The Browns have a very nice garden around their house. It has some tall trees and many flowers. Mr. and Mrs. Brown work hard in their garden. Now Mrs. Brown is in the garden getting some flowers. She will put the flowers in the dining room and the sitting room.

    Susan is sitting in a chair in the garden. She is reading a book. Susan doesn't go to work today. So she is at home. David is saying goodbye to his mother. He is running through the gate. He is going to school. He will go to school by bus. At school he studies with his friends. He has lunch at school. Mrs. Brown and Susan will have lunch at home. Mr. Brown went to London yesterday. He is in London now and will have his lunch there. This afternoon he will come back by train and he will drive from the station to his house in his own car. Mrs. Brown will be at home. Susan and her friend Tom will go to the town this afternoon, and have tea there.

    Isaac Newton, the great British scientist, is often so deep in his thoughts that he will forget to eat his dinner.

    One day his friend came to have dinner with him. Dinner was put on the table but Newton didn't come out of his study（书房）. His friend sat down and waited for him. After waiting for quite a long time, he decided that Newton must be so deep in some new theory that he forgot all about the dinner. So he began to eat the chicken without Newton.

    When he finished, he thought he would play a joke on his friend. He put all the chicken bones（骨头）back on the dish and covered them with the dish over. Then he left Newton's house. He was quite certain that his joke would work.

    Several hours later, Newton came out of his study, feeling very hungry. He saw the table was ready for dinner and so he sat down. When he lifted the cover and saw the bones of the chicken, he was greatly surprised. He turned, looked at the clock, and saw that it was long past his usual time for dinner.

    "Well, well," he said to himself, "I thought I ate nothing, but I am wrong." He got up from table and went back to his study and began to work again.

    More than anything else in the world, Lion liked being King of the jungle. He walked around, showing off his power and pride.

Each day Lion took a long lazy sleep under the shade of his favorite tree. He always dreamed of weaker animals bowing(鞠躬) before him.

    One day Mouse ran through the jungle and tripped over（被……绊倒） Lion's huge paws. Lion woke up with a start. ＂How dare you wake me up!＂ he shouted angrily. Lion grabbed(抓住) Mouse with one paw. ＂On the second thought, I'm in the mood for the snack, and you'll make a delicious meal.＂ he said.

    Mouse cried out, ＂King Lion, please spare（饶恕）me! If you let me live, I'll always remember your kindness. And, some day, I might be able to help you.＂

＂How could such a powerless little mouse ever help me?＂ That thought made Lion laugh so much that he decided to let Mouse go. A week later, Lion was walking through the jungle on the way to his favorite tree when he stepped onto a hunter's net. The net scooped him up. No matter how he twisted(扭动) and turned, he couldn't escape.

    When Mouse heard Lion's frightened shouts, he raced to help. Mouse quickly chewed（咬）through the ropes to make a hole in the net. Soon, Lion moved out and was free. Lion looked down at the little mouse. ＂Thank you for saving my life,＂ said Lion, smiling his widest smile. ＂I was mistaken. You are not a powerless little mouse. You are a great friend!＂

    One sunny day, I decided to go for a walk with my husband. I was wearing a special1 ring that day. It was my 20th birthday gift from my grandmother.

    As we were walking in the park, I just looked 2 at my hand and found the diamond on my ring was missing. I was really 3 so I went back to look for it. I knew how small the chances were of finding it, but I still wanted to give it a try.

    As I was fixing my eyes on the ground, I ran into an old gentleman 4.

    “What's the matter, love?” he asked nicely.

    “Sorry that I ran into you,” I said. “But I lost something important. I'm really nervous.”

    I explained about the missing diamond and showed him the5 in my ring.

    “That's not going to be easy to find it,” he said. “Tell you what, love, I take a walk here every day. I'll6 my eyes open for it.”

    I thanked him, expecting7. However, a few days later, my husband and I met the old man again in the park.

    “Guess what,” he said. “I found your diamond!”

    I couldn't believe what I saw when the gentleman handed the diamond back to me. Then my husband8him money for his help, but he refused.

    As the diamond is worth several thousand dollars, the old man could have easily kept the diamond 9sold it, but he did neither of these.

    Now thanks to this man, I always look at my ring and remind10 that there are still kind and generous souls out there. I'll spend more time trying to do something equally nice for other people.

How The Little Kite Learned To Fly?

    By Katherine Pyle

    "I never can do it." the little kite said,

    As he looked at the others high over his head.

    "I know I should fall if I tried to fly."

    "Try, "said the big kite." only try!

    Or I fear you never will learn at all."

    But the little kite said: "I'm afraid I'll fall,"

    The big kite said: "Ah, well, good-bye;

    I am off." And he rose towards the sky

    Then the little kite's paper stirred(微动)

    And he shook himself free for flight

    First whirling(回旋) and scared，then bravery grown,

    Up, up he rose through the air alone,

    While far below he could see the ground,

    And the boys like small ants moving round.

    In ancient China, people's names had three parts: their family name, given name and courtesy name (字).

    Take Li Bai, a famous Tang Dynasty poet as an example. His family name was Li, his given name was Bai, and his courtesy name was Taibai.

    People used their given name when they were among family members. But in social (社交的) life, they called each other by their courtesy names to show respect(尊重).

    Men would get their courtesy name when they turned 20. It was a symbol of adulthood (成年). Women would get their courtesy name after getting married (结婚).

    One's courtesy name often had something to do with one's given name. For example, Mencius' name was Meng Ke (孟轲). His courtesy name was Ziyu (子舆). Both Ke and Ziyu mean "carriage (马车)". Zhuge Liang's given name was Liang (亮), which means "bright". His courtesy name was Kongming (孔明), and it means "very bright".