It was nearly seven o'clock, when a man walked into a bar, ordered a drink and turned to watch the television.

    The seven o'clock news was on and it was showing a man standing on top of a tall building. He was looking down at the crowd of people below.

    On the ground, a police officer with a megaphone(扩音器)was trying to tell him not to jump.

    "Let's talk about your problem," the police officer was saying. "Perhaps we can help you."

    The man turned to the bartender(酒吧侍者)and said, "I bet you a hundred dollars he doesn't jump.

    The bartender looked at him. "You're offering me a hundred dollars if he jumps? Is that right?"

    "Yes. I don't think he'll jump."

    The bartender smiled. "OK. You've got a bet."

    The man turned back to the TV and watched it carefully. The bartender, however, did not seem to be very interested. He continued washing glasses and serving the other customers.

    Then, after about five minutes, the man on the building threw himself off the building and fell to the ground.

    The man in the bar turned to the bartender.

    "He jumped," he said. "You win."

    He held out a hundred dollar bill to the bartender, but the bartender would not take it.

    "I can't take your money," he said. "I knew I couldn't lose. That story was on the six o'clock news. I saw him jump."

    "Well, yes, so did I," the man said, "but I didn't think he'd do such a stupid thing twice."

Mr. and Mrs. Albino, with 64 children, have the world's largest family. Not one of their children is adopted(领养).

When people hear about the Albinos' large family, the first question they ask is, "How is it possible? How can one woman give birth to 64 children in her lifetime?" The answer is simple: {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Soon after the Albinos got married, the children came quickly, in twos and threes. The first 21 children were boys. Mrs. Albino loved her sons, but she wanted a daughter very much.

The Albinos spent the early years in Argentina. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} To travel from Argentina to Chile, they had to cross the Andes Mountains. Mr. and Mrs. Albino and their 21 sons made the difficult, two-week journey on mules. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

During the snowstorm, Mrs. Albino gave birth to triplets, a boy and two girls!

The oldest Albino children are in their thirties and forties. They are on their own now, but 18 of the Albino children still live with their parents. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The shack has electricity but no toilet or running water. The children wash in a small bowl in the dusty backyard.

At times there is very little food in the Albinos' small house when there is not enough food for everyone, Mrs. Albino makes sure the youngest children do not go hungry. "The smallest eat first, and then the bigger ones. We've always done it that way," she says. Obviously, the Albinos do not have enough money for their big family, then, do they continue to have children?

The Albinos do not use birth control because it is against their religion(宗教). They could let other people take care of their children, but Mrs. Albino will not allow it, "When my two brothers and I were babies," she says, "our mother left us at an orphanage(孤儿院) and never returned. We lived there together until we were five. Then a couple adopted my brothers and I was left behind. I was heartbroken.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Even if I didn't have much money, I would always take care of my children by myself." Mrs. Albino has kept her promise.

    In 2009 a group of parents in Lymington started sharing worries about their children's money-management skills. Pocket money was now stored in a building society rather than a piggy bank (储蓄罐); household shopping was done online; the children rarely saw their parents handling cash. They were spending online, too. Money had become intangible. How, then, were children to learn its value?

The answer they came up with was GoHenry, an app now available in America as well as Britain. It is designed to help young people learn good spending habits through real-world money activities. Parents sign up with their own bank accounts and pay a monthly fee of £2.99 or $3.99 for each child aged six or over. Adults and children download separate versions. Parents can schedule pocket money and set chores. When those are marked as done, the child is paid the agreed amount. Parents can see what the child has bought and where. And they can choose where the card can be used: in shops, online or at ATMs.

Children get cards printed with their name. They can put money in savings pots, view their spending and balances, and set savings targets. "They could decide to save ten dollars for a friend's birthday in four weeks' time, or set a goal at 12 to have $2,000 to buy a car at age 18," says Dean Brauer, one of GoHenry's founders. "The app tells them how much to save each week to meet their goal."

A big benefit of such apps is that they inspire family conversations about money. According to the latest research, more than half of British parents find the subject hard to discuss with their children. And yet most agree that children's attitudes to money are formed in their early years.

Some GoHenry customers are wealthy parents who worry that their children will grow up with little knowledge of money. Others have slim incomes but regard the app as a preparation for their child's future. Some say that they have been in debt and want their children to avoid that mistake when they grow up; others that the app is cost-effective because their children learn to plan spending. Even though young people no longer touch and hold money, they can still be taught to handle it well.

Dear Tony,

I go to a new school in Cambridge now. I like it very much. I'm making a lot of new friends. 

I'm studying new subjects, like science. It's very interesting. We're using computers and learning how to use the Internet. We write e-mails(电子邮件) to people in different countries. I'm learning how people live in different countries. It's great!

We do P. E. on Wednesday in the afternoon, Sometimes we stay in the sports hall to do sports and I like that too. I play basketball after school on Mondays. I like playing basketball a lot. I'm enjoying my new school!

Write and tell me what you're doing in your school in China!

John 

难度系数：★★★

"Cindy…Soloist (独唱者)." I couldn't believe it—on the cover of the program was my name rather than Renee's! 

Renee and I had been classmates since kindergarten. She was always 1 I was and she was always ahead of me. The school plays? Renee would have the 2 . Softball? She played first base (垒) while I watched her from my 3 in the outfield. 

Trying out for the choir (合唱团) concert was a 4 process for me. As we were waiting for Ms. Jenkins's call into the choir room. my heart 5 . My whole body began shaking when my name was called. Then I saw Renee's smile and her 6 relaxed me. 

A week later, Ms. Jenkins announced the result. I was certain that Renee's name would be on the 7 while mine wouldn't. But finally, Ms. Jenkins looked at me and said, "Cindy, you will have to start practicing with me. The solos need more8 ."

"Solo? I got the solo?" I 9 this. But Renee just gave me the thumbs up sign. 

The big day came. The choir walked onto the stage (舞台) and I was front and center. The spotlight 10 me in its bright light, but I froze right there. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I couldn't sing. The note started up and then 11 in my throat. 

"You can do it, Cindy!" Renee whispered behind. I took a deep breath and sang out. All that came out was an unpleasant 12 But in that same moment, came the pure tone of the right note. My voice 13 and matched Renee's. When the next note came, it was all me. 

The rest of the solo went 14 . And when the concert was over, there came a burst of loud applause (掌声). Renee was the first to 15 me. 

"Thanks, Renee!"

Renee smiled, "That's what friends are for!"

"Friends?" I smiled, beginning to love the feeling of being her friend. 

When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in a new soldier school in Ashland and not sure if I could make it home for the holidays. On the afternoon of December 23, we were told some of us would have three-day holidays posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers.

It was Christmas Eve when I arrived home, and a light snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see over her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood. There were lights all colors shining in the green of the tree.

"Where did it come from?" I asked.

I asked the gate boy to cut it" my mother said. "I wouldn't have had one just for myself, but you called in such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon."

The tree was almost as tall as the room, and the Tree Top Star was in its place. A few branches reached about a little disorderly at the side, I thought, and there was a big bare branch（树枝） showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with the pleasant smell of Christmas.

"It's not like the one you want to find, " my mother went on. "Yours were always in good shape and you were good at it. I think the gate boy didn't know where to look for a better one." "Don't worry." I told her. "It's perfect."

It wasn't, of course, but at the moment I understood for the first time, all Christmas trees are perfect.