One midnight, a little girl woke up to pass water. She by herself got up and down her bed, walked to the bedroom door and opened it. She looked outside and walked back, for it was so dark in the hall that she feared.
Her mother said, “Don't be afraid, honey. Take courage!”
“What's courage?” she asked, running to her mother's bed.
“Courage is the brave breath,” her mother answered.
“Mum, do you have courage?”
“Certainly.”
The girl held out her little hands, saying, “Mum, blow some of your breath of courage to me.”
After her mother blew out two mouthfuls of breath into her little cold hands, the little girl clenched her fists(握拳) nervously, afraid that the “breath of courage” would run away. Then with her fists clenched, she walked out of the bedroom towards the bathroom with nothing to fear.
Her mother said to herself, “It will be nice if someone can blow some kind of ‘breath' to me. Then I can hold it in my hands too when I feel terrified or lost.”
In fact, mostly, what we are terrified of is nothing but the fear in our mind. Who we should defeat(战胜) is nobody but ourselves.

    Many Chinese students don't pay much attention to spoken English at school. They think it necessary to practice speaking English in class, but not out of class. Here is a story to show you how important it is to speak the English language freely in everyday life.

    A foreigner once got hungry and went into a restaurant in London. He sat down at a table. When the waiter came, the foreigner opened his mouth, put his fingers into it and took them out again in order to express that he wanted something to eat, for he could not speak English. The waiter soon brought a cup of tea. The man shook（摇动）his head. The waiter then took away the tea and brought a cup of coffee. The man again shook his head. He tried again and again, but he wasn't able to make the waiter understand him. Finally another man came in. He spoke English clearly and fluently. In a few minutes, there was a large plate of meat and vegetables on the table before him.

    So you can see a man will go hungry if he doesn't master（掌握）a foreign language.

    Laura has an aunt who works in London. She loves Laura so much that she invites Laura to

    London every summer.

    Last year Laura was happy to go to London and see some famous places in London, including the British museum, National Gallery (画廊)and other great buildings. How beautiful! She fell in love with them, but one thing made her very unhappy. It's her first time to go to a big square, but when she passed the square alone, a thief(小偷)stole her wallet in her pocket. She had to walk to her aunt's home angrily.

    This year Laura's aunt invited her to London again. One day, when she passed the same square with her aunt, she was more careful not to be stolen. After a while, she saw a man go close to her and put his hand in her pocket with a smile. Then he took out his hand quickly and left. She became very angry and shouted, "Stop it, or I will call the police!" To her surprise, she found her aunt and all the other people there laughing with the word "Congratulations(祝贺)"! In fact, the man was not a thief. Instead, he put ten pounds in her pocket. It was an interesting game. The organizers(组织者)wanted to correct the bad impression(印象)of the square, so they hired(雇佣) some "thieves" to do that game.