Dear Jack,

    My town is very small. Only a few hundred people live here. It has a river with an old bridge across it. There is a church and a school along the river. They are next to each other. Across from our school is a park. It was built last year. I always go there to have fun with my friends. On Main Street there is a hotel, a supermarket, a gas station, a bakery, a butcher's shop and a grocery store.

    We don't have a hospital or a police station, but we do have a doctor and a police officer. They live on opposite sides of the river.

    We don't have a movie theater. If we want to go to a movie, we have to go to the next town. It is a 30-minute bus ride away. The bus stop is outside my house I usually go to the movies with my mom every Saturday.

    Please write soon and tell me something about your place.

    Best wishes

Bruce

    There were two fishermen who were close friends. Since they were busy in their personal work and family, they hardly spend time together. It was a Saturday and they decided to drive to a nearby pond to enjoy their day in fishing. Also, they wanted to have some feast with the fish they caught.

    After they reached the pond, they sat at a distance and started hunting for fish. The first fisherman got a big and beautiful fish in a few minutes. He decided to cook the fish as a whole fish at noon. He spent some more time and caught a few more fish. He decided to make a grand meal with the fish. Also, he froze a few fish to take them back home.

    It was almost more than an hour since they fished. He then went to the second fisherman and asked him if he needed any help. The second man said no. In a few minutes, the second fisherman caught a large fish. However, he put that back into the lake.

    The first man was surprised at his act. He remained silent. The second man caught many big fish, but he just put back all those fish into the lake.

    Very annoyed by his act, the first fisherman angrily asked him, “Are you mad? Why do you put your fish back into the water? They were beautiful and big!”

    The second fisherman replied, “I know they were big, but I don't have the big pan to cook the big fish! So I'm looking for a smaller fish that fits my cooking pan! God is troubling me today.”

    By hearing this, the first fisherman was surprised. He advised the second fisherman to cut the big fish into small pieces to suit in the pan and cook them properly.

    Many people are just like the second fisherman. We are provided with handful of big opportunities, chances and even fortune that we many times overlook. We need to work out just the same like the big fish fit into a small pan!

    Here are two old stories from Chinese history. The Chinese people have told them for many years.

    One is a story about Cao Cao's son, a clever boy named Cao Chong. One day, Cao Caogot a huge elephant from Sun Quan and he wanted to know the weight of it. Because there wasn't a scale large enough, some soldiers advised him to(A)it up. But Cao Cao didn't want to kill the elephant. Just then, Cao Chong came up with a great idea. He asked some soldiers to lead the elephant onto about. As the heavy animal walked onto it, the boat went lower into the water. After Cao Chong drew a line on the side of the boat to mark how low it went, the elephant was taken off the boat. (B)The boat was filed with rocks until the water reached the line on the boat. Cao Chong then weighed the rocks. The rocks and the elephant were of the same weight. (C)曹操对他的儿子生常满意。

    The other story is about a wise man named ZhugeLiang. He was asked to make 100, 000 arrows (箭)within 10days. He told (D) his soldiers to fill 20 large boats with many straw men. In the early morning of the third day, the soldiers said the boats towards the camps of Cao Cao's army on the other side of the river. They shouted and boat their drums loud. When Cao Cao's soldiers heard the sounds, they thought they were (E)attack. However, they could not see through the thick tog on the river. Cao Caoordered his soldiers to shoot arrows towards the sounds of the drums and the shouting. Zhuge Liang got enough arrows and then sailed back successfully.

    My name is Roy Green. I'm a student. I am nine years old.(岁). This is Alan. He is my good friend. Nice to meet him here. His last name is White. His telephone number is 362-5132.

    When I was a child, my parents always told me that I should never talk to strangers. This was part of a whole list of things I should never do never accept food or candy from strangers, never get in a car with strangers, and so on.

    But if we didn't start a conversation with strangers, we'd never make new friends and we'd never get a job. ①We may miss the joy that comes from talking with strangers. And the more people you know, the more chances you can find.

    The following passage offers you some advice on how to ②break the ice.

    Don't just stare at your shoes. Go and say "Hi" to that new guy. It will be easier to break the ice if you know more about different cultures.

British: Beautiful day, isn't it?

    The weather in Britain is changeable. So, it's one of the topics the British care most about. And there's a simple rule: Say "Yes" whether you agree with the person's idea on the weather or not. ③That's because the British start a conversation using the weather so that they can continue their talk.

    French: Where did you go on holiday?

    To talk with a French person, the safest way is to ask about his or her last holiday. French students enjoy a 10-to-15-day holiday every two months. French employees(雇员) get more than six weeks of holidays per year.

    American: So, where are you from?

    The US is so big and people move so often that the location is always a source(来源) of talk. You can try to find a connection with the place they're from. For example, if someone's from Los Angeles, you could say, "Oh, I have a friend who studied there."