There was once a farmer who lived near a road. It was not a1road, but from time to time, cars passed the farm.

Near the farm gate, there was a large 2 in the road. This hole was always full of water.

The drivers of the cars that passed by could not 3 how deep the hole was. They thought it was probably shallow (浅的). Then when they drove into the hole, they could not drive4because it was very deep.

The farmer did not spend much time5on his farm. He spent most of time watching the hole. When a car drove into it, he pulled the car out with his tractor (拖拉机) and demanded a lot of6 for doing this.

One day, a driver of a car said to him: “You must make a lot of money by pulling cars out of this hole7.”

“Oh, no,” the farmer said. “I don't pull cars out of the hole at night. At night I fill the hole with water.”

Coming Across Aliens(外星人 )

    It was a fine night. Carl was on his way home from his friend's party.

    While Carl was walking along the path near his house, he saw a 1 in the sky. It landed on the road at once. Three aliens came out. Carl was 2, because he could understand their language. He learned that they had decided to take all the 3 out of the city.

    Carl was worried about this. He called his friends quickly. While he was 4 for them, he looked at the aliens. They pointed at a tree, and then the tree, like a bird, flew quickly 5 the UFO. One by one, many trees flew away. Soon Carl's friends arrived. They asked them to stop, but 6 didn't work. Then Mr. Bright, a police officer, came. He  7 at the aliens, but it still didn't work. One of the aliens pointed at Mr. Bright. Mr. Bright became very small. Everyone was 8 with the aliens. Carl's friend Bill ran to them. He shouted at them in a big 9. To their surprise, the aliens turned away in no time and ran into their UFO. Then the UFO flew away.

    The alarm clock rang. Carl realized that he was lying in his bed. It was just a funny  10.

    I got out of the train station with my father. A woman came to him and said that her money had been stolen(偷). She asked if he could1her some money to go back home. My father gave her what she asked for and told her not to worry about paying it back. I was2. How could my father be so silly? Anyone could see that she was telling a lie(谎言), staying at the station all day long3for money.

    "She was lying!" I said."4did you give her the money?"

    My father looked at me. He was a bit angry. "And what would you like me to do?" he said.

    "Should I tell her that I am a college professor and I can see through her scam(骗局）？" I did not5his meaning at all, and then he told me something that I have6forgotten. "First, she would not do this7she didn't need the money. Second, I made her day, because now she thinks that she's8than me. It is more important to9than the money. but I don't mind this."

    A week later, we were at the same station, and the same woman came to my father with the same story. "Not this time," my father told her. "In your business, you should learn to recognize(认出) people. Try another10on me next week."

    It is interesting to visit another country, but there are some problems when we don't know the1very well. It may be difficult to talk with the people there. We may not know how to use the telephone in the country we are visiting. We may not know how to buy the things we need. In a2country we might not know where to eat or what to order in a3. It is not easy to decide how4to tip waiters or taxi drivers. When we need help, we might not know how to ask for help. It is not pleasant to have an experience5that. After a short time, however, we learn what to do and what to6, We learn to enjoy life in another country, and then we may be sorry to leave.