It's 5 o'clock. SeanMurphy is on his way home from work. He is tired and the bus is full, but whenhe thinks of seeing his lovely family at home, his heart is full of joy again.

"I want to see mywife, my children and my mother," he thinks. "But first of all I wantto sit on the sofa. I want to relax and read a good book."

Finally Mr. Murphy isat home. He is very tired now but he is happy. He says hello to his family.Then he sits down on the sofa, stretches(伸展)hislegs and lifts up his book.

"Now I canrelax," he thinks and smiles. But Mr. Murphy is not alone in the room. Hismother is playing the guitar and his wife is playing the piano. His two youngerchildren are fighting and his two older children are arguing about thetelevision. And the pots and pans are bubbling on the cooker(炊具).

It's the same everyday. Poor Murphy is very unhappy. He talks to his friend about his problem at abus stop.

Mr. Murphy's friendlistens to him carefully. Then he says: "Go and see Linda McCormack! Sheis a very clever woman. She knows the answer to everything."

Mr. Murphy thinks itworth(值得)a try. The next day, whenhe gets home, he doesn't go into the house as usual. He goes to the garage(车库)and gets on his bike.

If you want to go shopping, think about how much money you can spend for new clothes.Think about the kind of clothes you really need.Then look for those clothes on sale.

There are labels (标签) inside all new clothes.The labels tell you how to take care of your clothes.The label for a shirt may tell you to wash it in warm water. A sweater label may tell you to wash it in cold water.The label on a coat may say "dry clean only". Washing with water may ruin (损坏) this coat. If you do as the directions on the label, you can keep your clothes looking their best.Many clothes today must be dry cleaned.Dry cleaning is expensive. When buying new clothes, check to see if they need to be dry cleaned.You will save money if you buy clothes that can be washed with water.

You can save money if you buy clothes that are well made.Well-made clothes last longer.They look good even after they have been washed many times. However, clothes that cost more money are not always better made.They do not always fit better.Sometimes less expensive clothes look and fit better than more expensive clothes.

 My son Laurie came home at the first lunchtime from the kindergarten* and shouted," Isn't anybody here?" " How was school today?" I asked." All right," he said." Did you learn anything?" his father asked. Laurie answered coldly," I didn't learn nothing." 

" But the teacher spanked* a boy," Laurie said," For being fresh*," he added, with his mouth full." What did he do?" I asked." Who was it?" Laurie thought." It was Charles." he said.

 The next day, as soon as he sat down at lunch," Well, Charles was bad again today. He said." Today Charles hit the teacher The next few days, Laurie still came home with tons of bad stories about Charles.

 During the third and fourth weeks it looked like a change in Charles. Laurie reported kindlessly," Charles was so good today the teacher gave him an apple." " What?" I said, and my husband added unbelievably," You mean Charles?" " Charles, Laurie said." He gave the crayons around and picked up the books and the teacher said he was her helper." zksq620

" Can this be true, about Charles?" I asked my husband." Can something like this happen?" " Wait and see," my husband said cynically*. Within a week, everything was back to normal and Charles was his usual, terrible self.

" The Parent meeting's next week," I told my husband one evening." I'm going to find Charles's mother there." " Ask her what happened to Charles," my husband said." I'd like to know." " I'd like to know myself'I said.

 At the meeting, I looked over the faces of all the other mothers. None of them looked unhappy enough to be the mother of Charles. No one stood up and apologised for the way her son had been acting.

 After the meeting, I found Laurie's teacher." I' ve been wanting to meet you," I said." I'm Laurie's mother." " Oh, yes," she said." We' re all so interested in Laurie." " He certainly likes kindergarten" I said." He talks about it all the time." " He's had some trouble getting used to school," she said." But I think he' ll be all right." " Laurie usually fits in quickly, I said." I suppose his trouble might be from Charles' influence." " Charles? the teacher said." Yes, I said, laughing." You must have your hands full with Charles." " Charles?" she said." We    don't    have    any    Charles    in    kindergarten." 

Why are the leaves on trees different colors? What makes them change color? Leaves use sunlight, water, and air to make food for the trees. This way of making food is called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is important to animals as well as plants. Some animals ea t plants. Other animals eat these animals.

Summer is playtime. For the leaves of many trees, however, it's work, work, work! The Sun is shining. The leaves are making food for the trees. The trees keep more than enough food deep inside. Leaves are green in summer because they are making food. Leaves also have orange, yellow, or brown colors inside them. During summer, those colors are covered by the green color.

Many places get colder in fall with shorter days and longer nights. Trees get less sunlight, so photosynthesis slows down. Over time, leaves stop making the green chemical. The hidden orange, yellow, and brown colors grow when that happens.

Once it gets cold enough and ice appears at night, the trees drop their leaves. They do this to keep themselves safe. If the leaves turn to ice while still on the trees, the trees can be hurt. Trees that drop their leaves are bare (光秃秃) in winter. They use the food they save in summer to get through the cold days and nights.

Spring comes before long. Ice and snow disappear and the rains come. The Sun shines, and tiny leaves grow from branches. Once again, the leaves use sunlight, water, and air to make food. The cycle(循环) begins again.