Maria is a beautiful young girl. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes. But she is still very insecure(缺乏信心的). She often thinks most of her friends are more beautiful than her. One day a new girl joined her class. Her name is Sarah. She has dark brown hair and green eyes. Maria thought the new girl was beautiful and wished she looked like her. One day she decided to take action.

    She went out and bought some hair dye（染发）. When she returned home, she told her mother what she planned to do.

    "It's your decision," said her mother sadly. "But I think you look beautiful as you are."

    Maria didn't hear what her mother said. She spent a few hours dyeing her hair dark brown. She felt much better and went to school happily the next day. As she reached her class she saw a new blonde girl sitting near the front. Later she knew it was Sarah. Sarah dyed her hair blonde. It was almost the same color as Maria's was before. Sarah turned around and Maria spoke to her.

    "Why do you dye your hair?" asked Maria.

    "Well, I always love your hair' said Sarah.

    Maria sat down and sighed(叹气).

    An Australian dog called Maggie has passed away this week, and her owner thinks she may just be the world's oldest dog.

    Maggie lived on Brian McLaren's dairy farm (奶牛场) in Woolsthorpe, in southern

    Victoria Australia. We got her when she was only a little pup, just 8 weeks old. We believe she was 29 years old, "Mr. McLaren said. The McLaren family brought Maggie home before their son started attending school. He is now 34. When the kids were growing up, they'd get off the school bus at 4:10 pm and if they were late, she'd be there Barking (叫) at 4:15," Mr. McLaren said. Maggie worked on the farm bringing cows together until about 12 years ago. "She wasn't pampered (娇惯) but she was well looked after. She always had milk—but not too much of it. She loved her milk. "Mr. McLaren said.

    "She loved running after the farm motorbike. When she was younger she would want to run long beside it, so the faster you went, the more quickly she would run. She had the greatest life."

    Mr. McLaren said Maggie passed away peacefully. She died in her sleep on Sunday night. "The last couple of weeks I was sad I was going to have to put her down, and that was going to break my heart," he said. "I'm so pleased she went the way she did."

    According to the Guinness World Records, the oldest age recorded for a dog is 29 years and five months—for another Australian working dog named Bluey.

    China and Westen countries may have different ideas about certain animals, but when it comes to pigs, we have somehow reached an agreement﹣that pigs are ugly, lazy, stupid and shameless.

    But the truth is that pigs do have some finer qualities(品质). Science long ago proved that pigs aren′t stupid at all. A research shows pigs are" mentally and socially similar to dogs". They like to play. They have good long﹣term memories. And they know the difference between those who treat them well and those who don't.

    There are lovable pig characters in cartoons too. Peppa Pig(小猪佩奇), for example, a UK television series (连续剧)that began in 2004, has now become one of the most popular cartoons in 180 countries and regions. The four members in the cartoons pig family teach children from all around the world about love, friendship, and the value of family, And in China, McDull, a young pig who works hard toward his dreams even though he keeps failing, have been a popular cartoon character since 2001.

    Perhaps these are the qualities of pigs to keep in mind﹣intelligence, cuteness and patience.