People in the West didn't know coffee or tea two hundred years ago. They were 1 to drink them because they thought coffee or tea could kill a person. Once the king of England decided to find out 2 it was true.

    There were two brothers in prison(监狱) at that time.They would be killed 3 a few days because they did wrong. The king said, "I shall let them live but they must drink coffee or tea to the end of their lives. One brother must drink coffee and 4 must drink tea every day." And they followed the king's words.

    They both lived many years. At last, the elder brother died when he was eighty-three years old.The younger one died a few years later. After that, people 5 that coffee and tea were not bad to man.

    It was Sunday afternoon. My brother and I were alone at home. My parents went for a party and asked me to look after my brother. I was doing my homework while my younger brother was watching TV. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Ding-Dong! My brother thought that it was our parents, so he opened the 1soon.

    A tall man wearing a black raincoat stood outside. He said that he came to sell books and asked politely2 our parents were at home.

    Without thinking, my brother said, “No.” Then the man asked if we would like to 3some story books. I refused him. When I wanted to close the door, he suddenly pushed the door very 4and came into our house. He took out a 5and ordered me to tie up my brother's hands with a rope. I tied up his hands in a special way so my brother could untie 6easily. The man then tied my hands up and locked 7of us in the kitchen. Soon, he went upstairs to 8money. I taught my brother to untie the rope on his 9. He then untied me. I rushed to the telephone to call the police,10the line was dead. The doors were all locked from the outside. It was lucky that the man 11to lock the kitchen window. We got out of the house through the kitchen window and went to the 12 pay phone to call the police

    Soon 13came to our house and the man was caught. By that time, my parents had come home. We told them the whole story. My parents were 14that we were not hurt. They told me that I should stop my brother from 15the door to strangers. I learned a lesson on safety.

Helen was going to leave college. Her father said, "Dear, I want to give you an old 1 . I bought it a long time ago. Before I give it to you, 2 it to a car seller in the city and see how much they offer for（出价）it."The girl did as the father asked. When she came back, she said, "They offered S1,000 because it3 very old."

"OK. Take it to the second-hand car seller,"the father said. The girl4 back again and said, "They offered $100 because it is a very old car and it needs a lot of5 ."

The father asked his daughter to show the car 6 a carclub. This time the girl got 7 different. 

"Some people in the club offered me $100,000 because it is a rare car, it's very8 to find, but it is still in good condition（状况）."

The father smiled. "Dear, remember this. You are not worth（值得）anything9 you are not in the right place. If they don't like you, don't be10 . That means you are in the wrong place. Don't stay in a place where no one sees your value（价值）."

On the fourth day I found a campfire. It was still smoking. Somebody else was living on my island! Who was it? I felt scared so I took my gun and climbed a tree. I watched for a long time but I didn't see anyone. I went back to my tent and tried to sleep. I didn't feel safe any more. The next day I went exploring. I kept my gun with me all the time. After a while I saw a fire through the trees. I went up to it very slowly and very quietly. A man was lying on the ground near the fire. He was asleep but there was a blanket over his head so I couldn't see his face. I hid behind a bush and waited. I had to wait for a long time and it was starting to get dark when the man finally woke up. He stood up and took off the blanket. It was Jim, Miss Watson's slave! I jumped out and ran up to him. 

"Jim! "I said. "It's me, Huck! "

"Huck! Is it really you? "Jim said, with a big smile. 

"Yes, Jim, and I'm really happy to see you. But what are you doing here? "

"Well, alright then. The other day a businessman from New Orleans came to the house. I knew that Miss Watson wanted to sell me. I was scared. Then I ran away and hid on the island. "

We sat there chatting for a long time. I liked talking to Jim because he knew a lot of things. He understood signs. He knew which ones meant good luck and which ones meant bad luck. He knew which signs meant bad weather, too. When he saw some birds flying low in the sky he said, "It's going to rain later, Huck. We must find a dry place to make a camp. "

The next day we climbed to the top of a big hill in the middle of the island and found a cave in the rock.

"This is a good place, ""Jim said. "Let's make our camp here! "

—Taken from The Adventure Of Huckleberry Finn

Hi, I am Mia. I am a British girl. Now I am studying in Qingdao, Shandong Province. I like Chinese culture a lot.

This year I celebrated an unusual festival in my classmate Li Mei's home. It's the Longtaitou Festival. The festival is always on the second day of the second lunar month（农历月) every year. It shows the start of spring and farming. People celebrate the Longtaitou Festival in different ways. The most famous tradition is getting a haircut（理发）. Some people think that it can bring them good luck.

Li Mei treated me to some fried beans（炒豆）and pancakes. Fried beans are the traditional festival fare for them. During the meal, she told some other special food for the festival. People in Suzhou enjoy chengyao cakes（撑腰糕）. As an old saying goes," If you eat chengyao cakes at the Longtaitou Festival, your waist won't hurt all year." More interestingly, some foods are named after the loong body parts to mark（庆祝）the day. Wontons are the loong's eyes (longyan), noodles are the loong's beard (longxu) and spring pancakes are the loong's scales (longlin).

We spent a happy Longtaitou Festival together. Laughter and joy filled the whole house. To me, it was more than a festival, but a lesson about Chinese culture.