Once there was a parrot on sale in a pet store. It was a beautiful red and blue bird. It sat on a perch in the middle of the store, so that everyone could see it when they came in. The owner was very proud of it and asked a high price for it.

    One day a man went into the store. “That's a beautiful bird,” he said to the pet store owner, “But why is it so expensive? Is it unusual bird?”

    “No, it's not very unusual. It's expensive because it can talk,” the pet store owner said.

    “I see. How can I make it talk?” the man asked.

    The pet store owner asked him, “Do you see those string tied to each of the bird's legs?”

    “Yes,”the man answered.

    “Well, you pull those strings,” the pet store owner told him. “That will make the parrot talk.”

    The man asked, “Do you mind if I try?”

    “Not at all,” the pet store owner said.

The man walked up to the parrot and pulled the string on its left leg. The parrot said, “Good morning.”

    The man pulled the string on the parrot's right leg. This time the parrot said, “How are you today?”

    “That's not very interesting, ” said the man. “Any parrot could do that.” Then he laughed, “But what would happen if I pulled both strings at the same time?”

    “I'll fall off my perch, you fool!” the parrot said.

    If you enjoy reading, don't miss Shakespeare and Company when you visit Paris. It's a famous English-language bookstore. An American, Sylvia Beach, opened the first Shakespeare and Company in history in 1919. She did more than selling books. Her bookstore was also a library, and she even had beds for writers visiting there. Ms Beach was not only kind to people but also good at choosing books, so her bookstore was often visited by writers like Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce. But in 1941, after the Germans took power in Paris, Ms Beach had to close her bookstore.

    In 1951, another American, George Whitman, opened another English-language bookstore, Le Mistral, in Paris. Since then, just as Ms Beach did, Mr Whitman had also made his bookstore a library for people to borrow books, and a free hotel for writers to stay in. To remember Ms Beach, Mr Whitman changed the name of his bookstore to Shakespeare and Company in 1964, two years after Ms Beach died.

    Next time when you are in Paris, don't forget to visit this nice bookstore and see if you can spend a night there.

    When a man was walking along the street, he saw a woman carrying a large box. It was half in and half out of her car. So the man went up and said, "The box looks very heavy. Let me give you a hand. "

    "That's very kind of you, "the woman said, "I'm having a lot of trouble with it. Maybe it sticks（卡住）in the car door. "

    ""Together we'll soon move it," the man said. "I'll get in and take the other end." And he got in the car.

    "Right," the man said. "I'm ready," and he began to push the box hard.

    For several minutes, the man and the woman tried to move the box. Soon they felt very tired.

    They rested for a moment. Then the woman said, "Let's try again. One, two, three!" They went on moving the box At last, when they were exhausted, the man said, "I'm sorry, but I don't think there's any way to get it out of your car. "

    "Get it out?" the woman cried. "I'm trying to get it in! You know?"