Mrs. Green had a young dog which was very clever. It often helped her buy a newspaper. One winter evening, the dog went out to play. It was snowing heavily. Soon the ground(地面) became white.

     “The dog never loses his way. Where is he now?” Mrs. Green thought. She shouted(喊) his name.

    But still the dog didn't come back. So she telephoned the police and told them a lot about her dog.

    “My dog is very clever. He always goes out and comes back soon. Sometimes he plays with his friend, Mickey. He can buy a newspaper. He almost talks.”

    The policeman was tired and said, “I think you'd better put your telephone down. Maybe he is trying to telephone you now.”

    We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays. There are different customs for each festival.

    Tan Xiaodong,15, Hong Kong, China

    "It'll soon be the Chinese New Year. Before it, we'll clean the house and decorate it for good luck. Every shop is going to close for a few days and we'll go out a lot to celebrate on the streets. We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center. I love this festival."

    Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia

    "Australia Day is on 26th January and it's an important holiday here. We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days. My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over. Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there's lots of music and dancing. What fun!"

    Amy, 14, New York, the US

    "The first Thanksgiving was celebrated hundreds of years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help. It's still a very important day for family members to be together. This year we're going to visit my grandparents and we'll eat a delicious meal of turkey. Thanksgiving is on the 4th Thursday in November every year."

    One day I happened to meet an Englishman in the street and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be very surprised, gently shaking his head and saying "You don't say!". I was puzzled, and I thought, "Perhaps this is not a right thing to talk about." So I said to him, "Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? Have you ever been there?"

    "Certainly! Everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave here without seeing it. The Great Wall is wonderful!" "Yes, it is one of the wonders in the world. And people of many countries have come to visit it." As I went on telling him more about it, he stopped me again, "You don't say!"

    I couldn't help asking, "Why do you ask me not to talk about it?"

    "Well, I didn't ask you to do so," he answered, greatly surprised.

    "Did you say 'You don't say!'?" I asked again.

    Hearing this, the foreigner laughed loudly. He began to explain," 'You don't say!' means 'Really'. Perhaps you know little about English idioms."

    Wow! How foolish I was! Since then I have been careful with English idioms.

Do you know what life is like as an unwanted child? Most children are {#blank#}1{#/blank#} ( 满足的) with their lives. But the childhood was quite different for Adeline Yen Mah, a Chinese-American writer and doctor. Adeline's book, Chinese Cinderella, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} ( 描述) the story of her family. She was born in a {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (普通的) family. After giving birth to her, her mother dies by {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (意外事件). So her family thinks that Adeline is bad luck. Soon, her father gets married again. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (然而), life does not get easier. Her stepmother takes care of her {#blank#}6{#/blank#} ( 粗心地). She often forgets her at school at night. But Adeline keeps writing and later joins in a writing competition. Finally，she {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (打败) the others and wins the match. This changes her life. She gets a chance to go to {#blank#}8{#/blank#} ( 大学) and become a doctor. Now she is {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (已经) a famous and successful doctor. Adeline had an unhappy childhood. But life is a long {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (旅程). You will win as long as you try your best. Her strong spirit teaches me a lot. Do what you want to do and never give up. 

Hi, I'm Tom. Here is a photo of my family. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}My grandpa's name is Harry Brown, and my grandma's name is Jean Brown. Those are my dad Jeff and my mom Lily. They are teachers in Yangguang Middle School. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Oh, she is my sister, and her name is Gina Brown. In the photo, you can see a dog Nemi and a cat Vivi, too. Nemi is yellow and white. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}They are very lovely(可爱的). I like them very much. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Haha! I'm not in the photo.