On Christmas Eve, the evening before Christmas Day, children always put a stocking(长筒袜) at the end of their beds. Their parents often tell them that Santa will bring gifts for the good children. When the children sleep in their beds, Santa will climb down the chimney(烟囱)into the house and fill the stockings with Christmas gifts.

    In fact, children's fathers will put on red hats and red clothes. They will put the gifts into the stockings or under the Christmas trees.

    I have many toy animals. Look! This is a monkey. It is lovely. I like it very much. That's an elephant. It is big and strong. What are these? They're pigs. They're cute and fat. Where's my dog? Oh, it is under the table.

    Hans Christian Andersen （1805﹣1875）was the most famous writer in Denmark. His stories have attracted many young readers around the world.

Andersen's father was a poor shoe-maker. As he was very young, Hans was spoilt by his parents and his grandmother. But when he was 11years old, his father died and the boy had to leave school. His mother made a living by washing clothes, while Hans spent a great deal of time making theatre toys and puppets. He reads as many books as he could.

    Andersen published his first tale in 1835, and continued writing until he died. Andersen's words are simple and humor. The stories became popular in the early 1840's, and made Andersen famous more and more. Among the best known of his fairy tales are The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes, A Little Match Girl and so on.

Ben: What's in your bag, Tom?

Tom: Open it and see.

Ben: Wow! One, two, three... eight! Eight planes!

Tom: What's in your bag?

Ben: Look! Five oranges, three apples, six pears and so many grapes! What fruit do you like?

Tom: I like apples and grapes. Can I have some grapes?

Ben: Of course. Here you are. I like grapes, too.

Sydney, November 24

Dear Binbin,

    How are you? It is summer in Sydney. It's very hot. I wear a T-shirt and shorts. I'm going to Beijing next week. What's the weather like in Beijing? What clothes should I wear in Beijing?

    See you soon.

Yours,

John