It was summer. A duck was sitting on many eggs in her house. Her little ducks were going to come to the world. One little duck after another came out from the eggs. The last baby was big and ugly. His brothers and sisters weren't willing to play with him because he was too ugly. Even his mother hated him too. And the girl who fed them kicked him.

    The poor little duck was so sad that he ran away from home in the winter. On his way, a big dog appeared, but the dog did not come close to him. "Oh, I am so ugly that even the dog won't bite me." the duck said to himself.

A kind farmer took him home when the weather got colder. He stayed there for a whole winter and left when the spring came.

    One day, he met three beautiful white swans (天鹅) when he was swimming in a lake. They swam toward him. He was afraid to make friends with them. But what did he see in the clear water? He was no longer a dark grey ugly duck. He was a beautiful swan himself. How amazing! He never dreamed that he could be so beautiful.

    Kathy could still remember the night she had to leave her home Hungary in a hurry. It was the terrible beginning of World War Ⅱ and her family had to leave their country as soon as possible. She quickly filled a bag with a few pieces of clothing, her diary, and her treasure—a beautiful silk scarf (围巾).

    Kathy and her best friend, Monica, had asked their parents to buy them matching scarves. They each would wear the scarf as a symbol of their friendship. Kathy had no idea that she was going to America that night and would not be returning forever.

    Kathy kept that special silk scarf as a treasure for many years. One day she decided to give it to her granddaughter, Eliza, to wear to her first job interview for good luck. Kathy was afraid that Eliza would lose the scarf, but the granddaughter promised, "Don't worry, Grandma, nothing's going to happen to your scarf. You'll see. It is going to bring both of us good luck today." And with that, Eliza kissed her grandmother and left for the interview.

    That afternoon Eliza left the interview happily, feeling sure that she had got the job. So she decided to celebrate by going to a restaurant. As she was sitting at her table, she felt someone looking at her. An old woman sitting next to her could not take her eyes away from her.

    "I'm sorry, do I know you?" Eliza asked.

    "I'm sorry, dear, but you make me think of someone I once knew," the old woman replied. "My best friend looked just like you and used to wear a scarf just like the one you're wearing around your neck." Eliza listened carefully, with her eyes and mouth wide open. She had heard stories of her grandmother's best friend many times and knew the meaning of the scarf. Could this be Monica, her grandmother's childhood friend?

    Eliza introduced herself and waited to hear the name of the old woman.

    "My name's Monica, dear. I lived in Hungary as a child, but my family had to leave when I was fourteen years old. I've been living here in California ever since." said the old woman.

    Eliza could not believe her ears…

    I can't remember when I started collecting rubbish. It might be when I got tired of(厌倦) seeing rubbish in the forest near my home. I used to love going there to play with my dog. But one day there was so much rubbish there that I became very unhappy.

    I decided I had to clean up the forest. I made my first trip to clean the forest that afternoon. I took a big black rubbish bag with me. Ten minutes after starting picking up rubbish, my bag was full! It had cans, bottles, broken glass and newspapers in it.

    I go to the forest four times a year to pick up rubbish. I often stay there for three hours. After each trip, I look at all the rubbish. If any of it is recyclable, I will keep it. It makes me feel great to do something for the environment. I will keep picking up rubbish until people stop dropping it.

    Chopsticks were invented in China. There are many stories about who may have invented them. One of them is about Dayu.

    Dayu was an ancient Chinese leader who helped his people fight floods. He was always busy and often ate in the wild. He used a pot to boil (煮沸)water and cook animal meat. Most of the time, he was in a hurry and didn't want to wait to eat. But the meat was too hot to pick up with his hands. In those days, people ate only with their hands.

    So Dayu picked up some twigs (树枝)to help him hold the meat. The twigs later became the chopsticks we know today.

    But of course, this is just one story. The earliest chopsticks we have found so far are more than 3,000 years old, dating back to the Shang Dynasty (朝代).The six bronze chopsticks were found in the Ruins of Yin (殷墟)in Anyang, Henan.

    At first, chopsticks were just used as cooking tools. It was only after some time that people started to use chopsticks to eat.

Dear Jennifer,

    It's Tuesday, February 11^th. I'm really busy today. At 8 o'clock I have a math class.I don't like math class. Then I have a science class. It's difficult, but It's interesting. Next, at 10:00, I have a history. It's boring. But I have PE at 11:00. That's my favorite subject. I have lunch at 12:00. After lunch. I have a music class. I like my music teacher, Mr. Morgan. He is a fun teacher. School is over at 2:00. After school I do sports for two hours. I'm so tired, but I'm very happy.

Yours,

Linda