We walked all afternoon with Infadoos and Scragga. Their men walked about a hundred metres ahead of us.

    “When did your people, the Kukuana, come to this place?”

    “They came from the north many thousands of moons ago,” Infadoos explained. “When they reached the mountains, they could go no farther. They stayed here where the land is good and there is water.”

    “Do you live here in peace?” I asked.

    “There have been two wars. Once an army came down from the north, but we killed most of them. Soon after that, we fought among ourselves.” He said, “The king at that time had two sons—twins. When he died, both young men wanted to be king. One of the twins, Twala, killed the other and became king.”

    “Did the dead man have a wife and children?” I asked. I knew that if he did, the fighting could start again one day.

    “Yes. He had a wife, Imotu, and a son, Ignosi. They ran away.” He pointed to a village a short way ahead. “That is the village where Imotu and Ignosi first hid,” he said. “We shall stay there tonight.”

    As soon as we were within a mile or so of the village, an army of men came out. As we passed them, they shouted a welcome.

    Their women were in the village. They stopped whatever they were doing to watch us pass by, but they were not rude. As soon as we were comfortable in a hut, they came with milk, honey, and cooked food.

    A young man brought a fat young ox which he killed and cut into pieces. We took a few pieces for ourselves and gave him the rest. We don't want them to think we were selfish.（选自《所罗门王的宝藏》，有删节）

    Mrs. Black was worried because she couldn't stop her son, Jack, from betting (打赌). Jack spent all his money betting on horse races. And even worse he would bet on everything. So Mrs. Black asked her family doctor, Mr. Dodd, for help. The doctor was an old funny man with a beard (胡须). He said, “I've stopped many people from betting before. I can help your son, too.”

    The next day Mrs. Black took Jack to see the doctor. While they were talking, Jack was looking at the doctor's beard. Suddenly he said, “I bet you $50 that your beard is not a real one.” “Oh, no,” the doctor said. “Can I pull your beard and find out?” the boy asked. “OK, if my beard is real, you will pay me $50.” Then the boy pulled it and soon found out it was real. The doctor laughed.

    Two days later, the doctor telephoned Mrs. Black, “I think I've stopped your son from betting.” He told her the story. But Mrs. Black said, “You've made him worse.” “Why?” the doctor asked. “Because before he went to see you, he bet me $100 that you would ask him to pull your beard!”

Jenny is excited to go to school these days. The 13-year-old girl from South Gate Middle School in Los Angeles, US, is taking care of three green abalones(鲍鱼) at school.

The students of Violeta Llamas' science class, including Jenny, have cared for the sea animals since January. The science class has eight teams. Each team takes turns to care for the abalones. Team Five—Jenny, Alexis, Jennifer and Ricardo—have now got their turn.

The abalones are kept in a box of seawater. Every day, Alexis checks if the water has too much salt. Too much salt is bad for the health of the abalones. Jenny makes fresh seawater. Then the four students work together to clean up the waste in the box and give some food to the abalones.

    "Sea life is like a baby. You have to clean them and care for them. " Jennifer said.

Nancy Cruso, a scientist, leads the project. She said the number of green abalones is going down because people have caught too many of them. She said protecting the sea lives now depends on the young students.

"The students love taking care of the abalones. " said Llamas.

"Taking care of the abalones could open the door for those who want to be a sea life scientist or an environment protector," she said.

The students' time with the abalones will end this school year. Cruso and a team of volunteers will record the abalones and then let them return to the sea.

From this autumn, primary and middle schools have labor education(劳动教育). 

Duan Jiayang is a 12-year-old student in Yinchuan. One of the subjects in his school is welcome. It is the life skill(生活技能) class. He learns to plant fruit and vegetables in class. He says, "It's not easy. "

In China, many parents do everything for their children. Lots of students don't have life skills. Because of this, Duan's school gives the class. "We want students to really enjoy life by taking the class. We hope students can know it's not easy to get food. And we also want students to thank their parents, "a teacher says.

At the same time, in another middle school in Yinchuan, students learn how to make steamed buns(馒头) in class. A girl named Lian Yan says, "I really love our life skill class. It's my favourite class, "

"Children often just study but don't want to do housework(家务) at home, "says a mother. "The life skill class makes it interesting And the class can even make it become students'hobby or life skill, "she says.

Allan is a doctor. He is taking notes about the lifestyles of two children, Angela and Andy.

Angela: The girl looks healthy. She knows how to keep fit. She gets up early even(即使) at week-ends. And enough exercise makes her fit. She doesn't eat fast food very often.

But sometimes she eats snacks between meals. Are most girls greedy(嘴馋的)? She should eat fewer snacks. They are not good for her. She can eat more fruit between meals.

Andy: Andy likes sports. He is good at swimming and football. He does sports for over one hour every day. That makes him fit and strong.

But Andy is a picky eater. He doesn't eat enough meat for meals. So he is not tall. And he has another problem—sleeping in(睡过头，迟起床). He gets up too late on Saturdays and Sundays.

To get enough energy, Andy should get up early and eat more meat.

The Spring Festival is one of the most important holidays in China. Last year,I had the chance (机会) to1 it with a family of one of my dear Chinese friends in a little town in China's Guizhou Province. The2 was interesting. 

Before my arrival, my friend's family had cleaned their whole house,and done their shopping. They were very hospitable. My friend showed me around the town every day. 

On the New Year's Eve,I enjoyed a big meal with my friend's family. We watched a(n)3 show on TV. As I 4 understand Chinese well,the time seemed to pass very slowly. When midnight came,everyone in the house shouted in5 . 

Every morning in the following days,I6 for the sounds of firecrackers (鞭炮) as early as 5 a. m. My friend told me that people were chasing off evil spirits (赶走邪灵). He took me to visit 7 relatives during the day. We were usually invited to stay for dinner. We once happened to see a lion dance on the street. Every business owner was happy if the "lions" stopped by their shop 8 that usually means good luck will come. 

Before I left,my friend's parents handed me a red envelope with some money in it. His father said it was to9 me on the road，bring me good luck and wish me a happy new year. It felt like I was part of the10 ,though I couldn't chat (聊天) with the parents at all.