My name is Lu Fang. I'm a Chinese girl. I am 15 years old. I am in No. 4 Middle School in Beijing. I am in Class 1, Grade 8. Liu Huan is my favorite singer(歌手). And I like You and me very much. My telephone number is 010-55703610. My favorite color is purple. Mr. Lee is my English teacher. He is young. And he is very strong. I like him very much.

What will you do when you have something difficult to do? I used to ask my mother for help. But she always said, "Do it yourself, dear." or "God helps those who help themselves , girl." I was not glad at all. I thought she was the laziest mother in the world.

For example, one day, I decided to invite some friends to my home. My bedroom was not in order. Books were everywhere. And I didn't make the bed. I asked my mother to help me to clean it, but she still said, "Do it yourself, girl."

Because of my "lazy mother", I have to wash my clothes and clean my room. I have to help my parents do some housework. I even have to go to the dentist by myself. It is really hard for me to do everything well, but I have learned a lot.

    As time goes by, I come to understand my mother. She makes me clever and active! What a great mother!

Do you know this girl?

    I went to the park with my older sister, Cathy, on Friday. My sister left her jacket on a bench (长椅) when we played games. When we went back to the bench, a little girl in a red T-shirt was sitting there. She looked like she was 8 or 9 and had long blonde hair. She had some money in her hand. When she saw us, she got up and walked away.

    I asked my sister, "Did you have any money in your jacket?"

    "Yes, Anna, I did."

    I said, "Have a quick look in your jacket."

    Cathy looked in her jacket, but her money was not there.

    "That girl stole (偷) it!" I said, and we ran after her. We caught (抓住) her soon.

    My sister was very angry and she said, "Give me the money!" The girl gave the money to Cathy and ran away. Then we went home. But before we could tell our parents, my mother said to Cathy, "You left your money at home. It's on the table in the kitchen." So the girl in the red T-shirt was not a thief (小偷)! Maybe she thought we were bad girls.

We felt      

    Please call us if you know this girl. We would like to say sorry to her and give the money back to her. Our number is 512667. Thank you very much.

                                                               Anna and Cathy

    Science fiction is a popular kind of writing, and many people think of Jules Verne(儒勒·凡尔纳) as the father of science fiction. He was born in France in 1828. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but from his early 20s Verne decided to become a writer. At first he wrote plays for the theater. Then, in 1863, he wrote a story called Five Weeks in a Balloon. The success of this book encouraged him to write more stories such as A Journey to the Center of the Earth(1864) and From the Earth to the Moon(1865).

    In the 19th century, many people were interested in science and inventions. Jules Verne wrote about scientific subjects in his stories and, as a result, they were very popular. Verne's writing included many predictions(预言) for the 20th century and many of them came true. He described space flight, movies, and air conditioning, a long time before they appeared. These books were very successful and they made Verne rich.

    Jules Verne's books have been the subjects for many movies. 20, 000 Leagues under the Sea was a successful movie for Walt Disney. It was the first time that Disney movie had used real actors instead of cartoon drawings. Around the World in Eighty Days is another famous movie based on one of Verne's books. The main character is an Englishman called Phileas Fogg. For him, the most important thing is to be always on time!

    It was raining heavily as I was walking up the hill towards the station at six o'clock on a Saturday morning. Just as I was crossing the road near the top of the hill, a car came around the corner. It was traveling very fast. Suddenly it hit a lamp post (路灯杆) and turned over.

    I ran to the car to help the driver at once. He was badly hurt and there was a lot of blood on his face. Many people came to see what had happened and there was nothing we could do. A young woman hurried into the station and phoned for an ambulance (救护车). A policeman arrived a few minutes later and asked me a lot of questions about the accident. After a while the ambulance arrived and the driver was sent to the hospital.

    On Monday morning I went to the hospital to see the man. The doctor told me that he was much better, and he would leave the hospital after a few days' rest.