In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up with the Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.The expressoion was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.

    Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses" because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States."Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers throughout the country for over 28 years. People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are "Joneses" in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one  does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

    At the end of the wedding party for Monica and Nick, Monica's mother gave her a new bank saving passbook (存折) as a present. She advised her to put some money in the bank when they had happy things in their life and wrote them down in the passbook. She told her to keep it as a record of her marriage.

    Monica shared her mother's idea with Nick. The following were their deposits (存款) after some time: 7 February: $300, first birthday celebration for Nick after we got married; 15 April: $500, Monica got a better job;…

    However, after years, they began to quarrel every day. One day Monica told her mother that they could not live together any longer and agreed to divorce. Her mother said, "Just do whatever you want to do. But before that, take out all the money in the passbook and spend it."

    So Monica went to the bank. While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record. Suddenly the happiness in the past came up to her mind. She went back home, handed the passbook to Nick and asked him to spend the money before getting divorced.

    The next day, Nick gave the passbook back to Monica. She found a new deposit of $5,000 with the words, "This is the day I notice how much I love you and how much happiness you've brought me."

①Last week, I had an unforgettable experience. I was reading a book and had just come to the most wonderful part when my little sister Kate ran into my room. She was so noisy that I shouted at her angrily. Then I felt sad.

②"What's up, honey?" my dad came in.

③"I'm in a terrible mood (情绪)!" I said in a low voice. Then my dad suggested that tidying up things and fixing things can be helpful. I knew he was trying to help me. But every time someone suggested a way, I felt even worse!

④Just then, my friend Ollie stopped by with his new soccer ball. After knowing my problem, he advised me to play soccer or go for a walk. Right then, Ollie's soccer ball dropped onto the sidewalk (人行道). So we ran to catch before it went into the street. We ran and ran until it was stopped by a tree. Then I heard many birds singing in the trees happily. They were so sweet. After that, I found my problem was solved (解决) and I felt better.

⑤So, if you also find it hard to take other's advice when you're in a bad mood, maybe you could write down your own list of ideas and look at it when you need to. And it's important to talk about it with one person you trust.

My aunt Nancy is a truck driver. When she left school, she didn't know what she wanted to do, so she went to work in a supermarket. One day, she was talking to one of the truck drivers at the supermarket, and she got the idea to drive a truck herself. She went home and told her parents (my grandparents！), and they thought it was a good idea.

Nancy's journeys are different every day, and she goes to every part of the country. She enjoys the driving, but she says that one day, she would like to get a job with a different company(公司) so that she can drive to more places.

Nancy says she likes being out on the road, seeing new towns all the time, but the best thing about driving trucks for her is talking to everyone she sees during her working day. She also says the trucks are comfortable, so she doesn't mind sleeping in them. For her, they are her home on wheels!

I asked my grandparents what they thought about Nancy's job. They are happy that Nancy is happy, so they don't want her to change jobs. But they worry about her because it's sometimes a dangerous job and she spends a lot of time away from home.

①Many people think wheat straw（麦秸） is the waste on the farm. However, Wu Cui, a straw plaiting （ 草 编） artist from Helan County, Ningxia, can turn straw into eye-catching artworks.

②Wu, 29, is the sixth-generation inheritor（第六代继承人） of straw plaiting. Learning from her uncle, Wu made things with straw when she was a child. She made the straw-plaiting her job after she finished college three years ago.

③Before plaiting straw, Wu usually spends a long time finding the right straw. Then she ties them up and dries them. Also, Wu needs to put the straw in warm water so that the straw won't break easily. Choosing from materials is the first step. And then Wu needs to sketch（素描） the piece on paper, which requires drawing skills. Next comes the weaving（编织） , shaping and finally the preserving of the work.

④"In the past, we could see straw products（制品） everywhere in the countryside, such as straw hats and straw shoes. But the world has changed. There are so many things for people to choose from. So we need to find other ways to share the art with people," Wu says.

⑤When asked about her plans, Wu says she wants to di g deeper into the traditional culture and make more creative（有创造力的） works.

I'm Julia.Today I go to Mr.Smith's Clothes Store with my mother.There are shirts,trousers,shorts and many other clothes in the store.It has lots of) T-shirts for boys and girls.Some of them are nice and cheap(便宜的).I usually wear(穿着)size S because I'm short and slim. I also see some skirts.I like them very much.They are red,green and white.I meet my English teacher Miss Zhang in the store.She is Mr.Smith's friend.With Miss Zhang's help,my mother buys a blue T-shirt for my brother Peter,a white shirt for my father Jack and a red skirt for me.They are only 200yuan.My mother is very happy(高兴的).