Mr. Clarke hated to do the housework. He wouldn't stay at home on weekends. As his wife always told him to do some washing or cleaning，or he had to cook for his family. So he always made some excuses (借口)on Friday evenings.

    Recently Mr. Clarke was interested in playing cards，but he was afraid to let his wife know. So every Sunday afternoon he brought some fish home. It made his wife happy and she never asked where he spent his weekends.

    One Saturday morning，Mr. Clarke left home at 7 o'clock. He took a bus and got off at a stop near a small town. His friends were waiting for him in a small hotel. They played cards there. Mr .Clarke didn't go home until 7 o'clock on Sunday evening. He went in the shop near the bus stop as usual. As soon as the shopkeeper saw him，the man said，“I'm sorry，Mr. Clarke. I have no fish today. What about some chicken legs？” “Don't be silly！” said Mr. Clarke，“I can't tell my wife that I have fished some chicken legs，can I？”

Dear Liz，

    My stay in Thailand has certainly been the experience of my life．

    Life is busy and exciting．Bangkok is just like any other big city with a population of 10  million and heavy traffic．I'm very lucky because my host family is in a nice quiet area outside the city．There are Mr. and Mrs. Phairat, their son Sanan, who is 18, the daughter Chinda, who is 16, and Grandpa and Grandma．

    I go to an international school with Sanan and Chinda．The school teaches about 70 percent in English，and 30 percent in Thai. I've learned some spoken language，but Thai writing is very difficult．The cooking lesson is my favourite．I'm learning all about Thai food and culture People don't use chopsticks here，but spoons and forks．When I come back，I'm going to cook you a real Thai meal．

    Last weekend we visited some temples．We also drove to Pattaya beach near Bangkok．I thought it was great，but Sanan and Chinda say that next month they're taking me to Phuket  Island，where the beaches are even more beautiful．The month after next，we're going to travel to Mr．Phairat's hometown in the north of Thailand．The Phairats own land there，and they have two elephants．I'm going to ride those elephants — and even wash them．Sanan and  Chinda say it's really fun．I'm amazed by everything in this country，especially by the elephants．Elephants are an  important pan of Thai culture and way of life．They have been a traditional symbol(象征)of Thailand for many years in times of war and peace．In the seventh century，a Thai king trained 20,000 elephants for battle．

    I'll tell you all about my Thai boxing(拳击)lessons next time I write．

Love,

Mandy

    One day, Allan and his friend Henry went swimming in a river. It was very hot. How happy they were in the river! After they got out of the water, they played games in the sun for a while.

    On their way back, Henry saw some flowers. He liked flowers very much and ran into the green field to look at them. Now Allan was walking by himself.

    Then he heard Henry calling out, "A snake! Help! ..."

    "What's wrong with you?" asked Allan.

    "A snake bit（咬）me in the leg. Come here!"

    Allan ran over and saw a small red wound（伤口）on Henry' s leg.

    "The snake was in the grass. I didn't see it."

    "Sit down quickly"! Allan told Henry.

    Allan put his mouth at the little red wound and began to suck（吸）at it. In this way he saved Henry's life. "Oh, Allan, it's very kind of you to help me."

    "That's all right. We are friends and we must always help each other."

Blue Lightning

    Sally loved cars more than anything else. This spring she thought of building a go-kart to enter for the Go-Go Race. So she asked her dad for help.

    "Well," he said. "How about this: you do some research first and then come back to me with a design."

    A week later, Sally brought her notes and drawings to Dad. She named her go-kart "Blue Lightning". Dad looked over her work, thinking. "Well, that's interesting," he said. "Have a try. Just build Blue Lightning as you've designed."

    Over three weekends of hard work, Sally turned her design into a real, working go-kart and painted it light blue. Dad asked her to take it for a test drive. Sally agreed.

    After she did that, Sally drove back to Dad. "Well," she said. "Now I know why you wanted me to have a test drive."

    "Oh, do you?" he said. "Please share."

    "When I drove fast, there was a lot of pushback," she said. "I think it's because of the lightning bolt (闪电) shape."

    "Very good!" Dad said.

    "So, why didn't you tell me about that problem in the first place?" Sally asked.

    Dad laughed. "Where's the fun in that? If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. But if you teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime."

    Sally said, "I see. Anyway, designing is half the fun!"

    Dad smiled. "Good. Sometimes, learning happens during the process. We learn how to do something right by doing it a few times first and making mistakes along the way."

    That encouraged Sally and she worked even harder. When she showed Dad her new go-kart, he nodded with pride.

    Finally came the race. Sally wasn't worried about whether she would win—in her mind, she had already won, by building something better than ever before.

    It was a Monday morning. When the teacher walked into the classroom, he heard a low voice. "Here's the teacher. I'm sure this boring fellow is going to talk about how to use commas." It was a boy's voice and the teacher knew who he was.

    However, the teacher didn't get angry. He said nothing about it, but really began to talk about how to use commas. And he wrote the following sentence on the blackboard, "Nick says the teacher is a boring fellow." The class laughed and Nick's face turned red. "Now," said the teacher, "I will tell you the importance of commas." He put two commas in the sentence and then said, "Nick, says the teacher, is a boring fellow." The whole class laughed again. Nick felt very surprised first, then his face turned much redder. Finally he couldn't help laughing with the other students, too.