Once there was a parrot on sale in a pet store. It was a beautiful red and blue bird. It sat on a perch in the middle of the store, so that everyone could see it when they came in. The owner was very proud（自豪的） of it and asked a high price for it.

    One day a man went into the store. “That's a beautiful bird,” he said to the pet store owner, “But why is it so expensive? Is it unusual（不同寻常的） bird?” “No, it's not very unusual. It's expensive because it can talk,” the pet store owner said.

    “I see. How can I make it talk?” the man asked.

    The pet store owner asked him, “Do you see those string tied to each of the bird's legs?”

    “Yes,” the man answered.

    “Well, you pull（拉） those strings（绳子）,” the pet store owner told him. “That will make the parrot talk.”

    The man asked, “Do you mind（介意） if I try?”

    “Not at all,” the pet store owner said.

    The man walked up to the parrot and pulled the string on its left leg. The parrot said, “Good morning.” The man pulled the string on the parrot's right leg. This time the parrot said, “How are you today?”

    “That's not very interesting,” said the man. “Any parrot could do that.” Then he laughed, “But what would happen if I pulled both strings at the same time?”

    “I'll fall off my perch, you fool!” the parrot said.

    Betty and I are best friends. Our birthdays are on the same day, so every year we have a birthday party together. But this year, we had a costume party instead.

    While we were writing the invitations, my mum came in and asked, "Why not invite John?" John had been in our class for only a few months, but he had already got better grades in math than anyone else in class. I wrinkled(皱起) my nose," Mum, he wears the same pants to school every day. How could he even afford a costume?" Mum said nothing. The next day, Mum gave me an envelope(信封) with a shopping card in it. "I thought it would be nice for you to give this to John," Mum said. But how? We didn't want to make John embarrassed. We discussed it for a long time. Finally, Betty and I had a good idea.

    On the day of our party, kids arrived, dressed differently. John arrived, in an old sheet(床单), but still in the same brown pants as usual. We danced, ate snacks and played games in groups. Before eating the birthday cake, Betty said in a loud voice," Now it's time for the great prize game. It's the following riddle..."It was a math game. None of us was surprised when John came up with the right answer first and walked off with the envelope.

    Everything went on well as we planned. John wore a new pair of pants and a new shirt the next week. He felt happy. So did we.

    When we help others, we need to find a proper way, or we may hurt them in another way.

    After I finished college, I couldn't find a job in Los Angeles. At last I had to move to Las Vegas but left my family behind. I missed them all week, and I went home on most weekends to see them. I often rented a car because I would often have lots of problems on the way to Los Angeles or to Las Vegas if I drove my poor car.

    One time I decided to save money, and I drove my car. It got to California, but on the way back to Vegas it was broken. I didn't know what I should do. Then a middle-aged man drove up. He put in some coolant and repaired my car. He made it start soon.

    I gave him the $12 in my wallet, and he said he would use it for the next car. Then I knew that he was a mechanic who drove up and down the highway each weekend to help the drivers in trouble.

    Now fifteen years has passed, but I still think about what a great man he is.

The 24-year-old volunteer, who is known online as Danni recorded(记录) happy times with her students on her phone. Each of the videos attracts thousands of Chinese netizens who are interested in her volunteer experiences.

After finishing university in 2020, Danni chose to work in Africa for a year and then traveled to seven countries. Finally, she stopped in Uganda because of a primary school. She taught children from Grade One to Grade Four. Danni set up different kinds of classes for her students, such as Chinese language learning and cooking.

Sometimes Danni would cook traditional Chinese food for her students, and she also taught them to speak Putonghua. "Their smiling faces gave me energy(能量) and I enjoyed staying with them," she said.

In 2022, Danni arrived in Lebanon and became a voluntary teacher at a local school. This time she taught arts and crafts(手工艺). At the school, Danni built beautiful friendships with the children. They would run to give her hugs(拥抱) or small presents every morning, and would invite her to their homes.

She had some interesting activities in her teaching such as paper cutting and the making of paper ice cream. Some of her students were good at these and could finish the handicraft works quickly, while some needed a bit of help. The good thing was that they all worked hard.

We do eye exercises. We wear sunglasses (太阳镜). We do lots of things to protect our eyes. But we usually forget another important part of our body—the ears. 

Ears help us hear the world {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Once this happens, it's hard to get your hearing back. So how can we protect our ear ■■■take a look together. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Dry your ears with a towel (毛巾) after swimming or taking a bath. If you feel water in your ear, shake your head a little bit. This can help you get the water out of your ear. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}During the winter, protect your ears with a hat or a scarf.

Keep your ears clean

Usually, our ears clean themselves. The earwax (耳屎) builds up, dries out, and then comes out of the ear along with some dirt (污垢).

Don't clean your ears with anything sharp (尖锐的), or it can make the earwax go too deep into your ears and hurt them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

How to use headphones (耳机)

Don't listen to loud music on your headphones for a long time. Follow the 60:60 rule: listen to music at 60 percent of your headphones' maximum volume (最大音量) for no more than 60 minutes a day.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. They do a better job of stopping outside noise so you can. listen at a lower volume.

Choose five sentences out of the six in the box to complete the passage. Each choice should be used only once

A. How to use your ears.

B. Keep your ears dry and warm.

C. Over—the—ear headphones are better than in—ear ones.

D. But if your ears start to hurt, you can go to a doctor for help.

E. But many things, such as loud noises, can cause hearing loss (听力丧失).

F. Also, when the sun is shining, wear some sunscreen (防晒霜) on your ears.

March 14 is a great day for fans of maths. It is celebrated as Pi(π) Day, a day to celebrate the number that many people know very well. The date copies from the first three numbers of Pi(π). March is the third month and the 14th means one and four. Altogether it is 3.14. Pi(π) comes wherever there are circles(圆). Pi has been known for thousands of years and gets its name from a Greek letter, n. The Greeks are believed to be the earliest to use the letter in maths. The first Pi Day was celebrated on March 14,1988.

San Francisco's Exploratorium Science Museum started the event. The museum marks the day with a daylong celebration. March 14 is also the birthday of the famous scientist Albert Einstein. Princeton University, where Einstein lived for many years, celebrates Pi Day as well. March 14,2009, was celebrated as National Pi Day. And March 14,2019 also marked the one- year anniversary(周年纪念[1]) of the death of Stephen Hawking. And how do people celebrate the Pi(π) Day? Maybe you can try these ideas:

Eat or make different kinds of pies(for example, apple pies, cherry pies, and even pizza pies);

Celebrate the day with a pie cut using the mathematical constant(常数) of Pi(π);

Discuss the importance of the letter π;

Watch Life of Pi in cinemas;

Look for the number 3.14 in every place(such as prices and street numbers).