I'm Liu Li. I am a middle school student now. It seems that my life has changed a lot in the last few years. For example, I used to have short hair, but now it grows long. I used to be afraid of the sea because I didn't know how to swim, but now I am a good swimmer in our school. I used to be short but now I'm tall. As for eating, I used to eat meat but now I eat more vegetables than meat. When I was younger, I didn't use to read any books, but now I like reading storybooks. When I was in primary school, I used to play football after school, but now I have to go right home and do homework, I didn't use to like math and I used to be terrified of tests, but now I like all the subjects and never mind tests any more. In the past, I used to have time chatting with my parents, but now I hardly ever chat. I have to study. I miss the old days.

    Do you have to be very smart to live a happy life? The character of McDull (麦兜) tells you that this is not true. He is famous for having a birthmark on his right eye. He is not very clever, but he has a heart of gold. He is also happy, with lots of dreams. McDull wanted to visit the Maldives (马尔代夫). But his mother didn't have enough money for a trip there. So she lied to him and took him to a place called Hong Kong. The place has a sign that says, “Go to the Maldives.” It made McDull very happy. He thought he was really excited in the Maldives!

    McDull is just a common pig. He has many dreams, but they never come true. That doesn't stop him trying. McDull lives his life in a simple and happy way. His idea towards life is “Never give up”.

    The cartoon pig character was created in Hong Kong by Alice Mark and Brian Tse. McDull first showed up as a character in the McMug comics. McMug is another cartoon pig. But McDull is more popular with a huge number of fans everywhere!

    Once Effendi had a joke with the Prime Minister（宰相）. He said that the Minister would die the next day. The next day，the Minister fell on to the ground from a horse and really died. When the king learned this，he got angry and sent his men to catch Effendi at once.

    When Effendi was brought to him，the king shouted angrily," Effendi, since you knew when my Minister would die, you must know the date of your own death.

    Say it out, or you'll die today. "Effendi looked at the king for a while.  Then he answered, "But how can I know? I'll die two days earlier than you. "The king was afraid that if he killed Effendi, he himself would die after that. He thought he must keep Effendi alive as long as possible, so he let Effendi go.

    On April 19th, a pottery (陶器) exhibition was held at Wuhan Optical Experimental Valley School. Many pieces of pottery in different sizes were shown at the school. Some were a bit broken, but all of them were beautiful works of art created by the students.

    At the end of last year, the school started a project that called on teachers to collect disused or broken pieces of pottery from the countryside. So far, they have collected about 3,000 pieces.

    "Pottery used to play an important role in the daily lives of Chinese people." school head Ma Guoxin told the reporter. "By pottery painting, the students can improve themselves in many ways. They can better understand the history of the pottery, put their creativity into the pottery and show the love for life and beauty. "

    Students turned the pottery into different works of art .They were all encouraged to paint pictures on the pottery, even though some students didn't know how to paint. Wang Zixuan, a student from Grade Eight, with little knowledge of painting, painted a beautiful night scenery on a piece of pottery. It was so nice that many students loved it.

    Almost every classroom has coloured pieces of pottery. They are either used as flowerpots or pen containers(笔筒). The school has also set up several art corners to show the pottery. For example, the students have put up some pottery on bookcases outside of a lecture hall(报告厅) It has become an enjoyable place for students to rest and read.

    Once Mr. King had a cat, and he loved it very much. He called it "Sky", because he thought "Sky" was the strongest (最强的) name in the world.

    One day he had a meal at a restaurant with his cat. He met his old friend. He told him about his lovely cat and its name. His friend said, "How silly you are! Sky is not the strongest thing in the world. My cat is called ‘Cloud' because cloud is stronger than sky." After hearing this, Mr. King called his cat "Wind" because he thought wind was stronger than cloud.

    After a few days he suddenly (突然) thought that "Wall" was stronger than wind. And "Mouse" was stronger than the wall. So he went to his friend to ask for an idea. His friend said, "Don't you think 'Cat' is stronger than the mouse?" "Yes, but…"

    The man thought and thought and then decided his cat's name had better be "Cat" because a mouse was always afraid of a cat. Don't you think Mr. King is very silly or funny?