TWO English phrases show what people think about mice and rats: "As quiet as a mouse", and "a dirty rat".

    People think rats are dirty because they live in sewers(下水道) and other unclean places. They also carry diseases(疾病). Having a rat in your house is bad news. They smell terrible and make a lot of noise.

    Calling someone a "rat" in English means they are not to be trusted(信任). Saying "Rats!" is also a way to show that you are angry.

    Mice, on the other hand, are seen as quiet and cute. They live in fields and as unwelcome guests in people's houses. They are small and often kept as pets. Walt Disney's famous character Mickey Mouse helped make them lovable to children. Jerry, from the Tom and Jerry cartoons, is smart and naughty. It makes everyone happy.

    Rats and mice are both classed as rodents(啮齿类). But people think about them in different ways!

    It takes a lot of skills and hard work to set a world record in pumpkin-carving(雕刻南瓜). Steve Clarke, a sixth-grade teacher from Pennsylvania, is a famous carver(雕刻师). Clarke has set many world records for carving pumpkins quickly. When he competes, he must cut our two eyes, two eyebrows, a nose, a mouth, and two ears as fast as possible. But Clarke knows something else about pumpkin-carving. It's easier to get a record than to keep it.

    He took the title in 2000 when he carved a pumpkin face in 74.8 seconds. That time was 19 seconds faster than what Jerry had set. From then on, Clarke broke his own records five times. In 2006, he set his best time in Florida. His winning time was 24.03 seconds!

    The only problem is that someone finally beat that mark. On October 7, 2010, David set the new record with 20.1 seconds. Clarke was not able to break that record this year, but he has planned to break the record. After Halloween, he will go to local pumpkin farms to practise designs and new skills.

    Clarke is popular because of his super pumpkin-carving skills. In 1999, he carved more than 30 pumpkins at the Halloween party for then vice-president Al Gore.

    One day a big red hen is playing with her chickens in the garden. After some time, she wants to eat something and she takes out her chickens to look for food.

    When they are eating, she finds a grain of wheat(一粒小麦). So she asks her chickens to plant it in the back garden. But no one wants to do it. The big red hen has to do it herself.

    After a few months, they get a lot of wheat. She says to her chickens, “Who will take the wheat to the store to get some flour(面粉)?” But they don't want to do it. So she takes the wheat to the store and brings the flour home.

    After she gets home, she says,“ Who will make some bread with the flour? ”They all say they are very busy, so they can't do it.

    When she makes the bread, she says to her chickens,“ Who wants to eat the bread?”

    “I will,” they say. “No, you can't. You don't want to do anything before I make the bread. You must know ‘No pains, no gains（不劳无获）'.”She doesn't give any bread to her chickens and she eats the bread herself.

    One day, Susie was unhappy when she came home from school. "What's the matter, my dear?" asked her mother, drawing her to her side and smiling.

    "All our class must hand in compositions tomorrow. We must write 12 lines at least. But I can never write one. I'll have to go to school without a composition, for I won't copy one from a book, or ask you or papa to write one for me."

    "That's right," said her mother. "You'll be happier with a poor composition, if it's your own, than with a fine one written by somebody else. But cheer up. Run into the garden and play. I'll call you in half an hour. Don't think about your composition now. Just have a good time."

    It seemed just a few minutes to Susie before she heard her mother calling her. She went into the house immediately — her hands full of sweet flowers, and her face red with exercise.

    Then her mother asked her to sit by the window with a nice piece of paper and a pencil, and write something about what she could see. "Never mind your composition; do this to please me, and we'll talk about that later."

    Although Susie thought her mother's request was strange, she knew she always had a good reason for everything she did. So she did as her mother requested.

    As she looked out, she first saw the western sky and some bright, sunset clouds. "Oh, mother, what a sunset!"

    "Don't talk. Just write."

    The pencil began moving rapidly across the paper. She wrote about the sunset clouds, the look of the distant hills, the streets, the river, the garden with its flowers, and the birds flying past the window. She forgot all about the terrible composition!

    Just as she had reached the bottom of the page, her mother came in and said with a smile, "Well, Susie, how does that composition come on?"

    "Composition! You told me not to think about it, and I've never thought of it once. I've had such a nice time writing about what I could see from the window."

    Mrs. Smith took the paper and read what Susie had written. She said, "There, Susie, that's a very nice composition, really."

    "A composition! Is that a composition?" Susie asked in surprise.

    "Yes, my dear, and a very good one, too, if we find a title for it," replied her mother. Then she added, "I'm sure it will please your teacher, as it does me. You see, it's easy enough to write a composition if you have anything interesting to write about."

    It's Sunday today. The weather(天气) is fine. Tom doesn't need to go to school. He takes the No. 24 bus to Wanda Cinema(电影院). An old man gets on the bus at the Xihu Park Stop. Tom stands up and says to the old man, "Come and sit here, please!" The old man goes over and sits down. He says, "Thank you very much, my boy. You are a good student." "You're welcome." says Tom.

    "Which school are you in?" the old man asks Tom.

    "I am in No. 16 Middle School." answers Tom.

    "No. 16 Middle School? I graduated(毕业) from this school 50 years ago(以前)." says the old man.

    "We are alumni." says Tom. Then they begin to talk about No. 16 Middle School.

    Today is Friday. Peter has six classes today. He goes to school at 7:30 a. m. At 8:00 a. m., he begins his first class. The first class is English. At 9:00 a.m., he has Maths. Peter likes Maths because it's interesting. At 10:00 a. m., he has a biology class. Peter thinks it's very boring. Then at 11:00 a. m., he has a history class. That's his favourite subject. He can learn a lot about the past from History.

    Peter has lunch at school at about 12:00. Then he has a short break. At 1:30 p.m., he has a music class. At 2:30 p.m., he has a PE class. Peter likes this afternoon, because Music and PE are easy and interesting. School is over at 4:00 p.m. Peter is happy because he can go home and have a good time on Saturday and Sunday.