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!

    Tony Wheeler was born to travel. His father worked for an airline. For the first 16 years of his life, Wheeler and his family lived in many different countries.

    In the early 1970s,Tony met a young woman named Maureen. They soon married. Before getting jobs, Tony and Maureen wanted to travel. They took a year long trip from England, through Asia, to Australia. On the trip,they visited places like Iran(伊朗),India, and so on.

    When Tony and Maureen arrived in Australia, people asked many

questions about their trip. To answer these questions, Wheeler wrote a book called Across Asia on the Cheap. The book told people about different countries' weather, customs (风俗), and places to see. But unlike other travel books then,Tony Wheeler's book also talked about places most tourists did not go. He also wrote about unusual things to see and do. The book was very popular.

    Tony and Maureen started a company called Lonely Planet. They

continued travelling. They wrote books for each place they visited. Today,800 people work {or Lonely Planet. The company has over 650 books. Tony Wheeler,the great traveller, still writes about travels to many places and will bring us more surprises.

    One day after school, I went to the teacher's office to see my teacher, but nobody was there. As I was about to leave, I noticed a piece of paper on the floor. I picked it up and saw the words "FINAL-TERM EXAMINATION" at the top. I put the paper into my schoolbag secretly and ran out of the room.

    After I came back home, I took out the paper quickly. It was the exam paper of my worst subject, history. I felt excited. My heart beat fast. I took out my history book and started working on the answer. I had never answered any questions so seriously.

    On the day of history, I went into the exam hall confidently. When the paper was sent to me, I dreamed of getting the highest mark in the whole grade and could not help smiling. "My history teacher always encouraged me to work hard and get better grades, but I let him down time and time again. This time I will give him a big surprise." I thought.

    When the teacher said we could start. I turned the paper over. To my surprise, all the questions were different. Later, I felt nervous. In the end, I almost left the paper undone. After the exam, I ran to the toilet, took out the paper and carefully read it from the top. Oh! It was the last year's exam paper. I read all the questions but I hadn't read the date.

    This is a lesson in which I know I have to put my feet on the ground. I regretted doing such a silly thing. After that, I told my teacher the truth and I promised to be honest. From then on, I worked harder than ever before.

    One day, the teacher held up an apple in class, stood on the platform(讲台) and said, "Please smell the smell in the air!" One student raised his hand and answered, "I have smelled it. It is the smell of an apple."

    The teacher stepped off the platform, passed by each of the students and said," Please smell again to see if the smell of the apple is still in the air."

    Half of the students raised their hands to show that they could smell it. The teacher returned to the front of the classroom and asked again if the students could smell the apple. Everyone raised their hands except one student. The teacher came to the student and asked," You really can't smell the apple?"

    The student answered," No, I can't smell it. I don't think it's a real apple."

    The teacher smiled at the student and said to the class," He is right! This is not a real apple."

    All of the other students were tricked. They might have thought that perhaps the apple was not real, but they didn't have the self-confidence to speak up. They just "followed the leader" and went along with the first student.

    Please remember "Believe in yourself first, and then others will believe in you".

   One day, I was waiting for my friend at thebus station. A man came to sell1andI just smiled and said thank you. I didn't know if it was because of my smile,the young man came closer and stood2meand started talking to me. "You know, I wasn't born like this, sellingshoes. I had a family, but one day my life just3upside down and all was gone," he said. He told me that hiswife took away all his money, sold his car and the house. It was really a hardtime for him and he was4atthat time. He had nothing and then5tosell shoes to make a living. I stood next to him and listened, but I was still6how someone could be so open to a totalstranger like that. Then I realized that some people get7in that way. We often meet people withtroubles in their hearts. For some of them, there isn't anybody to listen tothem,8I've learned to be kind to them. Ialways spare my time to listen to them. By doing this, the one9listens can not only help othersbut also himself,because he gets to learn something from what others10andsee other sides of life. This will make the world a better place to live in forall of us.

A Kind Grandmother

Mrs. Wallace had two grandchildren. They lived near her house. They visited her house every day after school.

She was very good at making things. One day she made some beautiful

dolls and gave them to her grandchildren to play with.

The grandchildren wanted some pet rabbits, and Mrs. Wallace said she

could make a hutch to keep them in. The children went to ask their parents.

"Can we please have some pet rabbits?" they asked.

"Where will you keep them?" their father asked. "You need a hutch for them."

"Grandma will make a hutch for them," the children said.

The father and mother talked about it. They told the children they could have two rabbits. But they must put them in the hutch.

Mrs. Wallace went to a shop and bought wood, paint and nails (钉子). She worked all daywhen the children were at school. After school they came to watch and help.

The next day Mrs. Wallace finished (完成) the hutch and painted it. Then she thought about how to get it to the children. It was too big to put into her car.

"I know," she thought. "I'll put it on the wheelbarrow(手推车) and wheel it there. It's not far."

On the way to the children's house, aman saw her and said. "That's very nice. Did you make it yourself?"

"Yes," she said happily." I made it for my grandchildren." "Really?" he said. "I thought it was for rabbits!