Tom was a farmer. He worked on the farm all day，but sometimes he went to the town market to sell fruit and vegetables. One day, a terrible sound attracted his attention in the town market. He saw a young bull for sale. The bull was white and yellow. It was looking at Tom in fear. Tom walked up and touched its head gently. Just at that time they both seemed to have known each other for a long time. How amazing！Tom bought it at once and called it Amba.

    From then on ， Tom and Amba got on well with each other. But some friends told him that it was dangerous to have such a close relationship with an animal.

    One afternoon， Tom was walking through the forest with Amba. Suddenly， Amba stopped walking and kept pushing Tom with its head. Tom was very surprised and looked around. There was a big snake in front of him. It was beautiful but poisonous. Quickly Amba stepped on the snake's tail with its foot and at the same time Tom picked up a stick and hit the snake's head heavily. Soon the snake died.

    Tom was very grateful for Amba's help. When people heard this, they were shocked at the bull's expression of love for Tom. But for Tom, Amba was not a bull but a member of his family.

    Jack is 20 years old. He is short with a round face and small eyes. He has a job now. He works in a small restaurant.

    Jack has to get up at 5：00 a. m. and rides his bike to work. He usually works from 6：00 a. m. to 7：00 p. m. every day. People eating in the restaurant are very poor. They usually give him a little money for tips(小费). Sometimes they don't give him any tips. So he doesn't like the job and he wants to go to school. He wants to be a mechanic(机械工) because he likes to fix(修理) things. He wants to fix cars. He dreams of running(经营) a car shop, and then he is going to make much money. After he makes a lot of money, he can buy a big house and have a family. Now life is bad, but he is doing his best to make it good.

  The Vietnam(越南) War broke out. The young husband 1the army and died in the war. His wife and son began to have a 2life after that. Even though their life was very hard and sometimes they didn't have enough food to eat, the 3still decided to raise her son by herself.

  Several years later her son immigrated(移民) to America 4finally become an engineer. He often sent letters to his mother with much money. However, with many excuses, the son 5to come back home to visit his mother.

  6his mother died, the son returned. But he didn't cry. His mother left a box behind. During the funeral(葬礼), the son opened the box and 7cried and shouted, "Mom! Mom!"8looked at each other and then looked at the box. It was full of $ 100 bill and a piece of paper.

  It read, "Son, I don't spend too much money. I miss you a lot. Every time I heard a motorcycle 9. I ran out of the door but it wasn't you. I stayed money 10you in case (以防) you get sick."

    I like listening to music in my free time. My favorite song is Another World by One Direction. I also like reading books and one of my favorite books is The Old Man and the Sea. But I like making clothes best. I think it is very interesting.

Emma

    In my free time, I often help my parents do the housework. I clean the rooms, wash the dishes, walk the dog and help my sister with her studies. But my favorite thing is cooking. I want to be a great cook in the future.

Tina

    In my free time, I like, drawing, playing volleyball and reading books. I also enjoy talking with my friends and playing the piano. I have piano lessons every Thursday and Sunday.

 Bill

    I like doing volunteer work in my free time. I go to the old people's home with my classmates twice a month. And sometimes I go to the market to help old people. I also help clean the park in my neighborhood.

Jessica

This is No. 12 High School. My friend, Linlin, is in this school. Linlin has short hair, a big nose, a small mouth and big eyes. She is thirteen. She is in Class Two, Grade Seven. She's a good student. She has two good friends in her school. They are Lucy and Lily. They're sisters. They are fourteen. They have small noses, small eyes, but they're not short. Lucy and Lily are in Class One, Grade Eight.

Mary is a three-year-old girl. One day, her parents can't find her in the house. 

"Where is Mary? Is she in the garden(花园)?" Asks Mrs Brown. 

"Maybe(可能) you are right. Let's go to the garden, " says Mr Brown. 

When they come to the garden, they see Mary sitting under a tree. 

"Hello, My name is Mary. Good morning. Glad to meet you here. I like green, and I like eating bananas. What do you like?"

"Who are you talking to, Mary?" asks Mr and Mrs Brown. 

"I'm talking to my new friends, " Mary says. 

Who is Mary talking to? Do you know? She is talking to some ants(蚂蚁) under the tree. What a lovely(可爱的) girl she is!