Once there was a parrot on sale in a pet store. It was a beautiful red and blue bird. It sat on a perch in the middle of the store, so that everyone could see it when they came in. The owner was very proud（自豪的） of it and asked a high price for it.

    One day a man went into the store. “That's a beautiful bird,” he said to the pet store owner, “But why is it so expensive? Is it unusual（不同寻常的） bird?” “No, it's not very unusual. It's expensive because it can talk,” the pet store owner said.

    “I see. How can I make it talk?” the man asked.

    The pet store owner asked him, “Do you see those string tied to each of the bird's legs?”

    “Yes,” the man answered.

    “Well, you pull（拉） those strings（绳子）,” the pet store owner told him. “That will make the parrot talk.”

    The man asked, “Do you mind（介意） if I try?”

    “Not at all,” the pet store owner said.

    The man walked up to the parrot and pulled the string on its left leg. The parrot said, “Good morning.” The man pulled the string on the parrot's right leg. This time the parrot said, “How are you today?”

    “That's not very interesting,” said the man. “Any parrot could do that.” Then he laughed, “But what would happen if I pulled both strings at the same time?”

    “I'll fall off my perch, you fool!” the parrot said.

    There was once an ugly fairy living in a fairy country. She was the kindest and cleverest of all fairies. However, no one liked her, because they strongly believed that the most important thing about a fairy was her beauty. Every time she was ready to help a child or anyone else in trouble, before she could say a word they were already shouting at her, "Ugly! Get out of here!"

    Although she was little, she had great magic power. More than once she thought about using it to make herself beautiful. But she remembered what her mother had always told her, "My dear, you are what you are."

    One day, the witches (女巫) came and caught the fairies, putting them in prison. The ugly fairy, just before being caught, put a spell (咒语) on her pretty dress. Helped by her ugly face, she succeeded in making herself look like a witch. That way she was able to follow the witches back to their country.

    The fairy used her magic power to prepare a big party for everyone there. While they were enjoying themselves, she left quietly and let free other fairies. When all of them got out of the prison, they worked together on one big spell and succeeded in putting the witches inside the mountain for the next hundred years.

    From that day on everyone remembered the brave and clever fairy. And for the next hundred years, and more, when someone ugly was born in that country, everyone was filled with joy.

Without the television set，the radio and more importantly，the computer，we will {#blank#}1{#/blank#} have any fun in our homes today. However，the people in the past had their own clever {#blank#}2{#/blank#} of enjoying themselves. For example，they made music without the use of computers but with tools made from wood and animal skin.

Travel was simple at that time. Most of the people were {#blank#}3{#/blank#} boat makers and they could make boats in a variety of shapes and sizes for travelling along the rivers and in the oceans. With increased skills and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} ， the people learnt how to make the boats stronger against rains and storms.

Some things are basic for us nowadays，but the people in the past could live the lives to the full even without them. We should not look down on the wisdom of people long ago.

Time flies and you may {#blank#}1{#/blank#} when leaving junior high school. But it may make you feel much {#blank#}2{#/blank#} to say goodbye to your teachers and classmates. This feeling was shared more than 1,000 years ago, when the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei had to say goodbye to his friend.

A Farewell Song {#blank#}3{#/blank#} a lovely morning scene. On that morning, Wang has to say goodbye to his friend Yuan Er, who will leave for Anxi in today's Xinjiang. The last two lines are the most well-known. Yuan is invited by the poet to drink wine because he knows that life in Anxi will be difficult.

The journey {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the west would be full of difficulties, Wang thought. Wang invited Yuan Er to drink a cup of wine again {#blank#}5{#/blank#} his care and good wishes. This love for his friend made this poem popular back then and it remains so today.

 You are walking down the street. Suddenly it starts to rain and you don't have an umbrella. What do you do? Run or walk?

 Most people would rather run because it will get you out of the rain faster. But if you run, you also run into more raindrops. So, what should you do?

 Things are more complicated(复杂的) than you might think. Franco Bocci, a professor at the University of Brescia in Italy, found that whether you should travel slowly or quickly in the rain depends on the wind direction and your body shape, according to the BBC

 When there is no wind, and the rain lands directly on you, Bocci suggests that you should run and hide as fast as possible. But if the wind comes from behind and blows the rain onto your back, the best thing to do is to walk at the same speed as the wind. This way , both your front and back will stay mostly dry.

 This is not all. When the wind blows in from the side, you' ll have to think about one more thing— your body shape. Thinner people are hit by fewer raindrops. In this case, a fatter person had better run while a thinner person should still try to match their speed to the wind.

" In general, the best thing is to run, as fast as you can- not always, but in general ." Bocci told BBC News," If you' re really thin, it's more probable that there will be a best speed. Otherwise , it is better to run fast."

Now you know what to do next time the rain catches you in the middle of the street. But the best way to stay dry is still to carry an umbrella.