David did well in all his subjects except physics, Mr. Brown, his physics teacher, gave him his physics paper and said to him, “Show it to your dad and ask him to sign his name on the paper.”

    David played football until it was 7 o'clock. When he got home, his parents had finished supper. His dad was watching TV and his mother was doing the dishes in the kitchen as usual.

 “Dad, may I ask you some questions?” David asked happily.

 “Yes, of course,” answered his dad.

 “If you can't answer them, you'll have to do something for me.”

 “OK, I'll do as you tell me,” said his dad.

 “Which is cooler, walking or sitting in the sun?”

 “Walking is cooler. It can make wind.”

 “Which clothes can keep out (阻挡）the sunlight，shirts or coats?”

 “Coats can keep out the sunlight because they are much thicker than shirts.” “Is a man smart if he wears a coat and walks in the sun in summer?” David looked at his dad and waited for his answer. His dad thought for a minute and shook his head.

   David took out his paper, “Now sign your name on the paper, please.”

    Mr. Evens works in Sydney. Last week he had a two--week holiday, but he didn't know where to go. He said to his friend Robert, "I hate the hot weather here, but I can't find a cool place in Australia. How will I spend my holiday?"

    "That's easy," said Robert. "You'd better go to Moscow. Snow and ice are covering the ground now."

Mr. Evens agreed with his friend. He bought an air ticket and soon arrived in Moscow. He made a happy journey there. But one day, he got into trouble. After lunch he w ent to a park outside the city. He saw a dog following him while he was walking past a house. It was hungry and wished him to give it some food to eat. Bad luck! He had no piece of bread or cake in his pockets. He tried to send it away, but it began to bark at him. He wanted to look for a stick but couldn't find anything except snow and ice. Suddenly he saw a stone in the ground. He tried to pick it up but he failed.

    "How strange Russians are!" Mr. Evens said to himself. "They do not tie their dogs, but firmly (牢牢地) tie the ground!"

    Is handwriting (书写) important? Yes, the 10-year-old girl Alyssa thinks so. She is a fifth-grade student from Mason County, the USA. She's the champion (冠军) for her grade level in the National Handwriting Contest in 2012.

    After she got the news, Alyssa was surprised that she could be the first. "I'm really happy," she said. "I'm really surprised, too. I didn't know I was that good."

    To enter (参加) the contest, each student had to write the sentence (句子) "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog". It is a common English sentence, but it uses every letter of the English alphabet. Teachers were invited to be judges. They could decide who wins the contest.

    Alyssa enjoys handwriting, and wants to write adventure (冒险) stories when she gets older. "From the third grade we started learning handwriting," Alyssa said. "All the letters look pretty. It makes me think of art."

Does Fame Drive You Crazy

    Although being famous might sound like a dream comes true, today s stars, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world's attention. Paparazzi (狗仔队) camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature (签名)!

    According to psychologist Christina Villarreal, celebrities—famous people—worry constantly (不断地) about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. "Over time," Villarreal says, "they feel separated and alone."

    The phenomenon (现象) of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B. C, painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his works attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s ran articles about film—stars in much the same way that modern websites do.

    Being famous people today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their "story" alive forever.

    If fame is so troublesome, why aren't all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.

    Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.