Round the World

    Mr and Mrs Spencer both had very busy jobs and didn't have much time to spend with their young children. They wanted to change this, and because their hobby was boating, they decided to sail round the world together.

    It took six years to prepare everything for the trip. First, they bought a new boat. Then, both the husband and wife had to take advanced(先进的) sailing lessons and learn all about the sea and the weather. Mr Spencer also did several courses in repairing engines and Mrs Spencer spent an hour in a restaurant learning to cut up fish.

    In October, they had one year off from their jobs and sailed away from England with their two children. The next year, in August, their long journey ended in Australia.

    The boat was not big, but they took a teacher for the children with them. None of them found the trip boring because there were three computers, many CDs, a TV and a DVD player on the boat.

    The family loved being at the sea and seeing the stars in the sky. But, most of all, Mr and Mrs Spencer enjoyed spending time with their children while they were still young.

    Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Many heroes are not even human, such as dogs, horses and cats. They are so brave and helpful that human beings are proud of them, too. Lucca, a 12-year-old dog, is a great animal hero. She is a retired US Marine Corps dog. On April 5, 2016 she received the Dickin Medal from PDSA in London, England. And PDSA will provide free medical care for the sick and wounded animals in need. The Dickin Medal was founded in 1943 by Maria Dickin. The Medal is the highest prize for animals working in wars in the world.

    Lucca is the first U.S. Marine Corps dog to receive the medal. As a search dog, Lucca's work was dangerous. She was trained to find hidden weapons and explosive devices. According to the US Marine Corps, Lucca protected the lives of thousands of soldiers, and no soldiers were killed while she was going around. She completed over 400 dangerous pieces of work during six years in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2012, she lost her front left leg in an explosion while working in Afghanistan.

    Lucca is the 66^th animal to receive the Dickin Medal. 30 dogs (including Lucca) have got the Medal as well as 32 World War II messenger pigeons, three horses and one cat.

    "I have some exciting news, class," said Mrs. Pike.

    It was almost lunchtime, and Jenny Archer was hungry. She drew a piece of apple pie in her notebook. Sometimes Mrs. Pike's news wasn't very exciting.

    Once, Mrs. Pike had said it would be exciting to watch a filmstrip (幻灯影片) called Tommy Tooth and the Whole Truth about Teeth. But it wasn't.

    "We're going to have a contest(竞赛)," said Mrs. Pike.

    Jenny put down her pencil.

    "The whole school will take part," Mrs. Pike went on. "We're going to collect empty tin cans to sell. We'll use the money to buy a video camcorder and a TV monitor for' the school. "

    "What kind of contest is that?" asked Clifford Stern. "Just collecting cans?"

    "The class that collects the most cans," said Mrs. Pike, "will use the camera first. We will make our own class movie. You could all be star!"

    "Me, a movie star!" Jenny said to herself. Now, that was exciting.

    "The person in the class who brings in the most cans will direct the first movie," Mrs. Pike finished.

    Wow! Directing a movie might be even better than starring(主演) in one. The director could make up the whole story. He/She would choose the actors and tell everybody what to do. Jenny loved to make up stories. And she was good at telling people what to do.

    She was sure she'd be a great director.

    The whole class was noisy at once. She looked over at her friend Beth. Beth's eyes were bright.

    "You can be the star of my movie," Jenny whispered to her.

    "Your movie? What do you mean?" Beth asked.

    "I mean when I win the contest," Jenny said.

    "What if I win the contest?" Beth said.

    "But I have to win," answered Jenny. "I've always wanted to make a movie."

    "Since when?"

    "Well, I realised it just now," Jenny admitted. "But don't you think I will make a good director?"

    “I think I might make a good director," Beth said.

    Beth was one of Jenny's two best friends. Jenny didn't want to fight with her. But she really wanted to direct the class movie.

    "Let's not fight." Jenny said. "We will both be good directors."

    "You're right," Beth said. "We won't fight. Let's just say, may our friendship last forever. "

    Jenny shook Beth's hand. "May our friendship last forever," she repeated.

    On a sunny Sunday, ten fully well-dressed people were standing at the airport (机场) waiting for the parachute (降落伞) training. Suddenly, with the help of a guide dog, a blind (瞎的) man was coming with a parachute on his back.

    "Do you also come for the parachute training (训练)?" someone asked.

    "Yes!" the blind man answered in a loud voice.

    "Ah-" the people cried in surprise.

    "I know. Are you wondering how a blind man can parachute?" the blind man said happily, "It's not difficult. I'll parachute like you."

    "But how do you know when to jump?" someone asked.

    "Although I'm blind, I can hear! When the bell for the training rings, I'll carry my dog to follow you." the blind man replied.

    "Then how do you know when to open the parachute?" someone asked again.

    "The coach (教练) says, counting to five from the time I jump down, I can open it." replied the blind man.

    "But when you are about to fall to the ground (落地), how do you know when to fall to the ground? It is the most dangerous minute."

    "It's easy. When my dog is afraid into crying and the rope (绳) in my hands becomes light, I'll be ready for falling to the ground." They looked at each other, with no words.

    At the end of the training, the coach told everybody," In this training, Robert gets the highest score (得分) for his best action."

    "Who is Robert?" they asked.

    "He," the coach replied, pointing at the blind young man.

Archimedes and the golden crown

One day in ancient Greece, King Hiero asked a crown maker to make him a golden crown. At first, he was very 1 with it.

"It's a nice crown, isn't it?" he asked his men. Later, however, he began to doubt 2it was a real golden crown. "Is it made completely of gold?" he wondered. He sent it to Archimedes and asked him to find out the truth.

"This problem seems difficult to solve. What should I do?" thought Archimedes.

Archimedes was still thinking about this problem 3he filled his bath with water. When he got into the bath, some water ran over.  

"That's it!" shouted Archimedes. "I know 4 to solve the king's problem!"

Archimedes went straight to the palace to see the king. First, he 5the crown and asked the king for some gold of the same weight.

Next, he put two pots into two big bowls and filled 6pots with water. He put the gold into one pot, and some water ran into the bowl. Then he put the crown into 7pot. This time, even more water ran into the bowl.

"Look at this," said Archimedes to King Hiero. "A crown 8completely of gold displaces 9water than a crown made of gold and another metal. This crown displaced more water than gold of the same weight, so I'm certain that it is not 10made of gold. "

"The crown maker tricked me, didn't he? What a bad man he is!" shouted King Hiero. He then sent the crown maker to prison.