Many years ago, an earthquake happened suddenly. A lot of buildings collapsed(倒塌)。 It killed over 100,000 people in a few minutes. Shortly after the earthquake, a father rushed to the school where his son studied only to find the building had fallen down. He remembered his promise to his son:“No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you!”The tearful father began to dig to look for his son. Some parents felt hopeless and tried to pull him off. But he asked,“Are you going to help me now?”And then he kept on digging. The fireman came.They tried to pull off and said,“Danger! Leave here!” But the father who loved his son deeply,asked,“Are you going to help me now?”The policeman came up and said,“It's over.Leave here!We'll do it.”Still he asked again and again,“Are you going to help me now?”He went on alone because he needed to know,“Is my boy alive or is he dead?” He dug for 8 hours ...12 hours... 24 hours …36 hours …then, in the 38^th hours, he pulled back a large stone And heard his son's voice. He cried,“Tom!”He heard back,“Dad? It's me, Dad! I told other kids you'd save me. I believe you would keep your promise.”"Get out, boy!”“No dad! Let the other kids out first. Because I know you'll get me out! No matter what happens, I know you'll always be there for me!”

    The famous scientist and thinker, Charles Darwin, was born on February 12, 1809. His family lived not far from the River Severn, England. As a boy, Charles liked to go for walks in the fields and forests. He enjoyed watching nature, and comparing what he saw with everything he had read in science books. He also liked collecting very much. He collected many things, birds, eggs, stones and leaves.

    At sixteen Darwin was sent to Edinburgh University to become a doctor. But he was interested in the history of nature.

    Then he was sent to study in Cambridge University. There he studied until 1831.

    Some time later he heard that the ship Beagle was going on a trip to South America and wanted a scientist. His teacher advised him to go. So when the Beagle left England in December, 1831, Darwin was on it. The trip lasted almost five years. Darwin saw many new plants and animals. He collected all kinds of plants.

    In 1842 Darwin went to live in Kent, and there he continued his studies of change in nature. Darwin understood that plants and animals are not always the same, and that they really change. By 1859 Darwin had finished his famous book The Origin of Species.

    In 1871 Darwin wrote another important book, the Theory of Evolution.

    Darwin continued his studies in science until he died in 1882.

    Once upon a time, a hippo(河马) lived in a river next to a big tree.

One day, a bird came and nested(筑巢) in the tree. The songs of the bird filled the hippo with so much envy(羡慕) that he couldn't think of anything else. Every day he would think why he wasn't born to be a bird even though the bird told him many times he was so lucky to be so big and such a good swimmer.

    Finally, the hippo made up his mind that he would come out of the river, climb the tree, and start singing. However, when he tried to climb the tree, it was very clear that the hippo didn't have wings, nor claws to climb with Realizing that he would never climb up the tree, he angrily hit the tree until it came crashing to the ground. Then he stepped onto the leaves of the fallen tree, and began singing.

    Unfortunately, hippos can't sing either. All that came from his mouth were terrible noises, and when the other animals heard this, they all came around to make fun of the hippo.

    He was so ashamed of this. He also felt bad about having knocked the tree over. He used all his strength to raise the tree back up again, and looked after it until it completely recovered(康复).

    Megan and Mia are sisters. They are the same age, have the same last name, and live in the same house. You might think the sisters are twins, but they aren't. They started their lives in very different places.

    Before Mia was born, her parents decided to adopt(收获)a little girl from China. Their plan was to adopt a girl: she would be an age in between their son, Michael, and the new baby. But that's not how it worked out. Mia was born, and soon. Their parents learned they could go to China to adopt Megan She was three months younger than baby Mia.

    The girls are in the same grade, but not in the same class. They don't share clothes or toys or even hobbies. But they share some of the same friends. And when the sisters fight, it's usually about friends. "Sometimes one of us thinks that the other is stealing(偷)friends, so we fight," Megan says.

    The girls have their own rooms. "If I have a bad dream or see a scary（恐怖的）movie, Mia will let me sleep in her room, "Megan says. "We can give each other help and advice," Mia says." And we keep each other's secrets."

    Megan says she is so thankful for her family, but sometimes she feels sad. "I feel sad when people say, "You don't look like them!" she says. "Maybe you can't see it right away, but it's so clear that Mia and I are sisters. We'll always be there for each other."

    Jim gets up very early and he finds some changes in his house. He looks around carefully and he sees that:

    The big tree is on the right side of the house, but now it's on the left.

    There is a dog house in the corner of the yard, but now it's gone. Where is the dog house?

    The green clock in his bedroom changes into a yellow one.

    "Mom! Mom! An alien(外星人)changes our house!" Jim runs to his mom and says. Mom is cleaning the living room. She's not surprised(惊讶的)at all. "Oh, it's your dad. He thinks our house is too boring and he wants to have some changes. What do you think of the changes? Do you like them?"