Pisces is the twelfth star sign. There is a legend about its name. 

      Long, long ago, there was a war between gods and a bad monster (怪物). It lasted ten years. One day, the gods were surprised to find that the monster was coming towards them. The goat god Pan shouted a warning and tried to change himself into a fish. One god, Aphrodite, took her little boy Eros and tried to hide among the bushes near Euphrates River. She was the god of love and her son was the god of war. It is said that two fish swam to carry Aphrodite and her child to safety. Some people also believe that Aphrodite and Eros changed into fish themselves and swam away to safety. Later the fish represent Aphrodite and her son Eros.

As they appeared in the sky, the two fish were tied together by a rope (绳子). Some said that Aphrodite tied the little boy to her body so that he would not get lost as they swam away to safety. That's the story about Pisces.

In Western countries, some people believe people will share similar characteristics if they have the same star sign. So if you're born between February 19^th and March 20^th, your star sign is Pisces. It means that you are generous, easy-going and creative.

    Last summer Jenny and her friends had a bus trip to New York. She felt very relaxing on the way. They visited a museum. But it's really crowded there and the display(展览) were not interesting at all. They went to different restaurants to have dinner. Some food was quite delicious, but Jenny thought the fast food was terrible. When the weather was fine, they went to the beach to swim. The sea was beautiful and they had a good time.

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    As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” This is the way the charity organization Heifer International (国际小母牛慈善组织) wants to end world hunger.

    It began in the 1930s when an American farmer, Dan West, went to Spain to help people in need. He tried to feed the people with milk. But it seemed that there would never be enough milk. It made him think that what they needed was “not a cup, but a cow”.

    Dan West returned to America. He worked together with some friends to find ways to end hunger. He believed giving animals and providing training would stop world hunger. With his help, Heifer International was set up.

    On Heifer International's website, you will see a list of animals like cows, chickens, pigs and even fish and bees. You can offer help by buying some animals for one certain family. Those animals will have babies get better lives, they will pass on the act of kindness to others. More importantly, you are buying the resources (资源) for programs run by Heifer International to help more families.

    The programs also help small-sized farms. As a rule, each farmer must give his animal's first female (雌性) baby to another in need. Heifer International also provides training on animals' health and feeding. And these farmers all agree to teach others what they have learned as another rule.

    However, there is still a long way to go. The milk may run out. But if families have their own cows, they can get plenty of milk to feed themselves. The organization wants the farmers to go on working together, helping each other and learning from each other. Maybe hunger can really be stopped.

    Garrison had been treasuring his last piece. All he had left now was a sheet of the beautiful brown paper Pa had brought back from his last sailing trip.

    "You've been quiet," Pa said, "Could I see your picture?"

    Garrison handed over his sketch. Pa studied it, then looked at his son. "You're ten now, eh?" Garrison nodded, hoping Pa wouldn't say that he was too old to be fooling around with pencils and paper.

    "When I was ten, I wanted to work on my father's ship," Pa said, "When Thomas was ten, he asked me to let him plant the corn."

    Garrison's throat (嗓子) tightened. "I know I'm not like either of you." Pa looked at the drawing again.

    "No, you are like both of us. You work hard, like Thomas. And you're like me, too. I have wandering feet, but you have a wandering mind. We need to see things differently.

    Garrison frowned. "I'd rather love the land, like Thomas, or the sea…"

    Pa patted his hand. "Thomas cares about our family very much-that's why he's worked so hard to bring us food. And my love for the sea makes good money. But there's more in life than food and money. There's happiness, for one. Does it make you happy to draw?"

    Garrison nodded.

    "And it makes me happy to look at your drawings. Not many folks can catch happiness on a piece of paper. Some might say drawing's a waste of time, but they don't understand how things are. Why, asking you to stop drawing like asking Thomas to stop farming, or me to stop going to sea. It would be like asking us to stop breathing, wouldn't it?"

    Garrison considered this, then replied, "No, sir. Not quite like breathing. If I couldn't draw any more, it would be… like someone took away my voice." He hung his head. In his mind he could hear Thomas laughing, "It's not like you ever speak up, anyway."

    But Pa patted his shoulder and said, "That would be a pure shame. Your voice is important, Garrison, whether it's out loud or on paper. And speaking of paper…" Pa smiled. "Take a look in my bag."

    Garrison reached into the bag and found a sketchbook. For a moment he was speechless happiness seemed to fill his body and stick in his throat. Then he managed to find his voice. "Oh, Pa-thank you."

It's 5 o'clock. Sean Murphy is on his way home from work. He is tired and the bus is full, but when he thinks of seeing his lovely family at home, his heart is full of joy again.

"I want to see my wife, my children and my mother," he thinks. "But first of all I want to sit on the sofa. I want to relax and read a good book."

Finally Mr. Murphy is at home. He is very tired now but he is happy. He says hello to his family. Then he sits down on the sofa, stretches(伸展)his legs and lifts up his book.

"Now I can relax," he thinks and smiles. But Mr. Murphy is not alone in the room. His mother is playing the guitar and his wife is playing the piano. His two younger children are fighting and his two older children are arguing about the television. And the pots and pans are bubbling on the cooker(炊具).

It's the same every day. Poor Murphy is very unhappy. He talks to his friend about his problem at a bus stop.

Mr. Murphy's friend listens to him carefully. Then he says: "Go and see Linda McCormack! She is a very clever woman. She knows the answer to everything."

Mr. Murphy thinks it worth(值得)a try. The next day, when he gets home, he doesn't go into the house as usual. He goes to the garage(车库)and gets on his bike.