A few years ago, the company I worked for sent my wife and me to live in New York for a year. I've always loved running, so I was happy when I found out the house we lived in was next to Central Park. This means I could go to the park to run every morning before I went to work.

      A lot of people had told me to be careful of robbers in the park, so usually I didn't take any money with me. But one morning, my wife gave me a $10 bill and asked me to buy some bread on the way.

      While I was running through the park, another runner knocked into me. Just as I was wondering what was happening, he said sorry to me and went on running. I thought it was kind of strange, and suddenly I thought of my money, so I checked my pocket and found that my money was missing. Without thinking twice, I ran after that runner. The minute I held him by the arm, I shouted, “Give my money back! Now!” I'm not usually a hot-headed person, but I got really angry this time. He seemed to be afraid and he took out the money and gave it to me. Then he ran away as quickly as he could.

      I bought the bread and went home. As soon as I got home, I began to tell my wife my story. “You won't believe what happened to me.” I started. She immediately stopped me, “I know, you left the money for the bread on the kitchen table.”

    John went to spend his summer holiday in China with his parents last year. They visited some famous cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Kunming and Shanghai. In Beijing he visited the Great Wall, Tian' anmen Square and the Palace Museum. They also went to the zoos and the parks. The weather was fine and cool. They had a good time in the parks. They also took lots of photos there. In Guangzhou, they visited some museums. They were very interesting but kind of crowded. In Kunming the weather is never too hot in summer. They visited the Stone Forest, the Golden Temple and EXPO Garden. They climbed the Xishan Mountain. In Shanghai they went to the beach and had great fun playing in the water.

    "It's very interesting to visit China and I learned a lot about Chinese history," John said. "

    If I have another chance, I'll come back to China again."

It is a sunny day, and my parents and I go to Qingcun town (镇). It is a town with a long 1  and where my mother was born. She misses her hometown very much, so during the Spring Festival vacation, we 2  it. 

There is an old street in Qingcun town named Qingxi Old Street. When we walk on the street, we 3  a store which sells handmade cups. What an 4  store! I am so happy because not only do I get a new cup, but I can also 5  pictures on the cup myself. 

I'm proud of my drawing skill and quickly, without any 6 , draw a red plum (红梅) and a mountain on the cup. My mother thinks it is beautiful and takes many 7 . The shop assistant tells us the cup will be ready in two weeks and she will 8 it to us.

I wear a traditional 9 during the trip. It is red and glittering. In Chinese culture, red means auspicious (吉祥样的). I like my dress, my mother's hometown and the pleasant trip. I 10 to come back to Qingcun again. Maybe I can make another cup.

It was Lisa's seventh birthday. She received a special gift from Uncle To by. It was a box of little ducks. Lisa was very excited, because she was looking forward to playing with little ducks.

Lisa tried to carry the box to her garden. However, the box of ducks was heavy and she dropped it. The box fell to the ground and broke. The ducks all ran out. They ran everywhere—into neighbours' gardens, into the field, even into the next street. Lisa spent hours trying to find them and took them back to her garden.

Then she called her uncle and told him about the little accident.

"Did you find them all?" her uncle asked.

"I hope so," Lisa replied. "I caught ten of them."

"That's very interesting," her uncle said with a smile, "because I only sent you eight."