Jane Austen(1775-1817),an English novelist, started writing young and completed six novels in her life. Today Austen's books are more popular than ever. In the last 10 years, five of her six novels have been made into Hollywood films, while her books continue to be best-sellers.

Richard Jenkyns, a professor of English at Oxford University, says that her novels are about marriage, friendships and the family, which are still with us today. “The stories are timeless," Jenkyns said.

Pride and Prejudice(偏见)(1813) is Austen's most famous work. It is a love story about Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. At first, these two dislike each other. Elizabeth is pretty ,smart and lively. She is proud because Darcy doesn't know about her family.  Mr. Darcy is handsome, rich and has a better family background. So, he is proud as well. At the same time, Darcy holds a prejudice against the Bennet family. He has no understanding of why the family, especially its mother and daughters should try so hard to find wealthy and powerful husbands. He thinks they are vulgar. Anyway, Elizabeth and Darcy finally fall in love and become a romantic couple but their families don't want them to.

In Pride and Prejudice, some of the main things that Jane Austen wants to teach people are as follows.  Opposites can attract each other. Lovers should not ony make each other feel relaxed or comfortable, but also educate and improve each other.

 Austen is often called the greatest romanti writer, so it is surprising she remained unmarried. "Maybe she was too romantic, waiting for the perfect man,”Jenkyns says.

    There once was a man and a woman who had been married for more than 60 years. They talked about everything. They kept no secrets from each other…except that the old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet and she told her husband never to open it or ask her about it.

    For an these years the husband had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would never recover.

    In trying to sort out things they had, the little old man took down the shoe box from the top of the closet and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed it was time that he should know what was in the box.

    When he opened it, he found two beautifully crocheted (钩针编织的) doilies (装饰垫) and some money. He counted the money. It was $25,000 in total. He asked his wife about the unusual contents.

    "When we were married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doily."

    The little old man was so moved, and he had to fight back tears. Only two precious doilies were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He was filled with joy and happiness.

    "Sweetheart," he said, "that explains the doilies, but what about all this money? Where did it all come from?"

    "Oh," she said, "that's the money I made from selling the doilies."

    What could a poem writer and a film director share? More than you think！Langston Hughes began writing poems in high school and soon became one of America's greatest writers. Most of his writing is about his experiences as an African American. He wrote poems about people who worked hard through life but still found things to be happy about. He wrote plays and books about justice(正义)for all people, and he wrote kids' books, too. The Sweet and Sour Animal Book is a book of his animal poems. Pictures and photos were used in the book." Hold fast to dreams" is a line in a famous Hughes poem. That's exactly what he did throughout his life.

    When Steven Spielberg was in middle school, he wanted to make a film. He had an idea for a film, but no money. He started a tree-planting business and made his film with the money he earned. Spielberg never stopped making films, even after many film schools refused him. Today he is one of the most popular and important filmmakers in the world. His films are about people who are adventurous(爱冒险的), brave, kind. His characters often fight for what is good. Some of his films are about his Jewish background, such as Schindler's List. Spielberg once said, "I don't dream that much at night because I dream for a living." In different ways, both Hughes and Spielberg have encouraged people of all ages to reach for their dreams.

To-wit-to-woo, to-wit-to-woo! What's that strange sound coming from the forest at night? It's an owl, of course! The owl is different from all other birds in so many ways. 

The owl's hearing and eyesight are better than most animal. All day long, the owl rests on the tree and sleep It hunts (捕猎) only at night. When evening comes, the animals all get to a safe place. The owl opens its big, round eyes to look around. Any little animals around had better be careful, The owl eats small animals like mice as food, but it wouldn't say no to another bird, if it's really hungry. 

The owl uses its great hearing to find its food, and then it turns its head from side to side. using its sharp (敏锐的) eyes to fly after the animal. Finally, it flies down to get the animal. Owls have special, soft feathers (羽毛), so they can fly without making any sound. Owls are good hunters and they can even catch a fly in the air!

The owl is usually quiet, except (除余了) when you get too close to its home. The mother owl is a great mother. She will protect her babies by opening her feathers angrily. She will even hurt people if she thinks her babies are in danger!

The owl has no teeth, so it eats an animal whole. All the parts of the animal that the owl can't digest (消化) will end up as small pieces. If you find these small pieces, you know you are near an owl's home.

Inventions usually make a big difference to people's lives. Do you have any great inventions at home? Do they help you a lot in your life or bring you much fun? Here are some of the most useful inventions in families according to a survey.