A man bought a donkey at the market one day and took him home. Now the man owned several donkeys already and he knew each one's character very well. One of the donkeys was very strong and brave. Another always wanted to make people happy by working quickly but soon got tired. One donkey was very lazy. He hated going to work in the morning and he did as little as he       possibly could all day long. When the other animals were being loaded up(装载), he always tried to be the last so that he would get the lightest load.
The man led the new donkey into the yard. For a moment the new donkey stood sniffing(闻，嗅) at his new friends. Then, without hesitation, he came up to the lazy donkey and began eating comfortably at his side.
Though it was late in the day, the man immediately led the new donkey out of the yard, straight back to the market.
"You can't have given him a fair trial yet," said the seller, "It is only ten minutes since you bought him."
"I don't need to try him any more,"replied the man, "I know just what he is like from the friend he chose for himself. Take him away and give me my money back. I can do without donkeys like him."

    Considered one of the greatest English writers，Rudyard Kipling was born on December 30，1865，in Bombay, India．Young Kipling was especially close to his mother．For Kipling，India was a wonderful place．He learned the language and connected with the country and its culture．

    However, at the age of six，Kipling's life changed when his mother, wanting her son to receive a good education in British schools，sent him to Southsea，England，where he attended school and lived with a family named the Holloways．

  These were hard years for Kipling．Mrs．Holloway was a strict woman．She beat and laughed at the young man，who also tried to be good at school．

Kipling's solace(安慰)came in books and stories．With few friends，he made himself busy in reading，but Mrs. Holloway always took away his books．

    Kipling's mother finally knew about her son's hard life．She rushed back to England and placed him in a new school in Devon．There，Kipling discovered his interest in writing，later becoming editor(编辑)of the school newspaper．

    In 1882，Kipling returned to India and worked for a magazine，writing poetry and stories in his spare time．In 1892，he married Caroline Balestier．Then，the couple lived in America．Kipling seemed to love his new life，which soon saw the Kiplings welcome their first and second children．As a writer,too，Kipling wrote The Jungle Book(1894)，The Naulahka：A Story of West and East(1892)and The Second Jungle Book(1895)．Kipling was delighted to be around children．His books enchanted(使着魔)girls and boys all over the English—speaking world．In 1907，he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature(文学)and became the first English author in the Nobel history．

  Kipling's The Jungle Book was adapted(改编)to a Disney film in 1967．A new live—action version(改编本)of the movie came out early this year ,which has proved to be a success．

Characters: Evan, Mrs. Bordoni, Mr. Cortez, Rita. Marco. Tom

Setting: An elementary school

Mrs. Bordoni: (Stands at the school gate) Good morning! You need to go straight to your classrooms, children. (A shy boy walks up, with a red face.) What is your name?

Evan: (Looking at the ground) My name is Evan.

Mrs. Bordoni: Welcome to Northside. I'm the principal(校长), Mrs. Bordoni.

Evan: (Looks surprised) Oh! Good morning.

Mrs. Bordoni: I know you are new to our school, but you will like it here. I will take you to your classroom.

Evan: I didn't want to move… and leave my friends.

Mrs. Bordoni: You will have friends here. You'll see.

Mrs. Bordoni: Here's your room, 106.

Mr. Cortez: Welcome to our class! I'm Mr. Cortez.

Evan: (The class looks at him. He speaks softly.) Hello.

Mr. Cortez: We are talking about a story we just read. Who can tell Evan what it was about?

Rita: This family moves to a new state. Their story is both funny and sad.

Evan: (Cheering up) Did they like the new place?

Marco: Not at first. But they made lots of new friends.

Mr. Cortez: What happened to make them change their minds?

Tom: The girl from next door said she needed help. When they got to her house, a sign said, “Welcome”.

Marco: It was a surprise party for them. The whole family was laughing.

Mr. Cortez: The neighbors made the family feel welcome.

Mrs. Bordoni: (Stands in the doorway) Evan, it's time for lunch. (They enter the lunchroom. A sign says, “Welcome Evan”.) It is hard to change schools and leave old friends. Now, we are your friends.

Evan: (Smiles) I can't believe you did this for me.

    A man goes into a restaurant one day. His clothes are very nice. He sits down at a table near the window.

    A waiter comes to him and says, “Can I help you, sir?” The man says, “Yes, please. Can I see the menu (菜单)?”

        “Sure,” answers the waiter. The man wants a good meal and he wants a lot of nice dishes. After a moment, the waiter brings them to him. The man has his meal happily. At this time, a boy comes in and sits down besides the man. He asks the waiter to give him ice cream. The man says, “I will be back in 5 minutes.” Then he goes out. After the boy eats his ice cream, he stands up and goes to the door. “Excuse me, your father doesn't give the money for the meal and your ice cream,” the waiter stops him and says.

    “Father? You are wrong. He is not my father. I do not know him. I meet him in the street. He says he'll give me ice cream when I come here at twelve o'clock.”

    Ryan's life was nearly perfect. He had lots of friends on his block. They walked to school together every day, and after school they always had time to play.

    Ryan did have one problem. It was his two-year-old sister, Allie. She was too small to play ball games. She couldn't climb trees yet.  Ryan and his friends didn't want her around.

    Ryan tried asking his mum to keep Allie at home. "Why does my sister have to come along?" he asked. "Troy's sister doesn't. Jimmy's sister doesn't. Why me?"

    Ryan's mother just laughed, "Troy's sister is only six months old, and Jimmy doesn't have a sister. Allie is nice, isn't she?"

    Today, Ryan was going to play baseball with his friends after school. Allie followed him as usual. The boys used to play football, but one of them broke a window at Mr Mcwhirter's house. Mr Mcwhirter wouldn't give them their ball back.

    The game got started. Allie sat on a stone nearby. Minutes later it was Jimmy's turn to hit the ball. Unluckily, it fell right into Mr Mcwhirter's yard.

    The boys ran over to Mr Mcwhirter's fence (栅栏). The ball was just out of reach.

    "None of us can fit through the fence." Jimmy said.

    The boys looked glum.

    Suddenly, Jimmy got an idea. "Allie, come over!" he called. "Would you like to get that ball for us?"

    Allie looked at the boys. Then she slipped through the fence, picked up the ball and came back out of the yard.

    "Wow," said Troy. "So quick! Thanks, Allie."

    "Nice job," said Jimmy.

    "Come on," said Ryan, suddenly proud of his kid sister. "I'll teach you how to swing the bat."

    In 1961, a man found a strange cat on his farm in Scotland. The cat's ears were bent forward on its head. In fact, this was a new kind of cat. People named it the "Scottish Fold".

    The Scottish Fold has a round head and big eyes. Its neck and legs are short. Its body is generally round, which makes it look very cute. Interestingly, all the Scottish Folds are born with straight ears. And when they are growing up day by day, some cats' ears will begin to fold. So, the Scottish Fold comes in two types: folded ears and straight ears.

    Besides, there is a nickname for the Scottish Fold. It is the "Messenger of Peace". Why? Because the Folds are sweet and friendly animals. They can get along well with other cats. And unlike some other cats, they can even get along well with dogs. In many different environments, such as in a noisy house, or in a cat show, you can see them playing with other animals happily.

    Well, when you come to a new school, do you think it's difficult to adapt (适应) to the new environment? Perhaps you can learn from the Scottish Fold. That is: always be sweet and friendly to others.