Once a king got two nice falcons(猎鹰)from his son. He had never seen such beautiful falcons before. He loved them so much and he ordered the best falconer to train them to fly.

    After several months, the king came to see how the training was going on. He found that one falcon had already been able to fly high in the sky, while the other was staying on the branch(树枝) of a tree quietly, just keeping still.

    The king called all his falcons together and ordered them to try every way they could to make the other falcon fly. But none of them succeeded. One day, while the king was taking a walk in the forest, an idea came to his mind. Maybe someone who knew the natural environment well could solve this problem. He sent for a farmer who lived in the forest into his palace to train it at once.

    The next morning, the king saw the other falcon flying above in the sky freely. “It is unbelievable !” shouted the king. How could you make it happen?”

    The farmer replied, “It's very easy. I just cut off the branch where the falcon rested.”

    It is always the same to human beings. We all have “two flying wings” in our hearts as well, but we often seem not to notice them and stay where we just for safety and comfort. We won't realize we can fly so high and freely until the “branch” we are resting on breaks.

    Ann is my classmate. She comes from New York, and she lives in Shanghai with her parents now. Every morning, she goes to KFC to have breakfast. Sometimes she buys a hamburger for me. She can't speak Chinese well. In the evening, her father often helps her with it. He's a teacher in our school. He can speak Chinese very well.

    Ann thinks the school life(生活)in China is very interesting. Ann likes reading Chinese books because she wants to know more about China. She tries(努力)to talk with her Chinese friends in Chinese. She hopes to speak Chinese well. She is very happy to live in China. She loves people here.

    Li Ming is staying with the Wang's family for the weekend.

    Today it is warm and fine. The family are having dinner in the garden. They often have dinner in the garden on a warm and fine spring day. Now Mr. and Mrs. Wang are sitting at table with Li Ming under a tree.

    "It's great to have dinner out here on such a lovely day," Mrs. Wang says. "What's the weather like in your home town, Li Ming?" Mr. Wang asks. "It's not very warm in spring. But I like the spring there best." "Help yourself to some cakes, Li Ming," Mrs. Wang says. "Thanks," says Li Ming. "The cakes are very nice. I enjoy the dinner very much. "

Unforgettable trip to Shanghai

    I will never forget my school trip to Shanghai. It was so great!

We got there by train. The train ride wasn't boring, because we talked and studied along the way. When we finally got there, it was quite late. I was too tired to call my mom, although I missed her a lot.

    The trip lasted six days. During the first day, I learned how to fold a blanket by myself. On the second and third days, my classmates and I did a lot of things. It rained heavily on the fourth day. We played a game called “Utmost 60 Seconds". It took our group only 41 seconds to finish it. We won the game. I was so excited that I called my mom that day and told her how happy I was. We returned to Changchun on the sixth day.

    My trip to Shanghai was unforgettable (难忘的). I learned how important my mom's love is. I also learned some life skills that I would use for the rest of my life.