There was once a man who couldn't sleep well because he was afraid that there was a stranger under his bed. He thought that as soon as he went to sleep, the stranger would come out from the bed and rob him. He was worried that the stranger might even kill him!

    Every night, after he got into bed, the man had to get up again and looked under the bed. There was never anyone there, but as soon as he got back into bed, he had to get up and looked under the bed again. This went on for hours until at last he fell asleep from exhaustion.

    The time came for the man to get married. He didn't tell his wife about his fears but she soon found out because he kept her awake all night.

  “You must go to see a doctor,” she told him. “He will make you become well. You won't have such silly fear again.”

    The man did as his wife told him. He told the doctor his problem, and the doctor said, “You can be well again, but it will take about two years. You must come and see me three times a week. The cost for each visit will be $75.”

    The next day the man called the doctor and said, “I won't need to visit you again. I'm well now.”

    The doctor was surprised. “How?” he asked. “Who made you get well?”

  “My wife did,” the man said. “When I told her how much I would have to pay you, she cut the legs off the bed.”

    Cindy is my good friend. She has a sister and a brother. Jennifer is her sister and Victor is her brother. They are in a school. Cindy and Jennifer can sing and dance. Cindy can also play the guitar, but Jennifer can't. Victor, Cindy and Jennifer can play chess, but Cindy doesn't play with Victor. She likes playing with Jennifer because Jennifer plays worst (最糟糕) of the three. Victor plays sports every day. He can play basketball very well. But Victor's favorite sport is soccer, not basketball. He is in the school sports club. And he often plays in soccer games.

    Jane always goes to school early. She likes to talk to her friends before class. After school she does not go home early. She is always late. Jane stops to see the animals in the pet shop. She likes to see the dogs. One of them is a little dog. She watches the little white dog play in the window of the shop. She watches for a long time, so she comes home late.

    One day her father and mother ask why she is late, and she tells them about the little dog in the pet shop.

    Jane is not late the next day. She stops to look in the window of the shop. But she doesn't see the little white dog, and she is very sad. She is also very happy, today is her birthday.

    Mother shows her a big birthday cake and Father gives her a birthday surprise. He gives the little white dog from the shop. Jane is very happy. The next day Jane does not come home late. She runs home to play with the white dog.

    This is Cara and Ben. They are twins(双胞胎). They are twelve. This is their bedroom. It's a nice room. There are two beds in the room. The yellow bed is Cara's and that green one is Ben's. The twins have one desk and two chairs. The chairs look the same. Cara's sweater is on his bed. Ben's coat is on his chair. Their clock, books and pencil-cases are on the desk. Their school bags are behind the chairs.

    There were many plants in a forest. When spring came, a pine tree saw a red rose nearby and said, "What a beautiful flower! I wish I were that lovely. "

    The rose proudly said, "It seems that I am the most beautiful flower in this forest." Then the rose looked at a cactus (仙人掌) and said, "Look at that ugly plant full of thorns（刺）! "

    "What a proud flower!" thought the trees.

    As the days passed, the red rose often looked at the cactus and said bad words about it, like "This plant is useless. How sorry I am to be his neighbor!"

    The cactus never got angry and even tried to advise the rose, saying, "God did not create any form of life without a purpose."

    Spring passed, and the weather became very hot. As there was no rain, the red rose began to wilt（枯萎）.

    One day the rose saw birds put their beaks (喙) into the cactus and then fly away. The red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that the birds were getting water from the cactus.

    "The cactus has water?" asked the rose.

    Yes, you can also drink some from it. The birds can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help. "

    The red rose felt too ashamed to ask for water from the cactus. But finally it did ask for help. The cactus kindly agreed.

    The rose learned a lesson and never judged (评价) anyone by their appearance again.

AFamily Bakery

It's 3:00 in the morning. Angela is ready to start the day at the family bakery(面包房). Vincent and his wife, Angela, are its owners(主人).

Everyone in the family works in the bakery. The oldest daughter, Claire, is good at making cakes. Maria is the middle child. She works at the counter(柜台),and sometimes she makes cookies. Paul, the youngest, is 14,and he makes bread. Vincent says, "Paul has good hands for bread." All the family work in the bakery ,but the children only work there before or after school.

The bakery is open every day. The bakery sells cookies, cakes and bread. Mr. Martin is a regular customer(常客) ． He goes to the bakery every morning. He always takes the round loaf of bread with no butter. He says it's good. Mrs. Salerno is also a regular customer. Every Friday, she buys two loaves of Italian bread and a large box of cookies. Her six-year-old daughter, Laura, always gets one free cookie. Mrs. Salerno says Vincent's bakery is the best in the city.