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A

    Tim was a little boy of nine years old. He was busylast Saturday morning, because he went to the park with his friends to paint.

    He returned home very late. It was nearly half past twelve, but nobody was in. He found that there was a note on the table. Itread:  

    Tim didn't want to follow his parents everywhere. He felt so good that he could be a real big boy and look after himself.

    Thinking there was nothing important out there, he cooked some noodles for himself and also helped himself to some apple juice.

    Then he started to do some housework. He was really a good helper to his mother. When his mother was away, he could always find some housework to do, like sweeping the floor and washing the dishes. He felt it quite right for him to do some housework at weekends.

    In the late afternoon, his parents came back. He asked them what happened.

    “Why? You forget? It's Grandmother's birthday today.”

“Uh, gee! I simply forgot! I must telephone Grandmother.'

     He picked up the phone.

    “I'm terribly sorry, Grandma, that I forget about your birthday. Anyway, anyone will forget one thing or another. So I won't get worried if you forget my birthday next Tuesday.”

    English book Animal Farm (1945) tells a story about farm animals. They are fed up with ( 受够了) Mr Jones, the farmer. He treats them badly, so they decide to kick him off the farm and run the farm themselves.

    One day an old pig called Old Major gathers the animals around him. He tells them that all animals should stand together. He says they should take over the farm. They say that all animals are equal.

    After they get rid of ( 摆 脱 ) Mr Jones, two pigs become the leaders of Animal Farm. One pig called Snowball is a great speaker. He has big ideas for Animal Farm. The other leader is a pig called Napoleon. Napoleon is a crafty (狡猾的) animal. He brings together supporters by offering them advantages.

    Napoleon makes a war against Snowball and kicks him away from the farm. He turns Snowball into a big enemy. He says that Snowball is working with Farmer Jones and other farmers to destroy Animal Farm.

    But as it turns out it is Napoleon who is working with the enemies of the animals. He joins up with the old human enemies of the animals. But he tells the animals that he is working for them. Meanwhile the animals work hard. It seems that it is as bad to live under Napoleon as it was under Farmer Jones!

    Why is the story so important?

    Animal Farm is an excellent choice for learners of English because it's very short. The language is also simple.

    Like many famous stories Animal Farm is not just a book. It was played on the BBC radio in 1947. The big modern way of telling stories is in movies of course. Orwell's book has become a film twice. Perhaps it won't surprise you that the first one (1954) was a cartoon. In 1984 another film was made.

    This was a live-action (真人版的) film. The famous book has also been put on in the theater. In 1984 aversion was made and it toured a number of British cities.

    Horatio Spafford, who was born in 1828, was a wealthy Chicago lawyer with a promising career, a beautiful home, a wife, four daughters and a son.

    At the very height of his financial and professional success Horatio and his wife, Anna, suffered the loss of their young son. Shortly thereafter, on October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed most of his real estate(地产) Investment.

    In 1873, Spafford planned a boat trip to Europe in order to give his wife and daughters a much-needed vacation and time to recover from the loss of their young son. Spafford sent his wife and daughters ahead of him while he remained in Chicago to take care of some small business. Several days later he received notice that his family's ship had had a collision (碰撞). All four of his daughters had drowned, only his wife had survived.

    With a heavy heart, Spafford boarded a boat that would take him to his broken-hearted Anna in England. It was on this trip that he wrote those now famous words: When sorrows like sea billows roll, it is well, it is well with my soul.

    Philip Bliss (1838-1876), composer of many songs, including Hold the Fort, Let the Lower Lights be Buming, and Jesus Loves Even Me, was so impressed with Spafford's life and the words of his hymn (赞美) that be composed a beautiful piece of music to accompany the poem. The song was published by Bliss and Sankey in 1876.

    For more than a century, the tragic story of one man has given hope to countless people.

    When he was small, Hill was a famous bad boy.

    At the age of 9, his father married his stepmother. At that time they lived poorly in the countryside while his stepmother was from a wealthy family.

    His father introduced Hill to his stepmother as he said, "Dear, I hope you notice in the entire shire this is the worst boy, who has made me have no other way. Maybe before tomorrow morning he will throw a stone at you, or do a bad thing you will never imagine."

    To Hill's surprise, his stepmother went up to him with a smile, held up his head and looked at him carefully. She then turned around to tell her husband, "You're wrong. He is not the worst boy in the entire shire, but the cleverest and most creative boy. Only he doesn't find a place to show himself."

    His stepmother's words warmed his heart, his eyes full of tears. Then he started building friendship with his stepmother. And this became the drive of his life, making him create 28 successful golden rules, which helped tens of thousands of ordinary people walk on the road to success.

    Before his stepmother came, no one praised him smart, and his father and neighbors considered him as a bad boy. However, his stepmother's words changed his life.

    When Hill was 14 years old, his stepmother bought him a used typewriter and said to him, "I believe you will become a writer." Hill accepted his stepmother's gift and expectation, and started writing things to a local newspaper. He understood his stepmother's strong feeling of interest in his family while he saw with his own eyes she had changed his family. Therefore, he would do as well as she expected him to.

    The strength from his stepmother made him a rich man and famous writer in the United States and one of the most important persons in the 20th century.

    Praise will never be unnecessary, especially for children. Sincere (真诚的) praise may be better than 10,000 bad words.