It was Jimmy's fifth birthday. He got quite a lot of nice birthday presents from his family, and one of them was a beautiful big drum(鼓).

    “Who gave him that thing?” Jimmy's father asked when he saw it.

    “His grandfather did,” answered Jimmy's mother.

    “Oh,” said his father.

     Of course, Jimmy liked his drum very much. He made a terrible noise with it, but his mother did not mind. His father was working during the day, and Jimmy was in bed when he got home in the evening, so he did not hear the noise.

    But one of the neighbours did not like the noise at all. So one morning a few days later, she took a knife and went to Jimmy's house while he was playing his drum. She said to him, “Hello, Jimmy. Do you know there's something very nice inside your drum? Here's a knife. Open the drum and let's find it.”

    Mark Twain is someone Americans are taught to love. Older relatives, English teachers and the media always praise him. But when you actually take the time to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, you find that his work is more wonderful than you could ever imagine.

    The novel describes a young boy named Tom Sawyer growing up in a small town along the Mississippi River. He explores the countryside on a riverboat with his friends, falls in love with girls, starts secret clubs and searches for treasure. Twain's idea of childhood is magical – a time of imagination, wonder and, of course, adventure.

    More importantly, through the eyes of Tom Sawyer, Twain cleverly makes fun of US culture. For example, Tom hates going to church, and Twain uses scenes of Tom there to mock religion and its old traditions.

    Twain's writing is full of these kinds of critical (批判的) points about culture and politics. That's why he is so loved in the US – he wasn't afraid to state his opinions, and he did so clearly.

    He also believed strongly in women's right to vote in elections and gave a famous speech on the subject, called "Votes for Women", in 1901.

    "Tom was a great hero once more – the pet of the old, the envy of the young," Twain writes in Tom Sawyer. But he could just as well be describing himself.

    Thomas Edison was born in 1847. When he was five, his father saw him sitting on some eggs, and asked what he was doing that for. He did not reply(回答). Instead he asked why he was not able to hatch(孵化)chickens while the hens could.

    Edison liked asking a lot of strange questions. His teacher did not understand him and said that he was not bright and was not worth teaching. His mother took him out of school and taught him herself.

    By the time he was ten, he had already built a small chemistry(化学) lab of his own. He planted vegetables in his garden and sold them.

    Once his mother was ill. The doctor said she needed an operation at once. But it was the night and the oil lamp in the room gave off poor light. Edison thought hard and had an idea. He put all the oil lamps he could find on a long table. Then he placed a big mirror(镜子)behind them. The room became quite bright. So the doctor could operate, and his mother was saved. At the age of twelve, Edison began selling candies, sandwiches and newspapers on the train. One day in August, 1862, Edison saw a boy playing on the tracks at a station. A train was coming near quickly, and the boy was too frightened to move. Edison rushed out and carried the boy to safety. The boy's father was the station master. He was so thankful that he taught Edison railway telegraphy(电报通讯术). This gave him a start in his life.

    How much pocket money do you get from your parents every month? Maybe 200 yuan. But for Li Beibei, 30 yuan each month is enough. The only thing she buys is lunch-1.5 yuan each day." Meat is too expensive for me, "said Li.

    Li, 14, is a Junior 1 student at Beijing's Xingzhi Experimental School. Her parents are migrant workers(外来务工人员).They came to Beijing from a village in Luohe, Henan two years ago. Her father now works as a cleaner and gets 500 yuan every month. Her mother has no job.

    Li Beibei has 460 friends at Xingzhi. Every day, Li gets up at 5:30 a.m. and rides her bike for 20 minutes to get to school. Like many teens, Li has a lot of homework-usually at least one hour every day. But that is not all her work. During the weekdays she helps her mum cook. At weekends, she helps wash clothes." I could cook when I was eight. Dad said sometimes I cook better than Mum！"Li said she wanted to be a doctor." I watch TV and find out there are many people with AIDS in He'nan. Some are kids. They need help," said Li.

    But she is afraid to leave school." I hope I will always be in school, "said Li." Dad works hard to get money. I promise him I will study hard to be a good student and a good doctor in the future."

    Ding-dong!

    "Jason, honey? Can you answer the door?"

    "I'm busy, mom!" Jason shouted back at his mother. He'd spent three hours so far working to his point in the gate. He couldn't stop now.

    Ding-dong! Mom's footsteps approached the front door.

    "Jason, it's your friend, Todd." Mom called from the doorway.

    Todd, his best friend, stepped into the room. "Jason! I need a partner for playing basketball. He sounded excited.

    Jason snorted, "No way, Todd. I'm playing a game here."

    Todd shook his head. "You can play later. Let go."

    Jason gave his friend a dirty look, and his character in the game almost got killed while he looked away, "I almost died because of you!

    Todd looked at Jason's mother. Jason's mother looked back at him. They both looked at Jason. "Why don't you play basketball with your friend?"Jason's mother suggested.

    "Tomorrow, maybe." there were more levels to beat tomorrow, though. Maybe he'd play tomorrow. He'd have to see what mood he was in. He thought he heard footsteps walking away, but he was too busy beating the next level to care.

    An hour later, Jason's father came home. It was dinner time after his father washed up and sat down. Jason didn't even hear his name being called to the table. He didn't hear his father walk up behind him and ask him to turn the game off, either.

    When the screen suddenly went black and his father's angry face loomed in front of him, Jason finally heard. "No more game for a month." Jason's father shouted at him. "You don't play basketball, you don't come to dinner, and you don't do your chores. We'll make sure everything else gets done before you play anymore."

    Jason nodded slowly. He knew better than to argue with father, and when he thought about it, he had been playing quite a bit. It was fun, but he was letting down(使失望) his friends，his family, and himself by playing too much.

    He'd try harder in the future.