Tom gave up working and lived by himself a long way from town. He hardly ever left his home, but one day he went into town to buy some things in shops. After he bought them, he went into a restaurant and sat down at a table by himself. When he looked around, he saw some old people put on glasses before reading their newspapers. So after lunch he decided to go to a shop to buy himself some glasses too. He walked along the road and soon found a shop.

    The man in the shop made Tom try on a lot of glasses, but he always said, "I can't read with these."

    The man became more and more puzzled (迷惑的) until finally he said, "Excuse me, but can you read?"

    "No, of course I can't!" Tom said angrily. "If I was able to read, do you think I would have come here to buy glasses?"

    One day, Mary went to the airport to see her friend off. Her friend's name is Jack. There were so many people in the airport. It was hard to find Jack among the people. Suddenly, Mary saw Jack and she felt very happy. Then she shouted, "Hi, Jack. Hi, Jack. Here. Here！"

    At the same time, Jack saw her and waved his arms, "Here！"Within 3 minutes, many policemen came to the front of Jack and caught him, "Please come with us to the police office. "

    Mary was very surprised at it. She wanted to know what happened to Jack.

    "What are you doing？"Jack asked angrily.

    "What? We don't need a hijack here. Don't you know？"one of the policemen said.

    "I think you are wrong! I'm Jack, but I'm not a hijacker, "said Jack after a short while.

    Soon Mary laughed.

    The policemen were sorry and they went away.

    Mandy Harvey is a 29-year-old singer from Florida. She lost most of her ability to hear when she was 18.

    Harvey became a singer in her teens. _________ But she decided to start singing after she learned how to feel a song's beat through the wooden floor of a stage or theater. She watches carefully to make sure her musical instruments are tuned correctly and she is singing in the correct pitch.

    Harvey is now a professional singer. But not many people in the United States had heard of her until Tuesday night. That changed when she appeared on the television show “America's Got Talent”The show has four judges who watch people perform and decide if they should continue in the competition.

    Harvey said, "I gave up singing after I lost my hearing. But I want to do more with my life than just give up." As she was singing, one camera cut away to capture images of people in the theater. Many were seen crying. At one point, everyone stood up and cheered. By Wednesday afternoon, a video of Harvey's performance had been played 46 million times.

    Why? Shortly after she finished singing, Simon Cowell, one of the judges, gave her a golden star into the air. That meant Harvey could move on to the final round of the talent competition. Cowell said," I've done this a long time, and that was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen and heard."

    Many people wrote online that Harvey's performance was encouraging, and they will not give up on anything they want to do, either.

    Unlike most restaurants, the Enoteca Maria Restaurant in New York offers only home-cooked food by grand mas coming from across the world.

    Joe Scaravella, a 61-year-old Italian-American born and raised in New York, opened a restaurant in 2007. Having lost almost all his family members, he tried to recreate the feeling of home-cooked meal in his restaurant.

    He employed (雇佣) grandmas from different parts of Italy at first, and later, he begin hiring grandmas from other countries like Brazil, France and Greece. He built two kitchens in the restaurant: one for Italian grandmas to cook during lunchtime and the other for grandmas from other countries to cook every evening. The menus in the restaurant are constantly (不断地) changing because what is being served depends on the grandmas who are on duty.

    The restaurant opens five a week from Wednesday to Sunday. At present, there are more than 40 grandmas working in it. Most of them came to the U. S. with their children, helping take care of their grandchildren Scaravella give them the chance to express themselves in a culinary (烹饪的)way.

    The Enoteca Maria Restaurant has received positive reviews since its opening. Customers are ingested by its delicious food, comfortable environment and most importantly, the grandma who may remind them of their own.

    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.