While he was at work in the grove, the birds came close to pick up the worms(蠕虫) in the fresh earth he dug up. At first, they kept their distance from him, but they soon found he was a kind man, and would not hurt them, but liked to have them near him.

They knew this by his kind eyes and voice, which tell what is in the heart. So, day by day their faith in his love grew in them.

All the birds of the grove were soon his fast friends. They were on the watch for him, and would fly down from the green tree tops to greet him with their chirp(叽叽喳喳叫).

When he had no work to do, he took bread with him, and dropped the pieces on the ground. Down they would dart(俯冲) on his head and feet to catch them as they fell from his hand.

He showed me how they loved him, He put a piece of bread in his mouth, with one end of it out of his lips, Down they came like bees at a flower, and flew off with it piece by piece,

When they thought he slept too long in the morning, they would fly in and_____________.

They went with him to church, and while he sang his hymns in it, they sat in the trees, and sang their praises.
So the love and trust of birds were a joy to the old man all his life long.

    Mr. Brown lives on Green Street now. He wants to send a postcard(寄明信片) to his pen friend in Toronto, but he doesn't know where the post office is. “ where is the post office？” he asks his new neighbor Joe. “I want to send a postcard to Toronto.” “The post office is quite far from here，” answers Joe. “If you only want to post some letters(信件) or postcards, you needn't go to the post office. You can put them into a mailbox（信箱）down the street.”

    Rose is a student from the U. S. She is in Shanghai with her parents now. She doesn't know Chinese, but she is trying to study and speak it. She often tries to speak Chinese with her Chinese friends. Sometimes they don't understand her, because she can't speak Chinese well.

    It's Saturday morning. Rose goes out. She is on her way to the park. She is going there to see a flower fair(展销会). But she doesn't know how to get there. She asks a Chinese boy the way. The boy can't understand her. Then she takes out a pen and a piece of paper. She draws flowers on it, and then gives the picture to the boy and says something about it. The boy smiles and then shows Rose the way to the park.

    Though it is one of the early memories of my life, there are times when I remember his face clearly, especially his eyes. As he had yellow spots on his eyes, we called him Spotty.

    I was seven years old. We had just moved to a new house. It was a dark and rainy night. We had our meal and went to sleep. At midnight I heard a loud thud outside the door. I looked out of the window and saw a small dog lying on the ground. At first it was difficult to see the little one. He had a black body which was darker even than a black rainy cloud. It was the yellow spots on his eyes that made me realize he was a dog. The dog was wet. I took an old towel and wiped him till he became dry. I took him inside and made a bed for him.

    The next morning, everyone in my family came to know about the unusual guest. We called him“Spotty”and decided to keep him. Slowly Spotty became part of the family. We got used to all his habits and pranks（恶作剧）.

    One evening when Spotty returned from his long walk, I saw one of his legs bleeding流血）. We dealt with it and gave him food to eat. I was very upset. But the next day, Spotty was up to his usual pranks though he limped（跛行）a bit. I really admired（钦佩）him a lot for his courage.

    Some parents are always comparing their children with themselves when they were young, or with other people when they were children.

    "When I was your age," a father said to his sixteen-year-old son one day, "I was at the top of my class every year. And I knew what I wanted to do when I left school. I had goals. You are always at the bottom of your class, and you have no goals."

    The man's son said nothing. He had heard this from his father many times.

    "And when your mother was your age," the boy's father went on, "she had a good job and she was earning money. You don't even have a part-time job. You earn nothing."

    The man's son still said nothing. He had heard this before, too.

    "And when your older brother was your age," the boy's father went on, "he studied hard. You just waste your time."

    And the man's son still said nothing.

    Finally, the boy's father said, "And when Abraham Lincoln was your age, he worked all day and studied at night."

    This time the son could not stay silent.

    "And when Abraham Lincoln was your age, Father," he said, "he was the President of the United States. What are you?"

His father had no answer to this.