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."

Last Tuesday I took my two daughters, aged four and five, to town by1. It began to rain hard so I decided I would leave the children in the car before I went quickly into a shop. I2 the girls not to touch anything and told them I would be3 within a few minutes. Then I 4 all the doors and 5 them happily looking out of the window.

I returned to the car in less than five minutes but the girls had disappeared! I could hardly believe my eyes. The car doors were6 locked, the windows 7 shut and on the back seat were only two coats. I was8 and ran to the comer of the street where there was no9 of them. I rushed up to an10 lady nearby and asked 11 she had seen two small girls but she said" No". Feeling sick with fear, I sat on the driver's seat, and. 12to stop trembling (颤抖). Suddenly, I heard a merry laugh behind me. I got out of the car, ran round to open the boot (汽车后备箱) and there inside were two very red-faced and. 13 children. They had obviously pulled out the back seat, 14 behind it and then they were unable to push the seat forward again. With tears in my15, I leaned forward and pulled their ears.

Why Live Near the River?

Imagine pioneers traveling west in the 1800s. In those days, it was hard to find running water and shops where to buy things. As time went by, most pioneers had to make their homes near a river so that they could get water easily.

How did rivers help people live in the past?

Back in the pioneer days, people grew their own food, caught their own fish, and collected their own water.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}People also used rivers as roads, traveling on boats. Traders shipped goods (货物) to people from other areas.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

When building many factories right next to rivers for the water's power to make machines work, some people choose to live near a river for working. They use the river to ship large goods, and some of them work at these factories where power factories provide electricity for homes and businesses.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Who wouldn't want to live near a river?

Some people are nervous about living near rivers because rivers can cause floods (洪水). Every once in a while, floodwaters rise higher than a house, ruining (毁坏) many things in the house.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Such waste causes water to smell bad and pollutes the crops (作物) we eat. Water and crops in polluted areas can make people very sick.

How do people decide where to live?

 {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Rivers can provide jobs and fun activities in a beautiful place. However, those living by rivers should be willing to accept possible problems as well.

 Cindy is a middle school student. She likes shopping very much.

 It is New Year's Day today. Many stores are at a great sale. So Cindy's mother and Cindy go shopping after lunch.

 They are in a store now. Cindy sees a note that says"BOGOF!". She asks a saleswoman what that is. The saleswoman says to her," It is‘ buy one, get one free(免费)'."

 That sounds good! Cindy finds a shirt for 30 yuan. Cindy's mother wants to buy a skirt . It is 30 yuan, too. So Cindy buys a yellow shirt and her mother buys a white skirt.

 Cindy and her mother are very happy.