People use their mouths for many things. They eat, talk, shout and sing. They smile and they kiss. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word “mouth.”

    For example, if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest and say “Do not bad mouth me.” Sometimes, people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because it hurts that person's feelings. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say: “I really put my foot in my mouth this time.” If this should happen, the speaker might fee l down in the mouth. In other words, he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing.

    Another situation is when someone falsely claims another person said something. The other person might protest: “I did not say that. Do not put words in my mouth.”

    Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. There is an expression for this, too. You might say such a person, “was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.”

    This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives from hand to mouth. This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food.

    Parents might sometimes withhold sweet food from a child as a form of punishment for saying bad things. For example, if a child says things she should not say to her parents, she might be described as a mouthy child. The parents might even tell the child to stop mouthing off.

    But enough of all this talk. I have been running my mouth long enough.

    The Monkey Buffet Festival is on the last Sunday of November. It is a great day for monkeys in Thailand（泰国）. The festival has a history of 25 years. People there think monkeys can bring good luck to them. So, to thank monkeys, they have this special festival.

    On that day every year, people put lots of fruit, vegetables, cakes and even drinks on the tables outside. They are all for monkeys. Many people come to see the monkeys on that day.

    During the festival, there are a lot of interesting activities about monkeys. Young people always dress like monkeys and they sing and dance and play some music on the street.

    Monkeys always live in groups. Most of them live in the trees. They are good at running and jumping. They eat fruit, vegetables, flowers and birds' eggs. Monkeys are smart. Do you think so?

    The first Starbucks (星巴克) coffee shop opened in 1971 in downtown Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It was a small coffee shop that roasted its own coffee beans. The coffee shops business did well, and by 1981 there were three more Starbucks shops in Seattle.

    Things really began to change for the company in 1981. That year, Howard Schultz met the three men who ran Starbucks. Schultz worked in New York for a company that made kitchen equipment (设备). He noticed that Starbucks ordered a large number of special coffee makers and he was curious about the company. Schultz went to Seattle to see what Starbucks did, and he liked what he saw. He wanted to become part of the company. In 1982, the original (原先的) Starbucks owners hired (聘用) Schultz as the company's head of marketing.

    In 1983, Schultz travelled to Italy. The special atmosphere of the coffee bars there caught his eyes. To Schultz it seemed that Italians spent their daily lives in three places: home, work, and coffee bars. His experience in Italy gave Schultz a new idea for Starbucks back in Seattle.

Schultz created an atmosphere for Starbucks coffee shops that was comfortable, and customers (顾客) everywhere seemed to like it. Between 1987 and 1992, Starbucks opened 150 new shops—and that was only the beginning. In fact, by the year 2000, three new Starbucks shops opened somewhere around the world every day!

    Today, Starbucks has thousands of shops, including shops in twenty-six countries. One thing that helps make Starbucks succeed in cities outside the United States is the way Starbucks works with local shops and restaurants. By working together with a store already in the city, Starbucks gets an understanding of customers in the city. This understanding helps Starbucks open shops in the right locations for their customers.

    Mother's Day is a holiday for mothers. It is celebrated in the United States, England, India and some other countries. In a short time, it becomes widely celebrated Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday in May. On that day many people send gifts of love to their mothers. Those whose mothers are still living often wear a pink or red rose or carnation(康乃馨), while those whose mothers are dead wear a white one.

    The idea of a day for mothers was first given by Miss Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia As a result of her hard work, the celebration of the first American Mother's Day was held in Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. Soon the holiday became popular all over the country and around the world.

    In China, people do the same on the day for mothers, And, in some cities, people sometimes ask a song to be broadcasted for his or her mother only. This might cost a little money for some of them, but, as it is said, "Love is invaluable."

    On May 8, 1999, just the day before the Mother's Day that year, a Chinese mother, a heroic(英雄的) mother was killed in criminal bombing(罪悉轰炸)in Yugoslavia(南斯拉夫). Her name is Shao Yunhuan, a reporter who wrote lots of articles(文章)for Chinese newspapers. All the Chinese will remember her forever.

    Britain is f{#blank#}1{#/blank#}as a country of animal lovers, and a many families have at least one pet. Americans also like animals, and about 60% of American families have a pet. People from other countries say that Americans think so much about animals and take them as well as people.

    At weekends people have many ways to see other animals. Many towns have a river with ducks. In Britain, people v{#blank#}2{#/blank#}farm parks, zoos, bird parks, and sea life parks.

    TV s{#blank#}3{#/blank#}about animals are very popular. Children are i{#blank#}4{#/blank#} in animals when they are very small. Children's life is wonderful b{#blank#}5{#/blank#}there are many different animals. Many animals in books have their own character: foxes are cunning(狡猾的), and cats are kind.

    We can watch stories about animals on TV. Animal World is very good. We can know more about animals. And we can see many other animals we can't see in our life.

    Animals are our friends and we s{#blank#}6{#/blank#}take the animals as our friends.