James William comes from America. People call him “Big Cat” because he's two meters tall. He is famous because he plays for the Chicago Bears, an American football team . American football is different from European  football . American football players need to be big and strong , so James needs to eat a lot .

    Every day James has three big meals . For breakfast ,he has orange juice , fruit , bread , milk , eggs and cakes. For lunch , he has fish , meat ,vegetables and ice cream. He loves ice cream best.

In the evening he has his big meal, tomato soup, pork and beef, potatoes, chicken, rice and his favorite chocolate cakes.

    But that isn't everything , James also eats between meals, bread, hamburgers, sweets and two or three bars of chocolates.

    Martina looked out of the window. A robin was singing a lively song in the tree. At this time, Grandpa, who lived with the family since Grandma had died, came in. He looked at the floor as if looking for something. He said, "When the robin sings..." he stopped, trying to remember what he had started to say.

    "Spring is here," Mum finished the sentence. "And I'm thinking of our spring cleaning," Mum suggested. "Martina, you can help me, right?" Martina agreed unwillingly.

    They cleaned the house. They cleaned upstairs, downstairs, inside, outside, until everything was clean. Then Mum pointed to Grandpa's sofa and shouted. "That old sofa has got to go. We'll buy Grandpa a new one."

    It was true and Martina had to agree. The sofa was really old. As they tried to move the sofa, Grandpa stood in their way. "You can't take my sofa," he shouted.

    "It's old," Mum said. Grandpa tried to push his sofa back into place. "We'll buy you a new one," Mum promised.

    "I don't want a new one," Grandpa insisted. Mum let go of the sofa. "We'll talk about it tonight when John gets home." John, Martina's dad, was still at work.

    "Why don't you let us take away the sofa? It's too old!" Martina asked when the family were having supper. Grandpa shook his head and said, "I sat in this sofa, with your grandma right here, when I asked her to marry me. It was so long ago, but when I sit in this sofa and close my eyes I feel she is near."

    "It's amazing," Martina thought, "how Grandpa can remember things from the past. These days he forgets almost everything."

    The old man smiled to Martina and went on. "And the night your father was born, I sat in this sofa. I was nervous when they placed the little baby into my arms."

    "I think I'm beginning to understand," Martina said. "Many years later," Grandpa continued, "I sat in this sofa when the doctor called and told me that your grandma was ill. I was lost without her, but the sofa gave me the comfort."

    "I do see now," Martina looked at Grandpa. "This is not just an old sofa. This sofa is more like a friend." "Yes," Grandpa added. "We've got through a lot together." The whole family agreed that the living room would be boring without the old sofa.

    I made a pledge(发誓) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.

    The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting (引用) a Biblical(圣经的) passage about husbands being thoughtful(体贴的) of their wives. Then he went on to say. "Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love. "To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change

    And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, "That new yellow sweater looks great on you."

    "Oh, Tom, you noticed," she said, surprised and pleased, maybe a little puzzled.

    After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, "Evelyn's been alone here with the kids all the week and now she wants to stay with me." We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

    So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that's how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love. There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. Last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

    "What's the matter?" I asked her.

    "Tom," she said in a voice filled with distress, "do you know something I don't?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Well…that checkup(体检)I had several weeks ago… our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you've been so good to me…am I dying?"

    It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.

   "No, honey, "I said, wrapping her in my arms." You're not dying; I'm just starting to live."

    Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one August afternoon, I thought of my unforgettable experience in my own childhood. When I was a boy of twelve in South Carolina, something happened to me that made me never put any wild creature in a cage.

We lived near a forest, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. Their singing is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

    I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way, I would have my own private musician.

    I finally succeeded in catching a young bird and put it in a cage. At first, being frightened, the bird fluttered(扑腾) in the cage, but finally it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing rom my little musician.

    On the second day, my new pet's mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.

    The following morning when I went to see the bird again, I found it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was terribly surprised! What had happened! I had taken good care of my little bird.

    Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, who happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had happened. "Mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poisonous berries(毒莓). She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in a cage."

    Since then I have never caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.

    One morning, a hungry fox (狐狸) sees a chicken. He thinks, "Great! This is my breakfast." He comes up to the chicken and says, "Good morning, Miss Chicken. I hear you can sing very well. Can you sing a song for me?" The chicken is happy to hear that. She closes her eyes and begins to sing. The fox sees that and catches her in his mouth and takes her away. The farmers on the farm see the fox. They shout, "Look! Look! The fox is taking the chicken away." The chicken says to the fox, "Mr Fox, can you hear? The people say you are taking their chicken away. Tell them I am yours, not theirs." The fox opens his mouth and says, "Miss Chicken is mine, not yours." Just then the chicken runs away from the fox and flies into the tree.