The USA is the fourth largest country in the world in size after Russia, Canada and China. The population(人口) of the USA is the third largest in the world.

   The Mississippi River is the longest river in America. It's over 6,000 kilometers long. The Mississippi River has been called the "Father of Waters" or "Old Man River". The most important lakes in the United States are the Great Lakes. They are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. All of them are between Canada and the United States except(除了) Lake Michigan.

   Let us talk about American education(教育). There are two kinds of schools in the United States: public schools and private schools. Most children go to public schools. Their parents do not have to pay for their education. If a child goes to a private school, his parents have to pay for their schooling. Children start school when they are five years old. Most students are eighteen years old when they leave secondary(中级) schools.

    Mrs Gill lived next door to Nita．Every afternoon，Mrs Gill took a walk．She said it kept her young．Nita liked to talk with Mrs Gill when Mrs Gill came back．Mrs Gill was always happy after her walk．She often showed Nita something she had found．like a beautiful red leaf．

    One afternoon, Mrs Gill looked sad．Nita asked her why．

    I am sad about all the trash (垃圾)on the street．"she said．"I never saw so much trash in this neighbourhood(街区)!What happened?"

    "Mrs Trent moved．"said Nita．"She often went out each morning and picked up trash before．I often saw her on my way to school．"

    Mrs Gill looked very▲ ． "I thought I knew everything about this neighbourhood!"she said．"But you see more than I do!"

"Well.1 wish I could do Mrs Trent's job．But you know,my back(背)often hurts．It's really hard for me to pick things up，"she said．

    "I could do that．"said Nita．

    Mrs Gill said．"I will carry the trash bag!You can use my gloves so your hands can stay clean．"

    Nita put on the gloves．She picked up pieces of paper．She picked up boxes．And Mrs Gill carried the bag．Lots of people stopped to thank Mrs Gill and Nita．The street looked much better．

    "Thanks, Nita．"said Mrs Gill．"Let's call ourselves the clean-up team!"

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    Microsoft founder Bill Gates has talked about how to be a good parent, saying that 13 is a right age for a child's first cellphone. The father of three said on the show that his children Jennifer and Rory were not allowed having phones until their thirteenth birthday and his younger daughter Phoebe is still waiting for one.

    "We've made a rule in our family that it's 13 when you get a phone." He also said as a result his children often return home from school complaining(抱怨), "All the other kids have it. I'm the only one without it. It's so embarrassing."

    Asked if he keeps passwords(密码)to his son's and daughters' email and Facebook accounts(账号), Mr Gates said that he doesn't for Jennifer, who he said was" old enough".

    Besides their wealth, Mr and Mrs Gates, who live in Lake Medina, have said they want to raise their children as normally as possible. It is said that their kids have to do housework after school and aren't given much pocket money.

    And in 2010Mr Gates said that he wanted to give most of his $ 61 billion away rather than hand it down." That wouldn't be good for my kids or society, "he said.

    Mr Gates left Microsoft in 2008 to put his heart into charity. During the interview with host Matt Lauser, he said that helping others made him feel happy as creating software.

    "What you really feel is what you've achieved. If a piece of software gets out there and lots of people love it-it lets them get their work done in better ways-that's exciting, "he explained.

    Miss Grey lived in a small house. She was old and did not like noise at all, so she was very pleased when her noisy neighbor moved out. A young man moved in and Miss Grey thought the man seemed to be quiet.

    But at three o'clock the next morning, the noise of a dog woke her up. She thought she had never heard a dog there before. It must be the young man's dog. So she telephoned the young man, said something bad about the dog and then hung up the telephone before he could answer. Nothing more happened until three o'clock the next morning. Then Miss Grey's telephone rang, and when she answered, a voice said, "You telephoned me twenty-four hours ago, now I ring you up to say that I don't have a dog."

Elephant who can fly

    Dumbo is a little elephant. He is born in a circus (马戏团). But he is different from other elephants.

    His ears are very big. Other elephants often make fun of him for this. He feels bad about himself. However, one day, some children in the circus find out that Dumbo can fly. He can fly just like a bird. Dumbo works with an aerial artist(高空杂技艺术家)to perform. People like their shows. Soon, Dumbo becomes a big star!

This is the story of the Disney live­ action movie Dumbo. It tells us that we should celebrate our differences, even if others think they are strange.

    Do you know Dumbo is based on(改编自)the book of the same name. US authors, Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, wrote the book. In 1941, Disney made it into a movie. It became a classic(经典作品). That's why Disney decided to remake it. Dumbo will open in Chinese mainland theaters on March 29.

An old farmer lived with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was always up early to read. One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! What good does reading do?"

Grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out(漏出) before he got back home. Grandpa laughed, "You'll have to move a little faster next time." This time the boy ran faster, but again the same took place. It was an impossible task.

The old man said, "You're just not trying hard enough." So the boy tried a third time and failed. He said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless? Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had turned from a dirty coal basket into a clean one inside and outside.

"You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read, you will be changed, inside and outside."