Pablo Picasso was born in Spain in 1881. His father was a painter and art teacher who gave his son the first lesson in drawing. He won a prize— Science and Charity”for his first important painting when he was only fifteen. He studied in several cities in Spain. But there was no one to teach him all that he wanted to know. When he was nineteen, he visited Paris.

    Paris was then the center of the world for artists. Everything that was new and exciting in the world of paintings seemed to happen there. When he was twenty-three, Picasso moved there to live and lived in France for the rest of his life.

 When he was over ninety, this great painter still lived his life like a young man. He was still looking for new ideas and new ways to use his artistic materials.

    When he died in 1973, he was ninety-one years old.

C

      The British King George was quite naughty (淘气) when he was a child. He spent all his pocket money on toys. His grandma, the Victoria Queen, worried about that. One day, George went out to play and he wanted to buy a toy horse in a shop. But the toy horse was 25 pounds and George had no money at that time. So after he went back, he wrote a letter to his grandma,"Dear granny, I would like to buy a toy horse. Will you send 25 pounds to me?"

       However, his grandma wrote back to him, "You have got too many toys, and I will not give you the money to buy toys any more. Now you should learn to save up."

       A few days later, his grandma got the second letter from George,"Dear granny, thanks for your letter. I sold it to a collector (收藏家) and bought that toy horse with the money."

    On Thanksgiving Day, about 88 percent Americans will eat turkey. But one lucky turkey not only will not be eaten but also will become famous! Every year, turkey farmers present a turkey to the US president. But instead of eating this turkey, the president gives it a "pardon". The turkey is flown to Florida for a Thanksgiving Parade(游行). Then it lives on a farm for the rest of its life.

    Turkeys come from America and have been part of American culture for centuries. Benjamin Franklin even wanted the turkey to be America's national bird.

    Turkeys that are kept on farms are large, awkward birds that can not fly. But wild turkeys are quite fast. They can fly at speeds up to 88 kilometers per hour. They can also run at 40 kilometers per hour.

    Turkeys don't have ears. They hear by using a growth above their beaks(尖喙). But their hearing is five times better than human hearing.

    Turkeys are such interesting birds—no wonder Benjamin Franklin wanted them to be America's national birds!

    There was a very rich man named Mike. In his house, he had a very large room. "If anyone can fill my room in one day, I will give him 20,000 dollars." he said. Everyone in the town wanted to have a try.

    Mark tried to fill the room with stones. At the end of the day, he was very tired, but the room was still not full. Martin tried to fill the room with wood. He worked all day, but the room was not full. "That room is too big, no one can do this." he said. Alan said, "I can do it. It's easy." Everyone laughed. They thought he could not do it. Then, he went to the park and played all day. His friend asked him, "Why are you playing, you should be working." The man said, "Don't worry." At 8:00 at night, the man came to the room with a small bag. The rich man said, "That bag is too small. How will you fill the room?" The man took a candle out of the bag. He lit the candle and said, "You see, the whole room is filled with light!"

    I'm a Russian student. Last year I came to China for a holiday. It took me 8 hours to arrive in Beijing by plane. It was 11pm when I arrived at the airport. I was tired and wanted to find a hotel.

    The airport was big and black. I didn't know where a hotel was. I saw a Chinese girl in front of me. I studied a little Chinese before, but I couldn't speak well. I spoke to her in Chinese. She couldn't understand me. I asked again and again. At last, she understood. She asked me in Russian, "Are you from Russia?" She could speak Russian well. She told me where the nearest hotel was and sent me to the hotel. What a friendly girl she was!