Ever since I was a child，my mouth has caused me trouble．I'm not a bad person；I have just had a hard time learning when to keep my mouth closed．

My mom has told me again and again，"Robert，your constant bad words are hurting me．If you continue to be this rude，you will get into big trouble．"

    It's been a problem at school several times，too，when teachers have told me something I didn't want to hear．I used to feel it was my duty to stand up for myself and tell them ______ off．

    One day in English class I began working on my homework until I heard a classmate talking behind me．It was Nathaniel，talking to himself as usual．

I said ever so nicely，"Nathaniel，would you be quiet?"

Nathaniel continued talking to himself．I quickly shouted，"Nathaniel，shut up!"

    For the next five minutes，we threw hurtful words back and forth at each other．

"At least I don't have an ugly lazy eye like you!"I shouted．

    I knew this would bother him deep inside．It would hurt his feelings and shut him up．

What I said filled him with anger．He tried to reach over my seat and grab me as he shouted．"That's it! That's it!"

    Surprised at his reaction，I sat back in seat．Never had I seen Nathaniel act like this before．

Later on，we were taken to the principal's office．

There，the principal told US to discuss the matter．It wasn't until then that I finally found that when I hurt someone physically，the wounds(伤口)eventually heal．But when I hurt them with my words，sometimes the pain never goes away．

    At the end of the discussion，I said sorry to Nathaniel．

    When I headed back to my room，I spent some time praying． I began to think about how often what I said hurt others．But I believe that as I keep praying and asking God to help me，he'll tell me when to keep my mouth closed．

Washing the Apples

    Mrs. Smith has a shop in the town. There are all kinds of fruit in her shop. She's friendly to the customers and never fools^① anyone. So the customers like to buy fruit in her shop, and she gets more and more money.

    One day, the apples she sold were all fresh and nice. She remembered her son Steve liked them best, so she brought some home for her son. After lunch, she went out and left the apples on the table. That afternoon Steve came back from school, he felt very hungry. He looked for something to eat and found some apples on the table. “Great! They are my favorite.” he cried and ate a lot. Mrs. Smith got home after she closed her fruit shop. When she saw Steve, she asked him, “Did you have the apples? ” Her son answered, “Yes. And I ate lots of them.” “Did you wash them? “Oh, I forgot. I was too hungry^②. What should I do? ”

    A few minutes later, Mrs. Smith found her son kept on drinking water.

    “Are you thirsty? Why are you drinking so much water?” asked the mother.

    “No, Mom.” answered the boy, “I want to wash the apples in my stomach with the water.”

    Mr. Black comes into Class Three. The bell is ringing. He wants to teach an English lesson. Mr. White comes in and asks him to go to the office. He must go and have a meeting. Mr. Black says to his students, "You study by yourselves, please. I'll be back soon. "

    After a while, Mr. Black comes back. He sees Mike talking to his deskmate Jack. Mr. Black is very angry.

    "Stand up, Mike！" says the teacher. "What are you doing？"

    "I'm reading English now, " says Mike.

    "What's in your hand? Please look at it carefully, " says the teacher.

    Mike looks at it. Oh, it's a history book. He looks at Jack's hand. There is an English book in his hand. He has a good idea right away.

    "I'm sorry, Mr. Black. Jack is holding an English book and I am holding a history book. We are studying the history of English. "

    "Which meal do we all need most, breakfast, lunch or dinner?" Miss Baker asks. Boys and girls wave（挥动）their hands in the air. They know the answer.

    "What do you think, Jim?" Miss Baker asks.

    "Dinner. " he answers.

    "Dinner is the big meal of the day. " says Miss Baker. "But I don't think it is the meal we need most. "

    Tom puts up his hand. "Is lunch the meal we need most?"

    "No. " says Miss Baker. " Breakfast is the meal we need most. "

    "Why is this so?"

    "From night until morning is a long time to go without food. "says Ann.

    "That's right. "says Miss Baker. "We need food every morning. What may happen（发生）to us if we have no breakfast?"

    The class have many answers to give.

    "We may not feel like working. "

    "We may feel sick（生病）. "

    "Yes, you are right, "says Miss Baker. "Now, let's talk about what makes a good breakfast. Give me your answers. I will write them on the blackboard. "

    The first word Miss Baker puts on the list is milk. What else do you think she puts on the list?

    In 1254, Marco Polo was born in Italy, in the city of Venice. At that time Europeans knew almost nothing about other continents(大洲),except some areas of Asia and Africa(非洲)touching the Mediterranean Sea(地中海).

    In 1271. Marco Polo. His uncle. And his father started a journey to China. For four years they travelled on foot and on camels, across the deserts and through the mountains of Central Asia. Finally they arrived at the city of Kublai Khan(可汗),the Mongol(蒙古)ruler of China at that time.

    In China, Marco Polo found people with a very different culture from his own. He saw a new world with lots of wonders. After leaving China, Marco Polo traveled to Japan, Southeastern Asia, India, and Eastern Africa.

    In 1292-two hundred years before Columbus—Marco travelled back home. The stories of China he brought back quickly spread all over Europe.

Notice

There will be a lecture on

Classic American Literature (文学)

By Visiting Professor (教授) Cornell

from Stanford University

In The Fifth Building,

Classroom No. 102

On Sep. 4th. 2019. at 2 pm

All are warmly welcome!

The Office of the Foreign Language Department (系)

Sep. 2nd. 2019