Three travelers, Allan, Carl and Paul were sitting on the chairs in a train station. They were waiting for a train that was late.

      To pass the time, they began talking to each other.

      At first, they talked about the weather and their work. Then Paul said, “Tell me-what would you most like to do if your doctor tells you that you have only three months to live?"

      The other two men thought about this for a while, then Carl spoke.

      "Well," he said, "if I have only three months to live, I'll take all my money out of the bank and go to foreign countries for holidays with my best friend, Erik. I'd like to travel to the places in the world as many as possible. And I'll stay at the best hotels and then eat the best food. I think I'll have a wonderful time."

      "That's very interesting." Paul said. With these words, he turned to the other man, saying, "And what about you?"

"I'll tell you a secret," Allan said. "I always want to be a racing driver. So if I have only three months to live, the first thing I'd like to do is to sell my house. With the money I'll buy the fastest car in the world. Maybe I can enter all the big motor races. " Then he laughed, "I might even end up with (以......而告终) a world champion."

      "Now it's your turn," Allan went on. "If your doctor tells you the bad news, what would you most like to do?"

        "Oh," said Paul with a smile. "I'll go and see another doctor."

    Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you.

    Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m. and end at about 11 p.m. Ask you hosts(主办人) what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine(酒) as a gift.

    Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks. If you want to be very polite, say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall. But remember—It's not polite to ask how much things cost.

    In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests(客人).

    You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.

    Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short “thank you” letter. British and American people like to say “thank you, thank you, thank you” all the time!

    John and Jack met at the old bench every afternoon. Then they played football. But they didn't have enough money to buy a real football. So Jack made a ball out of old socks covered with a piece of plastic, Every time, the two friends didn't stop kicking and running until very late.

    On Monday afternoon, John and Jack met again at the old bench. Soon the home-made ball was running across the grass. The boys laughed and shouted happily. The ball was stopped by a boy wearing a nice pair of sports shoes. John was upset when he saw the boy was Steven.

    The next morning, John's mother gave him a bill." Your uncle sent you a birthday present, she smiled. John's eyes grew big when he saw the $100 bill. Later that day，his mother bought a new pair of sports shoes and a real football.

    That afternoon Steven invited John to play football. Steven did not want Jack to join them only because Jack's sports shoes were dirty. When the game was over, John and Steven walked past the old bench where Jack was sitting. Steven picked up a stone and threw it at him. John, holding his new football in his hands, walked on and did not look back.

    Several days later. As John walked. Past the old bench, he saw something lying under it. He looked closer and saw it was the home made ball, John was full of sadness when he saw the ball. As his sadness turned to anger, he picked up his new football and kicked it into the air. Then he walked to the bench, sat down and waited.