My mom isn't fancy like other moms.They wear fancy clothes and drive fancy cars. My mom wears her gardening clothes when she walks me to school.　

When fancy moms laugh，their laughs sound soft and whispery. You can hear my mom's laugh from down the hall. I show her how to laugh quietly and she practices. But before long she starts laughing even harder than before.

 At the talent show，my mom cheers loudly，“Bravo，everyone！Bravo！”instead of clapping politely the way fancy moms do.

For our class hike（徒步旅行），parents are invited. At breakfast I go over my rules for Mom，“Please don't whistle. Don't laugh loudly. No clapping. And stay in line.”

 The other moms show up wearing fancy jackets and sneakers. My mom wears cutoffs，a floppy straw hat，and her old hiking boots.

We hike along，all in a line. Soon Mom starts to whistle her hiking songs，She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain.I shake my head at her. She stops and whispers，“Oops. Sorry，Jane.”

 We keep hiking. Everything is perfect until…

 Our teacher，Ms. Steele，stops and points，“A snake！”All the moms hold their kids hands and back up，except my mom.“Watch out！It might be poisonous（有毒的）！”Ms. Steele says.

 The other moms shuttle back some more. However，my mom steps forward and says，“Hmm. Let's see what kind it is. Nope，it's not poisonous.”

 I shut my eyes.I know what's coming next. Mom makes a sudden attack.“Got it！”she says. The other moms scream，not sounding fancy at all.

Kids gather around as Mom examines the snake.“It's OK to touch，”she says.

 Everyone's too scared，but I go first.“snakes aren't slimy，”I tell them. Right away，others line up. A couple of the fancy moms come up to touch the snake's tail.

 Later，Ms. Steele tells us to draw our favorite part of the hike. After a while，I look around quickly. Everyone's picture is of Mom and me with the snake.

 As we hike back to the bus，I squeeze Mom's hand.“I'm glad I didn't tell you my don't-catch-snakes rule.”She smiles. But soon，she's whistling her hiking songs again！

 I start to make her silent，then stop. Instead，I take a deep breath and sing out too. Everyone joins in，even the fancy moms.

    Brenda Bongos was a happy, talented girl. She had one big dream-to play the drums in a band. But one big problem lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get them nervous. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone who would get mad.

    One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a musical astronaut.

With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble (透明圆形罩). This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out (抽出) all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit (成套设备) and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble，turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.

    It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos became very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a special space journey. Finally,           , and it was far beyond (超越) her first dream of playing drums in a band.

    Years later, when asked how she had achieved all her dreams, she thought for a moment, and said," If those old people next-door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened."

Good Neighbours

    Mr. and Mrs. March lived together with their four daughters. Amy was very shy. Beth loved being at home. Meg looked very pretty. Jo was tall and thin and she was a tomboy. Their home was always busy and full of noise and people. Next to them lived old Mr. Laurence and his grandson, Laurie. They lived in a very large and comfortable house. But it was a house without life.

    One day, Joe saw Laurie standing at an upstairs window in his house and looking down at their garden. Jo's sisters were playing in the snow there. They were throwing snowballs and having a lot of fun. But Laurie's face was very sad.

    "Poor boy!" Jo thought. "He's all alone. He needs some friends." She couldn't stop thinking about him. She wanted to go and see him, but how could she go to the house without an invitation?

    Then one snowy afternoon, she saw Laurie's grandpa go out. This gave her an idea. She took a broom from the kitchen.

    "What are you going to do, Jo?" asked her sister Meg.

    "To clear the garden path." Answered Jo.

    When Laurie saw Jo from the window, a big smile changed his pale, sad face.

    Jo laughed and shouted, "How are you? Are you ill?"

    Laurie opened the window and said," I'm better now, thank you. I had a bad cold and had to stay inside for a week".

    "I'm sorry," said Jo. "Are you bored?"

    "Yes, very." he replied.

    "Don't your friends come to visit you?"

    "No. But I don't want to see anybody. Boys are noisy and they give me a headache."

    "Girls are quiet."

    "I don't know any girls."

    "You know us."

    "That's true! Can you come and visit me?" cried Laurie.

    "I'm not quiet, but I'd like to come," replied Jo. "I must ask Mother first." She ran back into her house.

    A few minutes later, she returned and rang the bell on the door of Laurie's house. A servant took her upstairs.

    "Here I am!" she said brightly. "Mother sends her love and my sisters gave me this blancmange (牛奶冻) for you."

    "That looks delicious," Laurie said. He was very happy to see Jo.

Jo looked around. There were lots of books on the shelves.

    "A nice room!" she said. "I can read to you if you like."

    "No, let's talk," replied Laurie.

    "All right," said Jo, "I can talk for hours. My sisters say I never know when to stop."

    "You have three sisters—Amy, Beth and Meg." Laurie continued.

    "How do you know this?" Jo was surprised.

    "You call each other's names when you are in the garden. Sometimes I can see you all around the table with your mother. She has a very kind face. I like looking at her. I haven't got a mother."

     Jo felt sad when she heard this.

    "Why don't you come and visit us?" she said, "It isn't good for you to stay in this house all the time."

    "Thank you. I'd like to come very much." Said Laurie.

    "We know all our neighbours except you." Jo said, "I'm glad we're friends now."

    She told him about all the interesting things in her life. She said," Besides(除了……之外) plays, I also love books." Laurie loved books too, and offered to show her the library in the house. The library was a wonderful room. Jo loved it.

    "Wow!" she said, "All those books!"

    Laurie said, "A person needs more than books."

    (Adapted from Little Women)

    Zhou Xun is a famous (著名的)film star(明星) of China. She has an English name—Jue. She was born on October(十月) 18th. She comes from Zhejiang Province(省). She is 1.60 meters tall, and she is slim and beautiful. She has black hair in two bunches. She likes watching VCD and sleeping. Her favourite colors are black and blue. She also loves running. Living a happy life is her wish(希望). Lots of students and young people like her.

    Some parents are always comparing their children with themselves when they were young, or with other people when they were children.

    "When I was your age," a father said to his sixteen-year-old son one day, "I was at the top of my class every year. And I knew what I wanted to do when I left school. I had goals. You are always at the bottom of your class, and you have no goals."

    The man's son said nothing. He had heard this from his father many times.

    "And when your mother was your age," the boy's father went on, "she had a good job and she was earning money. You don't even have a part-time job. You earn nothing."

    The man's son still said nothing. He had heard this before, too.

    "And when your older brother was your age," the boy's father went on, "he studied hard. You just waste your time."

    And the man's son still said nothing.

    Finally, the boy's father said, "And when Abraham Lincoln was your age, he worked all day and studied at night."

    This time the son could not stay silent.

    "And when Abraham Lincoln was your age, Father," he said, "he was the President of the United States. What are you?"

His father had no answer to this.