It's Sunday. Children don't go to school on Sundays. But Kate gets up early in the morning. “It's my birthday. I'm eight years old today.” she thinks, “Where are Dad and Mum? I want to know what they can give me for my birthday.”

    Her father and mother are not at home. They are going shopping. And now they are talking about what to buy for Kate.

—Dad: How about the doll? It looks nice. I think Kate would like the doll.

—Mom: I don't think so. She is not a little girl. I think she likes a new dress. Girls often like new dresses very much.

—Dad: But she has a few new dresses and some new blouses. Oh, I think she must be very happy to have a box of colorful pencils and some picture books. Do you think so?

— Mom: Yes. Let's go over there and buy them.

C

    June lived in a small southern village (村庄). It was very hot there. She had a friend named Dec. Dec lived in a cold northern village. They often wrote to each other. June liked reading Dec's letters very much. He often talked about snow. She wished she could see it herself.

    One day, June wrote a letter to Dec and asked him to send her snowflakes(雪花). A few days later, she got a box from Dec. Dec said that he sent her many snowflakes in the box. June was excited. But after she opened the box, she found no snowflakes, only water. June cried. She cried for a long time until she slept.

    Then she had a dream. She dreamt that a snowflake talked with her. The snowflake told her that she only needed to make a wish to see snow. She then wished as hard as she could for snow. The next morning, June got up. She remembered her dream and her wish. She then ran out. The earth was covered with white snow. It snowed!

    This was the best gift for June! She really liked it.

    In Los Angeles, a waiter served a group of teens. The waiter remembered his experience as a young high school prudent. So he made sure the teens had a pleasant experience at the restaurant. The waiter made sure of it.

    After serving all the teens doing a great job, he was left a tip（小费）,only $3.28. That was hardly enough to buy a drink at Roebucks.

    The waiter went home. And he felt hatred for the students who did not know the value of hard work. They looked down on people like him. Or so he thought.

    After several days, the waiter forgot about it. His life went on as usual. But ten days later, he received a letter from the teens.

    “About a week and a half ago, on October 7, my three friends and I came to eat at this restaurant as our own homecoming celebration. It was an exciting experience for us to be here alone, and it was all new to us. And you were the best waiter we could ask for. You were kind, helpful, and didn't treat us like babies! So I want to say thank you for making our 'groan-up' experience so amazing and fun.

    “I would also like to say sorry on behalf of(代表) my group. Since we were new to all of this, reasonable(合乎情理)，but we had completely forgotten(and didn't know, to be honest) what a tip even was, let alone how much to give. So we emptied our pockets, and all our money added up to $3.28.

    “Having no idea of how small this really was, we left. Later, we realized our mistake and felt terrible. We knew we had to make it right.

    “So together with this letter, you will find the correct 18% tip + extra for simply being amazing. Thank you for your help and patience and also thank you for making our night fun. Thank you!”

    Li Ming is staying with the Wang's family for the weekend.

    Today it is warm and fine. The family are having dinner in the garden. They often have dinner in the garden on a warm and fine spring day. Now Mr. and Mrs. Wang are sitting at table with Li Ming under a tree.

    "It's great to have dinner out here on such a lovely day," Mrs. Wang says. "What's the weather like in your home town, Li Ming?" Mr. Wang asks. "It's not very warm in spring. But I like the spring there best." "Help yourself to some cakes, Li Ming," Mrs. Wang says. "Thanks," says Li Ming. "The cakes are very nice. I enjoy the dinner very much. "

    The mystery(悬疑) stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are famous all over the world.

    The detective in his stories is called Sherlock Holmes. He solves mysteries in a most surprising way. Through it all, his assistant, Dr Watson, watches with admiration(钦佩). Watson then writes up the story of the mystery afterwards.

    This is a useful story writing skill. Because Watson is not very clever, the story remains a mystery until the end. The readers can sometimes pick up some clues before he does! Then, to make Watson understand the mystery, Holmes has to explain it all, step by step. So we, the readers, get to see it step by step too. Watson is almost as good a character in the story as Sherlock Holmes!

    The very first time they meet, Holmes greatly surprises Watson. When they are first introduced, Holmes says to Watson, "How do you do? I see you have been to Afghanistan.”

    Watson is too amazed by this to ask Holmes how he knows this. Watson has, indeed, been to Afghanistan. Later, he asks Holmes about it. Holmes explains that there is nothing magical about what he does. He gets to know it all by very, very careful observation (观察).

Observation One

    Watson was introduced to Holmes as a doctor. Yet Holmes thought that the way he stood and walked made him seem like a soldier. So, this meant he was probably an army doctor.

Observation Two

    Watson's face was quite dark skinned. But his wrists(手腕) were pale. So his dark face was probably sunburnt. This meant that he had been to a hot, sunny country. As he was a working doctor, this was not a holiday. He must have gone with the army.

Observation Three

    At the time, the British army had soldiers at bases in many parts of the world. So there were still a lot of places to choose from. However, Holmes saw that Watson looked very tired and he was always holding his left arm, as if it was painful. So, he had probably been with the army to a place where they were fighting. There was only one place where the British army was fighting at that time: Afghanistan.