A

    A dog got away from his leash（拴狗颈的皮带）one day and went for a walk in the woods. After a time, he met a wolf.

    The dog said to the wolf, "Brother Wolf, you look so thin! How can you be happy when you are so thin? You should come to live with me and my master. I eat much every day and I never worry about food."

    The wolf thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, you are right. Why should I be out here in the wild hunting for small pieces of food when someone else will give it to me? And you are so well fed. Very well, I will come to live with you."

    "Good," said the dog, "then follow me."

    As they went to the dog's home, the wolf noticed a patch (斑点) around the dog's neck where the fur had been worn off.

    "Brother Dog," asked the wolf, "why do you have that patch around your neck where there is no fur?"

    The dog slowed down, stopped and turned to the wolf with sadness in his eyes.

    "That is where they place the leash around my neck. They do this so they can control me and keep me in my place," replied the dog, sadly.

    "Never!" said the wolf as he began to go back into the forest. "I would rather be hungry and free than be fat and as a slave."

From Nobody to Somebody

    Brian was a funny student. He loved watching comedies（喜剧） best and hoped to become a comedy actor one day.

    When he heard about the talent show to be held at this school, Brian decided to take part in. He had never acted on stage（舞台） before, and he was very excited. But some students laughed at him. “You are not funny but silly,” Ken, one of his classmates, said to his face. “No one will like what you do,” another boy also said to him, loudly.

    Brian couldn't understand why they were so unkind to him. For a moment, he thought about giving up the show. But he remembered how much his friends liked his jokes, and also his teachers said he was very funny. So he decided to prepare for the show.

    Brian did a great job at the talent show. Everyone loved his performance, and he won the first prize! His teachers and friends were proud of him. Even so, Ken told Brian that he was not funny, and that he would never be successful. Brian didn't understand why Ken said so, but he realized that it had nothing to do with him. He confidently continued to work towards his goal.

    As the years went on, Brian met more people like Ken. “you'll do a terrible job,” they said to him. Luckily, most people encouraged him and some helped him to become even funnier. He got a lot of opportunities to perform in movies. He was even invited to appear on television. His fans thanked him because his comedies made them feel good when they were unhappy.

    Now Brian is a big comedy star! He is doing what he loves best. He never feels stressed like those unkind people, and he laughs all day long!

    The Kennedy Elementary school band(乐队)is special. That's because Tony Boland, a member of it, is a 79-year-old flute(长笛)player. His story tells us that you're never too old to toot the flute.

    After working at the school for more than ten years, Tony joined the fifth graders in the band. His grandchildren were at the school. He help with reading.

    He started tooting the flute many years ago, when his wire tried to throw away(扔掉)their daughter s flute.

    "You will play better if you play with others," he told a reporter.

    Brian Enabnit thought Tony would make a difference to the band. "He's great. He's helping the students around him, "Enabnit said.

    Tony practises with the students once a week and performs with them. They played at the Dubuque Community School District's Band Festival earlier this month.

    Fifth-grade student Courtney Less thought her older classmate was successful. "He's an excellent player," Courtney said. "All of us are afraid when giving a performance, but he isn't."

    For Schultz, a 77-year-old man, this is a chance of a lifetime.Schultz is part of a group of around 50 Germans who are on a bus journey along the ancient Silk Road.

    Speaking of his journey, he says, "I have been deeply interested in the Silk Road since I was a child ,but now I finally have a chance to experience it."

    The two-month bus journey will take the group through Germany ，Russia and other 4 European countries. They will then enter China from the country's western part. It will be an unforgettable memory for them.

    Nearly half of the 13,000-kilometer trip will be inside China. From Xinjiang in the west to Shanghai in the east, the German visitors will see more than 20 Chinese cities. "We have managed the trip of the Silk Road for around 10 years. An increasing number of people, not only from German-speaking countries ,have been joining us ,"says Liu Guoqiang from China Tours.

    Almost 26 million foreigners traveled to China in 2015, and about 5 million of them were from Europe. Beijing ,Xi'an , Shanghai and the Changjiang River are traditional Chinese travel destinations(目的地) for European tourists. Speaking of where he wants to go ,Schultz says ,"Compared with modern cities ,the culture in western China attracts(吸引)me more."

    As Shi Xiang head of the China Tours, says ,"Being a new brand to attract foreign visitors ,the Silk Road is good for people to know more about China ,especially the northwestern part of the country."

    (China Daily)

    Mrs Wilson, the middle-aged wife of a rich businessman, invited some of her friends to lunch. She was very anxious to try a new way of cooking a fish dish, and she was very pleased with herself when the dish was ready. As the dish was very 1, she put it near the open window to cool it for a few minutes.2, five minutes later, when she came back for it, she was frightened to find her neighbour's cat, Chester, at the dish. Luckily she was3to stop the cat from eating the fish. That afternoon was a great success and everyone enjoyed the dish very much.

    At the end of the afternoon, while she was4, Mrs Wilson felt tired but happy. She was in an armchair just near the window, when through the window she was surprised to see the neighbour's cat5in the garden. Why, the fish dish must be poisonous (有毒的). What would happen to her friends? She at once phoned the family doctor for advice. The doctor told her to telephone each of the visitors to meet him at the hospital as soon as possible. Finally, the danger was 6. Once again Mrs Wilson was alone in her armchair in the living room, still tired but7happy. Just then, the phone rang. It was her neighbour. "Oh, Millie, her neighbour cried, "Chester is dead. She was killed by someone in the car and thrown in your garden. "