history of Africa at that time. Dr. Karenga wanted to create a holiday to bring African Americans together and celebrate their history and culture. He called the holiday "Kwanzaa". In fact, the name comes from an African language, and it means "first fruits of the harvest (收获季节)".