“It's just a story,”you may think. But new research has found that crows' brains may sometimes be better than those of 6-year-old children.

In a recent experiment, American scientist Corina Logan and her team caught six crows to test them. The crows and children had to choose between two sets of tubes(试管). They had to drop stones in and get water.

With the red set, when they dropped a stone into a wide tube, the water level raised in a connected narrow tube. The blue set of tubes, however, had no connection between them.

Children aged 7 to 10 were able to learn the rule. Children aged 4-6, however, failed.Five of the six crows failed the test. But Kitty, a 6-month-old crow, passed it. She put most of the stones into the red tubes.

So, could a bird be more clever than a kindergartner? Don't be too quick to say no.

No one knows when the first kite was made. The first record of a kite was more than 2,000 years ago in China. Han Xin, the leader of an army, wanted to bring down a king. He decided to dig a tunnel (隧道) into the king's palace. He flew a kite over the wall of the palace to make sure the length of its string (线). In this way, he could determine how long the tunnel should be. His men in the tunnel took the kite string with them. When they reached the end of the string, they knew to dig up.

  Kites have been flown in Japan for hundreds of years. In the 1700s, kites were flown in autumn to give thanks for a good harvest. They were also flown to send good wishes to couples who had their first son. Today in Japan, kites are often flown as part of a celebration, such as the beginning of a new year. And kite festivals are held each year in many parts of the country.

  Kites have been used for scientific purposes in the western world. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin tied a key to a kite and flew it in a storm to find out that lightening was a form of electricity. In the 1890s, Lawrence Hargrave invented the box kite to test ideas about flight. From 1898 until 1933, the United States Weather Bureau (气象局) used box kites to collect weather data. The Wright brothers also experimented (试验)with kites. What they learnt helped them make the first airplane flight in 1903.

A man and his wife were very poor. They kept hoping for new clothes and good food. The man enjoyed eating and he especially liked pancakes. One night a young woman came to their house and told them that she would let them have three wishes. They could wish for anything they wanted.

The man had just finished eating a little bread for his dinner and he was still hungry. He said,"I wish I had a big pancake!"

Suddenly there was a pancake on his plate.

"You fool!" his wife cried. "You could wish for a house full of wonderful food, but you wished for a pancake. I wish that pancake was on the end of your foolish nose."

Immediately (立即) the pancake was on the end of the man's nose.

Then the man and his wife started blaming (责备) each other. "It's your fault!" the man cried. "No, it's your fault!" she answered. What could they do? The pancake was still on the husband's nose.

"Oh!" the wife cried. "I wish none of this had ever happened!"

Immediately the pancake was gone, and the man was saying, "I'm still hungry. How I wish I had some pancakes!"

But of course nothing happened.

When I was young,I worked in San Francisco. I did my job well and my future was promising. I was alone in the world and I was happy. I didn't have to work on Saturdays. I enjoyed my time off in my little sailboat on San Francisco Bay. One Saturday afternoon,I sailed out too far. The strong wind pushed my sailboat out of the bay,into the Pacific Ocean

That night,when I had lost all hope,a small British boat saw me and took me on board. The boat was sailing to London. The voyage was long and stormy. I worked as a sailor to pay for my trip. 

When I arrived in London,my clothes were old and dirty. I had only one dollar in my pocket. With this dollar,I ate and slept for the first twenty-four hours. During the next twenty-four hours,I didn't eat and I didn't sleep. The following morning,I went to Portland Place. I saw a child walking past,holding a big pear. The child ate one small piece and then threw the pear onto the street. 

I stopped and looked at it. I was very hungry and I really wanted that pear. But every time I tried to get it, someone passed by and looked at me. I quickly turned in the other direction and waited for the person to pass by. I tried again and again to get that pear,but the same thing happened. I was hopeless. But soon I made a determination(决心)to get the pear and not to worry about the people who saw me. 

Then,a gentleman opened a window behind me and said,"Come in here,please. "A well-dressed servant took me into a beautiful room. Here,two old gentlemen were sitting and discussing something important. Their breakfast was still on the table. I was very hungry and I stared at their breakfast. I want to tell the reader that the two gentlemen had made a bet(打赌)several days before. I knew nothing about the bet until later. Let me tell you what happened. 

It's Father Monkey's birthday. "How about making a(n)1 cake for your dad?" Mother Monkey asks. 

"That's 2 . Dad likes fruit cake, " Baby Monkey says. 

"3 we need some bananas and eggs. Can you 4 some?" Mother Monkey asks. 

"OK!" Baby Monkey says and leaves home. 

First, Baby Monkey 5 a banana tree. "Wow, the bananas look 6 . Let me get four, " he says. 

"Stop!" Mr Gorilla calls. 

"Sorry! I 7 to make a banana cake. Can you give me some bananas?" Baby Monkey asks. 

"Can I 8 some pieces of cake?" Mr Gorilla asks. 

Baby Monkey says 9 with a smile on his face, "Sure!" So Mr Gorilla gives him four bananas. Then Baby Monkey sees some 10 and wants to take some. At this time, Ms Hen calls, " Hey! Those are11 . "

"Sorry. Can I have five for a birthday cake?" Baby Monkey asks. 

"Can I have your cake?" Ms Hen asks. " Yes!" Baby Monkey says and takes five eggs. 

In the evening, the 12 "friends" come to Baby Monkey's home. Mr Gorilla asks, "13 is the cake?" " We gave Baby

Monkey bananas and eggs, " Ms Hen says. "Haha! Now we can have a 14 !" Father Monkey says. Then they 15 the Happy Birthday song and have the birthday cake together. All of them had a great time at the party. It's really a great birthday for Father Monkey.