A man has a cat. He likes her very much. At mealtime (吃饭时间) the cat sits at the table with him. The man eats with a knife and a fork, but the cat eats from her plate (盘子). Sometimes, when she finishes her dish, her master will give her a bit of his food. He shares his meal with her. One day the cat is not at the table at mealtime.

    “Ah! Where is my cat?” asks the man.

    His wife says, “Can't you eat without her?”

    So the meal begins without the cat. Before lunch is over, the cat rushes into the room and jumps onto the chair quickly. She has two mice in her mouth, and before anyone can stop her, she drops(扔下) one into her own plate, and the other into her master's plate.

    “Dear me!” cries the woman, “A mouse is in your plate!”

    “Hush(安静)!” says her husband. “This shows that she is a nice cat. She knows what friendship is. She wishes me to share her dinner as I often share mine with her, I am not so unhappy.”

B

    Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the world might still be in the dark at night. However, the electric light was not his only invention. Nearly every two weeks, he created something new.

    Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He attended school for only three months. His mother taught him at home, but he was mostly self-educated. He started trying out his new ideas at a very young age.

    When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train. He did experiments on the train in his spare time. Unluckily, his first work experience didn't end well. He was fired when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the train. Then Edison worked as a telegraph operator (电报员) for five years, but he continued to spend much of his time creating things until the vote recorder (投票计数器), his first invention, came in 1868.

    Thomas Edison was nearly deaf in one ear, but he never minded. Because of this, he could have more time for work. He always worked 16 out of every 24 hours. Sometimes his wife had to remind him to eat and sleep. Thomas Edison died at the age of 84. He left many inventions that greatly improved the quality of life all over the world.

    On the first day in her new house，Mouse wrote a letter to her old friend.

    On the way to the post office, Mouse saw Beaver. He gave Mouse a big smile.

   "Perhaps I should say hello, "thought Mouse." Beaver's teeth are so long and sharp（锋利的）. Beaver wouldn't make a good friend. Not like Vole, whose smile was kind." So Mouse left without saying hello.

    After lunch, Mouse heard a knock on her door. Then she peeked（偷看）out the window. It was Squirrel.

   "Perhaps I should invite her in for tea, "thought Mouse." But Squirrel talks a lot. Squirrel wouldn't make a good friend. Not like Vole, who always listened." So Mouse didn't open the door.

    That night, Mouse looked at a picture of herself and Vole. She thought back to the first time she met Vole. She remembered feeling afraid-afraid of Vole's eyes and Vole's large size.

    In fact, Vole had seemed so different that Mouse almost decided Vole wouldn't make a good friend.

    Mouse realized something." I made a mistake!" she cried.

    The next morning, Mouse made some cakes and put them in a basket.

    She went to Beaver's house first, and next to Squirrel's house.

    When Mouse returned home, she was smiling. She went to her desk and wrote a letter to Vole.

    Mr. Black was walking in the forest. He was scared when he heard a terrible noise. But he could not get out of the forest. His friends were waiting for him in a village outside the forest. They would give him a lot of money if he took a tiger to them, or they were going to laugh at him.  

    Mr. Black liked hunting（打猎）. He usually killed some birds and small animals. But a week before, after he drank too much, he called himself a brave hunter（勇敢的猎人）. So his friends bet（打赌）him twenty thousand dollars if he could kill a tiger.

    Suddenly, he heard a little noise. He ran to a big tree, and climbed up it quickly. He didn't come down until he saw it was a farmer. He went close to him and asked," Excuse me, sir. Are there any tigers in the forest?"

    "Yes," said the farmer. "I saw a lot of tigers' tracks about a kilometer north near here."

    "Good!" Mr. Black said in a hurry. "Which way is to the south, then?"