Jane always goes to school early. She likes to talk to her friends before class. After school she does not go home early. She is always late. Jane stops to see the animals in the pet shop. She likes to see the dogs. One of them is a little white dog. She watches the little dog play in the window of the shop. She watches for a long time, so she comes home late.

    One day her father and mother ask why she is late, and she tells them about the little dog in the pet shop.

    Jane is not late the next day. She stops to look in the window of the shop. But she doesn't see the dog, and she is very sad. She is also very happy, today is her birthday.

    Mother shows her a big birthday cake and Father gives her a birthday surprise(惊奇). He gives her the little white dog from the shop. Jane is very happy. The next day Jane does not come home late. She runs home to play with the white dog.

    This year the US will honour(纪念) one of the country's most famous writers—Mark Twain (1835-1910). Most readers know that his real name was Samuel Longhome Clemens, but how many know where the pen name “Mark Twain” came from?

    The answer shows Clemens' colorful early life before he became a writer. “Mark Twain” was the cry shouted on a ship when the ship entered a part of a river that was two fathoms (6 feet) deep. “Twain” is an old-fashioned way of saying “two”. Twain trained as a ship pilot on the Mississippi river for two years, a time that he wrote about in the humourousLife on the Mississippi (1883).

    The famous river would become an important theme in many of his works—who could forget the journey of the Huck and Jim along it in his most famous book. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)?

    With little education, he had to teach himself how to write stories. Whenever possible, he would go to public libraries. There he spent much time reading and thinking, which greatly helped him with his writing.

    On the other hand, his life experiences gave him wonderful material to write about and attract readers. Twain wrote in a style that has been called “local colour” because it shows great knowledge of local people and their customs.

A Smart Dog

    Rico is a dog who lives in Germany,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}When his owner says the name of a certain toy, Rico can find it. In fact, he seems to know the names of 200 toys!

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. They put his toys in a room and then told him to go in the room and find a certain toy. Since nobody was in the room with Rico, he had no help from anyone finding the right toy. The researchers did this test forty times. Rico found the right toy thirty-seven times!

    Then the researcher tried something else. They put seven of Rico's toys in the room and one new toy that Rico had never seen before.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. This new toy had a name Rico had never heard before. Rico found the right toy seven out of ten times.!

    Researchers cannot really say that Rico know words or languages.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}They believed Rico can think about what he hears and thin about what he knows. In fact, Rico seems to thin and remember thins as well as three-year-old child.

    From these tests, animal researchers know one thing for sure. Rico has given them a lot to think about.

    My best friends are John and Ann. We do many things together(--起).

    John lives near my house. He's fifteen years old and he's tall and slim，with blonde hair and blue eyes. He's a little bit shy but very clever. He's very good at math and he helps me with my homework.  He usually wears a T-shirt and jeans. We also play basketball at a nearby park together and sometimes we play video games at my house.

    The other friend is Ann. She's short and strong, with straight brown hair and brown eyes. She likes wearing T-shirts and a baseball cap. She never stops talking. She says she would like to be a boy. We all have kung fu lessons every Tuesday and Friday afternoon. We love it. Ann is really good at kung fu. We call her the "Kung Fu Kid". She often plays basketball with us, too. We often have great fun together.

Drawing on a New Friendship

    Last Saturday, I went to the park to draw. When I finished the outline of a girl, a shadow（影子）fell across my drawing.

    "That's not a bad start", said the shadow. "Do you have any finished drawings?" I looked up to see a girl about my age.

    I was displeased that someone was looking at my drawing and interrupted me. "Not bad?" I asked.

    "No need to be angry." The girl handed a sketchbook(素描本)to me." Want to look at my drawings?"

    I felt curious and traded sketchbooks with her. Her sketches of people were okay, but I was really attracted by her drawings of nature, like trees, rocks, and rivers, all done with great detail.

    "Wow！You have some talent," I said. "What's your name?"

    The girl took back her sketchbook and answered, "Emma Thompson."

    "I'm Alice Ruiz, "I said." You draw so well. Are you in an art class?"

    Emma replied, "No. The art class is full, so I have to wait until next term. Besides, you're a talented one. I really find it difficult to draw people, but you make it look easy."

    "I have a great idea！"I said." Let's draw together！You can draw the nature views on one piece of paper while I draw the people on another. Then we'll exchange and finish each other's drawings. That way, both drawings would show off both of our talents!"

    "That's not a bad idea, Alice, "Emma agreed.

    About an hour later, we completed our drawings. I had drawn a boy walking with his dog. Emma had added a path and some flowers. Emma had drawn a beautiful tree, and I had added a girl reading under the tree.

    "This was a fun idea, "I said." Hey, Emma, would you like to meet me here again to draw together?"

    "See you next Saturday, Alice, "Emma said with a smile.