Big Bear was Skinny Rabbit's friend and neighbor. Big Bear's birthday came and Skinny Rabbit sent him a hammock(吊床). Two trees grew in the space between the friends' houses. Skinny Rabbit and Big Bear tied the hammock between them. Big Bear climbed into the hammock.

    “How does it feel?" Skinny Rabbit asked.

    “Just wonderful!" Big Bear said. "But do you see how the sun shines through the branches (树枝), Skinny Rabbit?"

      "I do. It shines straight onto the hammock," Skinny Rabbit said. "I have an idea."    He put his beach umbrella beside the hammock. "How's that?" he asked.

    "It's almost perfect, Skinny Rabbit," said Big Bear. "Soft music would be nice for someone sleeping in a hammock."

    Skinny Rabbit went back into the house and came out with a radio. He tuned it to a station. The station was playing music.

    "Enjoy your sleep, Big Bear," said Skinny Rabbit. "I'll go and clean up the lunch dishes."    "Wait a minute! I thought of something else."    "What is it now?" asked Skinny Rabbit wearily

    "This hammock needs a friend to share with, Will you join me, Skinny Rabbit? Afterward we can do the dishes together."  

Skinny Rabbit said happily, "What a fine idea, Big Bear."

     One of Harry's feet was bigger than the other. “I can't find suitable shoes for them,” he said to his friend, Jack.

    “Why don't you go to a shoemaker?” Jack said, “A good one can make you the right shoes.”

    “I don't want to go to any shoemaker,” Harry said, “Aren't they expensive?”

     “No,” Jack said, “Some of them aren't. There's a good one in our town. Here's his address. ”

       Harry went to the shoemaker in Jack's town a few days later, and the shoemaker made him some shoes.

       Harry went to the shop again a week later and looked at the shoes. Then he said to the shoemaker angrily, “You are a foolish man! I told you to make one shoe bigger than the other, but you made one smaller than the other. ”

    How much do you know about Albert Einstein?

    Albert Einstein, born on March 14, 1879 in Germany, was a great scientist in the world. ①He was strange because he hated haircuts and new clothes. He believed in peace. All his life, he hated war. However, his most famous idea, E = mc², helped create the world's most dangerous weapon (武器). Many people think he was the smartest person in the world. But Einstein said that he thought like a child with many questions and unusual ideas.

    What did he like?

    Einstein liked learning sailing (帆船运动). He sailed in small boats all his life. He once joked, “Sailing is the sport that takes the least energy!” When Einstein was a child, his mother made him take violin lessons. At first, he didn't like the violin. But then he learned to love music and became a good violinist.

    Later, he said, “②热爱是最好的老师。”

    Why is the sky blue?

    In 1910, Einstein asked a question which many children often ask, “Why is the sky blue?” After his careful research, he answered the question like this: “It's because light is made up of many colors including blue. When light travels to Earth, gas particles (气体微粒) spread the blue light all over the sky.” His answer is true in physics.

Mr．Young worked in a hospital in the capital．He was busy all the time and little time to have a rest．And one day he felt unwell and couldn't go on working．He decided to spend a week's holiday in a quiet village where he could go swimming or fishing．He got off at a small railway station and soon got to the village．He took a room hotel and went to sleep as soon as he had a good meal．

    At first Mr．Young enjoyed himself there．He could do everything he wanted and went wherever he liked．Nobody disturbed（打扰） him and knocked at the door at mid﹣night．But on the fourth day he was in trouble．After lunch it was very hot．He went swimming in the river．Suddenly he saw a beautiful bird in a big tree．He wanted to catch it and walked to it，but it found him and flew away and soon was gone．He began to pick some flowers in the forest and before long he lost his way．

    The sun had gone down and night had fallen before Mr．Young found a small restaurant in another village．He came in and told them to bring him some bread，two eggs and a glass of tea．After a while his food was brought．

    Soon he ate up all the bread and eggs．When he was going to have the tea，he found there was a fly in the glass．

    "What's in my tea？"Mr．Young called out，"A fly？"It's impossible （不可能的），sir，"said the owner or the restaurant，"I had told them to pick all the flies out of your tea before they brought it to you!"

    Some people have a very poor sense of direction. Unluckily, I am one of them. I have visited a place many times but I may still get lost there the next time.

    When I was a little girl, I never dared to ask strangers the way. And so I used to walk around in circles and hope that by chance I would get to the place I was going to.

    Now, I am no longer too shy to ask people for directions, but I often receive useless or ever wrong information. So I try to avoid giving people wrong directions. It anyone asks me the way somewhere, I would say, "Sorry, I am a stranger here."

    Once on my way to work I was stopped by a man. He asked me if I could tell him the way to the Friendship Building. I gave him my usual reply. But just as I walked on only a few steps, I realized that he had asked the way to my office building. However, I had no time to turn back and look for him. I hurried to meet someone at my office and I didn't want to keep him waiting.

    When I just got to my office, the secretary showed in the man who had asked me for directions. Imagine how awkward I was and how surprised he was when we saw each other at the first sight!

    We never forget when Perronet came to us. It was on a spring afternoon. We never knew who drowned Perronet, but David pulled him out of the water and saved his life, People sometimes asked us what kind of dog he was, but we never knew, except that he was the nicest possible kind. Mother said we could not afford him because of the tax(税) and his keep. The tax was five shillings(先令), but it was nearly a year before the time when it must be paid. At last, we decided that all three of us would give up sugar toward saving the cost of his keep. It was the hardest for David because he was fond of sweet things, but then, he was fond of Perronet. So we all gave up sugar, and Perronet was allowed to remain.

    We were very happy that summer. The boys were especially happy. The only thing that vexed me was Perronet's tax money, for months and months went on and we didn't save it. One day, I found David alone with Perronet in his arms. He was crying, and feeding Perronet with cake. I can't bear to see boys cry. I begged of David to stop, and told him I should certainly think of something.

    One day, we were all in school. The schoolmaster told us that there was to be a flower show for the school children this year, and that an old gentleman would give prizes to the best arranged wild flowers. There was to be a first prize of five shillings, and a second prize of a half crown, for the best collection of wild flowers, with their names upon them. I squeezed(挤) David's arm, and whispered, "Five shillings!"

    I thought I could never get my lessons that day, for all day I was thinking about Perronet's tax money. At night, I said to them, "Look here! I'll make a collection of flowers. You two can make a collection of mosses(苔藓). There are ten kinds of mosses by the river, and we have names of our own for them." The boys agreed. Richard made me a box. We put wet sand at the bottom, then feather moss, and into that I stuck the flowers. I got all the flowers and all the grasses ready and printed the names on pieces of cardboard, to stick in with them. I didn't like it when it was done, but Richard praised it and that cheered me. I thought their mosses were beautiful.

    The day of the flower show was very hot. When we reached the tent, it was filled with grown-up people. It was very hard work getting about and trying to see the stands with flowers. We kept seeing tickets with "First Prize" and "Second Prize". It made me feel sick with heat and anxiety, to think of them. We had walked slowly all round the tent. We had seen all the cucumbers, onions, lettuce, grapes, long potatoes, round potatoes and everything else. At last we saw my collection! It had a label on it, marked "First Prize", and next to it came the boy's moss, marked "Second Prize". We cried "Perronet is paid for!"