The lion says that he is on his death bed. So he asks all the animals to come and listen to his last wishes.

    The cat comes to the lion's cave(洞穴). He stands there and goes in. Then a sheep goes in. Before she comes out, a rabbit goes in to hear the last wishes of the king of animals.

    But soon the lion looks well again, and goes out of his cave. He sees a fox(狐狸) waiting outside. “Why don't you come in?” asks the lion to the fox.

  “I beg your pardon,” says the fox, “I see many animals go into your cave, but nobody comes out.

    Before they come out again, I will wait outside.”

Our village carpenter（木匠）, John Hill, came one day and made a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size to fill the space between the two windows. When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill（账单）for his job.

My wife said to me quietly, “That's his ninth cup of tea today.” But she said in a loud voice, “It's a beautiful table, dear, isn't it?” “I'll decide about that when I see the bill,” I said. John laughed and gave me his bill for the work. I read:

One dining table                        10^th November, 2011

      Cost of wood                  ＄17.00

      Paint                         ＄1.50

      Work, 8 hours(＄1 an hour)       ＄8.00

      Total                         ＄36.50  

When I was looking at the bill, John said, “It's been a fine day, hasn't it? Quite sunny.”

“Yes,” I said. “I'm glad it's only the 10^th of November.”

“Me, too,” said John, “you wait—it will be a lot colder by the end of the month.”

“Yes, colder—and more expensive! Dining tables will be ＄20 more expensive on November 30^th, won't they, John?”

John looked hard at me for half a minute. Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes? I gave his bill back to him.

“If it's not too much trouble, John,” I said, “please add it up again. You can forget the date…”

I paid him ＄26.50 and he was happy to get it.

    The wife asked the husband, “In this life, what did you miss?”

    When she was 25, the husband replied, “I missed a chance of finding a new job.”

    When she was 35, the husband angrily told her that he had just missed the bus.

    At 45, the husband sadly said, “I missed the chance of seeing my closed relative before his last breath.”

    At 55, the husband said disappointingly, “I missed a good chance to retire.”

    At 65, the husband hurried replied, “I missed the dentist's appointment.”

    At 75, the wife didn't ask the husband any more, the husband was kneeling in front of the very sick wife. Remembering the question the wife used to ask him, this time he asked the wife the same question. The wife, with a smile and peaceful look, replied, “①In this life, I didn't miss having you!”

    The husband was full of tears. He always thought that they could be together forever. He was always busy with work. So much that he had never been thoughtful to his wife. The husband hugged his wife tightly and said, “Over 50 years, how I had allowed myself to miss your deep love for me.”

    In the busy city life, there are many people who are always busy with work. These people revolve(旋转) their lives around their jobs. They are unwilling to spend time on health care. They missed the chance to be with their children in their growing up. They neglect(忽略) the loved ones who care for them, and also their health.

    ②Nobody knows what is going to happen one year from now.

    Life is not permanent(永恒的), so always live in the now. Express your gratitude to your loved ones in words. Show your care with actions. Treat every day as the last day of life. In this way, when you are gone, your loved ones would have nothing to feel sorry about.

C

    The Greens are Americans. They are now in Beijing. This is their first visit to China. They are going to stay(停留) in China for three months. They want to visit some big cities(城市) and villages. They want to learn some Chinese, too. Mr. Green is a driver. He likes to drive in Beijing. Mrs. Green is a school teacher. She is visiting a city school and a village school. Their daughter is a middle school student. She meets some Chinese students. They take a lot of pictures in China. When they are back in American, they are going to show the pictures to their friends. They want the American people to know more about China. 

    Jim is an American. He is now living(居住) in China. He gets up at about half past six and has breakfast at seven o'clock. After breakfast, he says goodbye to his parents and leaves home at half past seven. He usually goes to school on foot. He gets there at five minutes to eight. He has his first class at eight.

    Morning classes are over at ten past twelve and he has lunch five minutes later, at about a quarter past twelve. After lunch he plays with his friends.

    Afternoon classes begin at half past one. Usually there are two lessons in the afternoon. They finish at half past three. Usually he plays games or other things at school, and he gets home at about a quarter past five. He has supper at six and then does his homework and then watches TV. He goes to bed at about half past ten.