When Mr. David retired(退休), he bought a small house in a village near the sea. He liked it and hoped to live a quiet life in it. But to his surprise, many visitors came to see his house in summer holidays, for it was the most interesting building in the village. From morning to night, there were visitors outside the house. They kept looking into the rooms through the windows and many of them even went into the house. He decided to drive the visitors away. So he put a notice on the window. The notice said，“If you want to satisfy your curiosity(好奇心), come in and look around. Price: twenty dollars.”Mr. David was sure that the visitors would stop coming, but he was wrong. More and more visitors came and Mr. David had to spend every day showing them around his house. “I came here to retire, not to work as a guide(导游)”, he said angrily. In the end, he sold the house and moved away.

    One day a ragged(衣衫槛楼的)beggar(乞丐)was creeping along from house to house. He carried an old wallet in one hand and at every house he asked for a little money to buy something to eat. As he was complaining at his misfortune(不幸), he kept wondering why people who had so much money were never satisfied and always wanted more.

    He thought that if he only had enough money to buy food and clothing, he would be very happy and wouldn't want anything more.

    At that moment, Fortune came down the street. She saw the beggar and stopped. She said to him:" I want to help you. Hold out your wallet and I will pour this gold into it, but only on this condition. All that falls into your wallet will be pure gold, but all that hits the ground will turn into dust. Do you understand?"

    "Oh, yes I understand." said the beggar.

    "Your wallet is old. Don't put too much in it," said Fortune.

    The beggar opened his wallet and a stream of pure gold flowed into it. His wallet grew heavy.

    "You are the richest man in the world now," said Fortune. "I think you should stop! Your wallet is going to break!" However, the beggar said he wanted one more handful. Fortune added one more handful and the wallet split. All the gold fell to the ground and turned to dust. The beggar had nothing but his empty wallet. He was as poor as he had been before.

My mother's loving hands

    Night after night, she came to help me sleep, even long after my childhood years.

    I don't remember1it first started making me a little angry-my mum's hands pushing my hair that way. But it really made me uncomfortable, for they2rough(粗糙的)against my young skin. Finally, one night, I3her, "Don't do that anymore. Your hands are too rough！”She didn't say anything, 4she never did it again.

    Years later, I missed my mother's5and her goodnight kiss on my face. I'm not a little girl any more. My mum is6her mid-seventies, and her rough hands are still doing things for my family and me.

    Now my own children have7. It was late on Thanksgiving Eve. As I slept in my bedroom, a familiar hand ran across my8to push the hair from my head. Then a kiss, ever so softly, touched my brow(额头).

    Taking my mum's hand, I told her how9I was for that night I shouted at her. But my mum didn't know what I was talking about. She had forgotten it long ago.

    That night, I10with a new appreciation(感激)for my mother's caring hands. And the guilt(内疚)that I had carried around for so long was nowhere to be found.

    Doctor Carl was a very busy man. He always worked hard. He often forgot his families' birthdays. Yesterday afternoon he remembered(记得) it was his wife's(妻子的)birthday. He loved his wife. He wanted to give her a present. On his way home from hospital, he bought some beautiful flowers in a shop. When doctor Carl got home, he gave his wife the flowers and said, "Happy birthday to you, dear!" "It's April 20th today. I remembered your birthday this year. " Mrs. Carl laughed and said, "My birthday was the day before yesterday, but thank you all the same. Better late than never!"

Today，young people spend about six hours a day in front of a TV or a computer and less than four minutes playing outdoors.It is not healthy for the mind and the body when time spent using technology replaces outdoor time.

Some health experts call green time "vitamin G".Kids who don't get outdoors much are likely to have trouble in school.Doctors believe that is because being outdoors excites the mind more than sitting around indoors.Even those who usually spend a lot of time outdoors notice a difference when they don't get green time.Madelyne P，14，says ， "I feel more tired when I don't get outdoors."

Researchers believe the positive effects of green time come from the physical activity in pastimes such as hiking or boating.Exercise produces brain chemicals that improve learning，mood，and sleep.It also improves learning by increasing connections between nerve cells that are important in learning and memory.Some schools hold classes outside for those reasons.Student Hannah Smith，says she believes the outdoors helps her focus and gets her to learn.Learning in a forest sparked her interest in art and photography，too.

Even doctors are helping give their patients a dose of（一剂）vitamin G.Miller writes "park prescriptions （处方）"for her patients because，being outdoors is good for health.She finds that when she gives patients park prescriptions，they are likely to continue with them.

Getting outdoors can be simple，just like calling together your family for a picnic lunch.All it takes is five minutes or more of green time.

Get outside，and get your vitamin G!

People often say," Dogs are man's best friend." But cat lovers may not agree. Cats are becoming more popular in China. So, if you want to keep a cat as your pet, here are some things that you should know.

 Cats are great pets if you' re busy. They are great for small homes, because they don't need a lot of space(空间). They are quiet, too. sometimes they meow. Those cute sounds often mean your cat wants food, or it is saying hello.

What do pet cats eat? Those cats usually eat pet food. But in the wild, (野外) cats are carnivores, that means they only eat meat. Cats need more protein than dogs.

When you call your cat's name, it turns its head or does nothing at all. You may think your cat doesn't know its name. In fact, your cat knows its name. But most of the time, it just want to ignore (忽略) you and" be cool".

Cats are great pets if you know more about them. Don't you think so?