It is raining outside. A bus 1 at a small bus stop. A man 2 out of the window. He sees a woman. She is selling 3. The man wants 4 a cake. But he doesn't want to go out because it is raining. The man sees a boy. The boy is 5 the window. “Come here, boy, ” the man says, “Do you know 6 the cake is?” “Twenty fen. ” the boy says. The man 7 the boy forty fen and asks him to buy two cakes. “One is for you and 8 is for me, ” he says to the boy. After 9 minutes, the boy comes back. He 10 a cake. He gives the man twenty fen and says, “Sorry, there is  only one cake left. ”

Mum's Christmas Surprise

    Molly ran back home from school and dropped her schoolbag on the sofa. Then on the table she saw “Mum's Wish Book” – a mail order catalog（商品目录） from a gift shop. “Mum,” she said excitedly to herself, “this year you'll get the gloves you want!” Molly had walked a dog for a neighbor and saved her 1 all year to buy Mum the gloves.

    She opened “Mum's Wish Book” and hoped that she could find these 2 in it. Teas ran down her face when she saw the gloves in the catalog. Mum wouldn't buy them for herself, because the family had a 3 time on the farm. She once heard Mum say to Dad, “Maybe some day, I'll have the money to get them.”

    Molly ran out by the back door and went straight to the post office. There she carefully filled out the order form torn from the catalog.

    “I need to buy a stamp to 4 the form.” She said to Mr. Smith, the only worker in the post office.

    “Umm, a pair of gloves?” said Mr. Smith, as he passed a stamp to her.

    “Yes, It's a Christmas gift for Mum, but please don't tell her. It's our 5, OK?” Molly didn't realize how white Mr. Smith's beard was until that moment. In face, he reminded her of Santa Claus.

    As Molly walked back home, she decided to tell Dad her secret. “You've got to check the mailbox every day,” said Molly 6 to Dad. He nodded, with a big smile.

    Coming home from school every day, Molly peeked at （偷看） Dad when Mum wasn't 7, but every time he shook his head.

    On Christmas Eve, Dad came back from mailbox, still empty handed. Molly felt 8 when she went to bed, because she didn't have the gloves for Mum.

    Before Christmas dinner, as Mum took the apple pies out of the oven, Molly began 9 the table. Suddenly, they heard someone pulling up the driveway. From the window they saw Mr. Smith making his way to the door, with a box in his hand. Mr. Smith 10 Mum the box, “I believe this is yours.”

    Mum looked from Dad to Molly and opened the box. Her eyes lit up when she saw the gloves. “Oh, who bought these for me?” she asked.

    “Santa did,” said Molly smilingly.

    “Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!” Mr. Smith, with a loud laugh.

    It was Christmas that no one would ever forget.

    Poor Les had a dream of being a DJ. He went to a radio station every day for a week, 1  a job. Finally the station manager offered one to him, but with no pay! Les said thanks and 2 it. He was asked to get coffee and pick up lunches and dinners for the workers at the station. However, when possible, Les would go to the studio (演播室) and learn whatever he could. Back in his room at night, he 3 and prepared for an opportunity (机会).

    One Saturday afternoon, one DJ named Rock drank too much and he seemed to have trouble with his 4. Suddenly, the phone rang. Les picked it up. He was the 5 person at the station. It was the station manager.

    The manager knew Rock couldn't 6 his programme, so he asked Les to call one of the other DJs to come to help. Les said yes, but he waited about 15 minutes before he called the 7 that he found nobody. He was sure his opportunity was on its way.

    The manager asked, "Young man, do you know how to work in the 8?"

    "Yes, Sir," replied Les.

    Les quickly walked into the studio, moved Rock aside and sat down at the desk. He was 9. He turned on the microphone and said, "Look out! This is me—Les Brown. There were none before me and there will be none after me…"

    Les gave the listeners and his manager a big 10! He went on to have a successful life in politics, public speaking and television!

    William Shakespeare was a writer of plays and poems. Some of his1famous plays are Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. He was born in 1564 in England.

    At school he liked2. He decided3an actor when he finished school at the age of fourteen. He married in 1582 and had three children.  4twenty-eight he5London and6a theatre company. He became a successful actor and started writing plays. Queen Elizabeth Ⅰ7Shakespeare's plays.

    In 1599 the company opened the Globe Theatre 8the River Thames in London. You can go to the Globe Theatre today.

    William Shakespeare died at the age of fifty-two. He was rich and9. You still see his plays in English and in many other languages. He is one of the most famous10in the world.

    Washington was the first president of the United States. He was very 1even when he was still a 12-year-old boy.

    Once a thief2some money from Uncle Post, Washington's neighbor. The door of the house was not broken, and things in the room were in good order. Washington 3that the thief must have been one of the villagers.

    That evening at the villagers' meeting he said, "We don't know who stole the money4.

    God does. God sends his wasp(黄蜂)to tell good from5Every night the wasp flies6us but few people notice it. "Then, all of a sudden Washington waved his band and cried out, "Look！The wasp has landed on the thief's7It is going to sting(叮咬)!"

    Everybody turned to 8the thief. But soon the noise died down. All eyes were 9on a man who was trying hard to drive the "Wasp" off his hat.

"Now we know10stole the money, "Washington said with a smile.