In a faraway kingdom, there was a river. It was the home to many golden swans (天鹅). The swans spent most of their time in the river. Every six months, the swans would leave a golden feather (羽毛) as a paying for using the river. The soldiers of the kingdom would collect the feathers and gave them to the king.

    One day, a homeless bird saw the river. "The water in this river seems so cool and nice. I will make my home here," thought the bird.

    The minute the bird landed near the river, the golden swans noticed her. They came shouting, "This river belongs to us! We pay a golden feather to the king to use this river. You can not live here."

    "I am homeless, brothers. I will also pay. Please give me a place to live in," the bird pleaded (乞求). "How can you pay for it? You do not have golden feathers," said the swans, laughing. They added, "Stop dreaming and leave at once." The poor bird pleaded many times. But the arrogant (傲慢的) swans still drove the bird away.

"I will teach them a lesson!" decided the bird, feeling angry.

    She went to the king and said, "Oh, my king! The swans in your river are rude and unkind. I pleaded for a home but they said that they had paid to live in the river with golden feathers."

    The king was angry with the arrogant swans for having driven the homeless bird away. He ordered his soldiers to bring the swans to his palace. In no time, all the golden swans were brought to the king's palace.

"Do you think our kingdom depends on your golden feathers? You can not decide who lives by the river. Leave the river at once or I will kill you!" shouted the king.

    On hearing the king's words, the swans flew away sadly. The bird built her home near the river and lived there happily. She gave homes to all other birds who came to the river.

Which Is More Useful?

    Thomas is in Grade Two now. He goes to school from Monday to Friday. After school he must do some housework. He helps his parents on the farm(农场) on Saturdays and Sundays. So he doesn't have any time to play football in the daytime. He often plays with his friends in the moon(月亮).

    It's five in the afternoon. School is over. Thomas goes home and cooks for his family. After dinner he sees his friend Paul near his house and asks him to play football. The boy looks at the sky and sees the moon. Then he asks, "Which is more useful, the sun or the moon?"

    "I think the moon is," says Thomas. "We need light(光线) in the evening, but we can not see the sun, but the moon!"

    A taxi hit a truck. A policeman spoke to the taxi driver and the truck driver. He also spoke to Tom. Tom was a witness(目击者). This is what they said.

    Truck driver: I was driving from the airport to Newtown. A car crossed the road, so I slowed down. I did not stop. A taxi hit the back of my truck. Nobody was badly hurt but both vehicles were damaged.

    Taxi driver: I was driving behind a truck a few kilometres from Newtown. The truck stopped suddenly. The driver did not give me a warning. I was driving very slowly. I could not pass the truck because there were two cars coming near from Newtown. My taxi hit the truck, and some glass cut my left hand.

    Tom: I saw the traffic accident about a kilometre from the airport. A truck was going to Newtown. It was not going very fast. There was a taxi about two hundred metres behind the truck. It was going fast. When the truck slowed down, the taxi hit it. The taxi driver was not looking at the truck. He was looking out of the window at something. My friend saw the accident too.

    Tom's friend spoke to the policeman and agreed with Tom.

    It's Paul's twelfth birthday today. After breakfast, some of his friends come to see him. They give (给) him many nice gifts. Paul is very happy. At about 9:00 in the morning, they play basketball. They have lunch at McDonald's. In the afternoon, they go to the park (公园).

    At about 5:30 in the afternoon they come back home. Paul's mother buys a big birthday cake (蛋糕) for him. Paul's name and the words "Happy Birthday" are on the cake. Paul gets some nice presents from his family, too—a yellow T-shirt from his mother, a pair of sports shoes from his father, a CD from his sister Lucy, a basketball from his grandpa and a book from his grandma.

    How happy Paul is!

Do you have a friend with an interesting background? Today, I'd like to tell you about a friend of m{#blank#}1{#/blank#} with it. I'll tell you a bit about her, such as where she's from and why we're good friends.

You know, I didn't use to do s{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. However, a couple of years ago, I j{#blank#}3{#/blank#} a fitness club. There, I met Linda. After the exercise, we had coffee together and b{#blank#}4{#/blank#} good friends soon. I think we have a lot in c{#blank#}5{#/blank#} —we both like to keep fit and love trying different food. And we love the ocean; in summer, we like to play at the b{#blank#}6{#/blank#} and go swimming there. Linda was b{#blank#}7{#/blank#} in London, but has lived in China for ten years. So she can s{#blank#}8{#/blank#} both Chinese and English. That's something different about us. Another d{#blank#}9{#/blank#} is her background—Linda has experience and knowledge of two cultures.

So, now you know a bit about my friend Linda. Although we might not always live in the same city in the f{#blank#}10{#/blank#}, I think we'll stay friends forever.

My name is Leo. These days, I have online(线上的) classes. I have a lot to share about them.

When I take lessons at school, I usually spend much time on the way to school and go back home. But when I take lessons at home, I can sleep more in the morning and it makes me feel full of energy. 

Even though I have classes online, I listen to the classes and take notes carefully. Sometimes, teachers give students several questions in the teaching videos(教学视频) and I always get myself ready for solving these problems. When I can't understand the teachers in class or don't have lessons on time, I can watch the videos again. 

However, it's not always good for me. I sometimes feel upset about online classes. The Internet is slow when too many students use the Internet at the same time. In online classes, I only see my teachers on the computer. And talking to my teachers is like talking to the computer. Also, I can't talk with my classmates at any time. 

At school, I talk with my classmates during the breaks between classes. We often tell each other about our daily lives. But now we stay at our homes and do other activities. Even I try to talk to my classmates online, they may stay in bed or listen to music. 

I think online classes are helpful but I still look forward to having lessons at school and meeting my teachers and friends face to face.