D

    Mike's eleventh birthday is next Saturday. He wants to have a dinner party at his house. He asks some good friends to his party. David and Sally are two of them. Now they are discussing (讨论)what they will buy for Mike.

    David: Hey, Mike's birthday dinner is next Saturday. Let's thin k about the food.

    Sally: Sure, does he like birthday cake?

    David: No, he doesn't. He is tired of(对……厌烦)butter(奶油)a lot.

    Sally: Well, what does he like?

    David: He likes burgers and fried chicken．

    Sally: That's great. I like them too. What about vegetable salad?

    David: No, he doesn't like. But he likes fruits.

    Sally: What fruits?

    David: I think his favorite fruits are apples and bananas.

    Sally: OK. Oh, don't forget ice-cream. He likes it too.

    Sally: All right. Let's take all.

C

    Once upon a time，there was a king who had gone to visit neighboring kingdoms．He was gifted a pair of baby parrots by the king of the last kingdom where he was visiting．They were the most beautiful birds that he had ever seen．so，after returning to his kingdom，he called for a bird trainer and asked him to train parrots．

    The king also set up a place in the palace garden for the parrots．He often looked at them from his palace window．As time passed，one day the trainer came to the palace and told the king that though one of the parrots was flying high in the sky，the other one was not moving from its branch since the day it had arrived．

    When hearing this,the king summoned the best trainer from all his land and the nearby kingdoms．They came quickly and tried their best, but none of them could make the parrot fly!He even asked his courtiers to try to find a good way to make the parrot fly but they all failed．The parrot was not moving from his branch at all．Finally，after trying everything，the king thought to himself："Perhaps I need someone who may be more familiar with natural habitat．"He asked his courtier to get a farmer from the countryside and take him to the parrot to see if he could understand the problem with the parrot．

    The next morning，the king was surprised to see the parrot flying high above the palace gardens．He asked his servant to call that farmer to meet him．The servant quickly went and found the farmer．The farmer came and stood before the king．The king asked him，"How did you make the parrot fly?" With his hands folded with respect，the farmer said to the king，"It was very easy．I just cut the branch where the bird was sitting．"

    My father doesn't know how to cook. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If no one cooks for him, he doesn't eat anything.

    Today, my mother doesn't feel well. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} My mother and I are happy. My father says he will go shopping first.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    So my mother writes all the things on a piece of paper(-张纸) like this: ⒈cake; ⒉egg; ⒊tomato; ⒋milk; ⒌chicken.

    Then my father goes out.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} He brings out all the things: one cake, two eggs, three tomatoes, four bags of milk and five chickens!

    Looking at those things, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Have you ever heard of the story The Ant and the Grasshopper(蚱蜢) ?

    One fine winter day some ants were working in the field. They were very busy. Just then a grasshopper passed by." Good day, kind ants," said the grasshopper, "I am very hungry. Will you lend me a little food? I have nothing to eat. I will pay you before the next autumn."

    "You have no food of your own? Why didn't you gather any food during the summer? You know there was much food in the field last summer. What were you doing then?" asked an old ant. The grasshopper answered, "I was singing all day and night during the summer. So I had no time to gather any food. Please lend me some." "Well, then, "said the ant, "you could sing all the summer, and you also could dance all the winter. You only played and did not work during the summer. We'll never lend you any food." And the ants went on working.

    Winter can be a difficult time to take exercise. Apart from the short daylight and cold weather, there are also plenty of holidays to keep you away from exercising. So how to keep fit and not to put on too much weight during the winter time? Here are some tips for you.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}You don't necessarily have to do some intense(剧烈的) sports. When you run or walk, don't worry about how fast or slow you're going. Just find a rhythm(节奏) that makes you feel easy and comfortable. Winter is not the time to be strict with yourself.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Before you head out, warm up indoors to slowly raise the heart rate(心率) , without sweating(流汗) a lot. Run in place, walk up and down the stairs, or use a jump rope. It does work as long as it can get your heart beating faster.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Try to take exercise during the daytime. When the air is the warmest and the sun is out, the weather is more suitable for exercising. But if you have to walk or run in the dark, do carry a flashlight.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Exercising with a friend, even once a week, can help you get out of the door. It's hard to stay and not to move when someone is waiting for you, and you two can encourage each other.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}If you cannot stand the cold outside, why not go for some indoor sports? You can take a yoga class, play badminton or swim in an indoor swimming pool. Whatever sport makes you want to exercise, just do it. Never stop moving for health!

    It was a Christmas night. I was an unlucky nurse who had to work on such a beautiful festival. When I was complaining(抱怨)about it, three people appeared at my desk－a tired woman and her two children, a son and a daughter.

    "Are you all sick?" I asked doubtfully because they seemed all right.

"Yes," the woman answered weakly and lowered her head.

    But when they started to present their problems, things became unclear. The daughter had a fever, but her temperature was OK. The son had an earache, but he couldn't tell me which ear hurt. It seemed that the mother was pretending(假装)to cough.

    Something was wrong. But I only explained that it might take a while before a doctor could meet them. "Take your time, please," said the mother. I checked their charts－no address.  All of a sudden I knew they were homeless while the hospital was warm.

    The family huddled(蜷缩)together under the Christmas tree, smiling and talking with each other sweetly. Quietly, I went back to the nurses' station and told them what happened in the waiting room. It was just like God sending us a gift on this Christmas night. The nurses' station suddenly came back to life. All the nurses went into action for "a Christmas emergency(急诊)".

    We took out our meals for our Christmas "patients". We also put together oranges and apples as presents. We tried to exceed(超过)the needs of a family who only wanted a warm place on Christmas night. Later, the little girl kissed me and said, "Thanks for being our angel."