Look at these things. This is Mr. Wang's ID card. And this is Jim's watch, that's Mary's key. Gina's notebook is over there. Look! What's that on the floor? Oh, it's a gold ring. It's Jenny's ring. It's very nice.

    Four beggars (乞丐) usually met at an old shack (小窝棚) at the end of the day. One day, they were very upset because none of them had got much in their begging bowls.

    "I only got this piece of meat today," the first said. "I hardly got anything," the second said. "I just picked up these few vegetables outside the fruit and vegetable store." The third complained that all he was given was a handful of herbs(香草) that he couldn't eat on his own. The fourth beggar didn't do much better. "I only got the handful of old, dried beans, but they aren't very nice!"

    As they sat around the fire, one of them had a great idea. "Let's put all our bits together and boil them. In this way, we can make a tasty dish and share it." They all agreed.

    However, the first beggar thought, "I don't want to share. I'll just pretend (假装) to throw my meat into the pot. They'll never know and I'll eat my meat later." So he pretended to put the meat into the pot. Now the same idea had also hit the other beggars and the shack was so dark that no one could see what the others were doing.

    Finally, one of them suggested that the dish should now be ready and, in turn, each of them helped himself to a bowl. They drank the hot water in absolute(绝对) silence, learning that selfishness doesn't taste all that good.

ClothesDonation (捐赠) Box

    Have youever put your old clothes into the donation box in your neighborhood? If not,you can do it right now because the clothes donation is becoming a trend (趋势) in Urumqi.

    "Fromtime to time, my mother clears out the clothes which I no longer wear. Youknow, we teenagers are growing fast. I think it's a good way to helpothers." Lin Tao, a junior student says.

    "Ioften pick out some of my clothes which are out of style after going shopping.Then I put them into the donation box." Miss Li, a pretty young lady says.

    "Thatseems like a good idea. Some clothes in the box are quite new. People caneither wear them or usethem to make things such as handbags and pencilcases," Mrs Wang, an old woman says, "sometimes I also look throughthe box for some nice clothes."

    However,there are some problems along with the popularity of clothes donation.Recently, a UTV reporter from Focus on the City has made a survey. Here are theresults:

    Some boxesare full of clothes in a short time. There is no more room for people to giveaway clothes.

    Somepeople sell the clothes in the donation box for making money instead of wearingthem.

    Somecommunities set the boxes in unsuitable places. So there are few clothes in it.

    Manyclothes are too old and shabby (破烂的).

   "What's worse," one of the staff in a community added,"we quite often see people throw rubbish into the box when they pass by.We've tried to stop them several times but failed. It has been the most seriousproblem since we set the box."

    In orderto make the donation box work in an efficient (有效的) way, our government is taking action. Clothesdonation will be better-organized and it'll be more convenient for people inneed to take the clothes away.

A shoemaker sp ent his time in singing from morning till night. It was wonderful to see, wonderful to hear. He was very pleased.

However, his neighbor—a banker, who was very rich, sang little and slept less. When by chance he fell into a light sleep in the early morning, the shoema ker woke him up with his song. The banker complained(抱怨) sadly that God had not made sleep a saleable thing, like food or drink, that people can buy with money. At last he sent for the singer. He said to him,"How much money a year do you make, Master Gregory?"

"How much a year, sir?"said the happy shoemaker laughing,"I have never thought in that way, living as I dofrom one day to another; somehow I manage to reach the end of the year; each day brings its meal."

"Well then! How much money a day do you make, my friend?"

"Sometimes more, sometimes less. But the worst of it is that we can't work a few days in the year, or we willmake more."

The banker said with a laugh,"In the future I shall place you above what you want. Take these hundred gold coins, keep them carefully, and make use of them in time of need."

The shoemaker was surprised to have all so much money. Returning home, he buried(埋藏) his money and his happiness at the same time. No more singing, he lost his voice at the moment he got his money. Sleep left him and cares, worries, and fears took its place. All day, he kept his eye on his money from time to time; and at night, if some cat made a noise, he thought someone stealing his money. At last the poor man ran to the house of his rich neighbor. He said,"____."

He was happy again.

Mother Cat has four lovely children. On a sunny day, she is playing with her children in the park. Later, they are 1 , so Mother Cat takes them out to look for food. She finds a 2 tree. So she 3 her children to get some bananas on the tree. But no one wants to do it. Mother Cat has to do it herself.

After some 4 , Mother Cat gets a lot of bananas. She asks her children, "Who would like to take these bananas home?" 5 they don't want to do it. So she takes the bananas back home.

After getting home, she asks, "Who will make 6 salad with the bananas?" They all say, " We are not 7 ."

After she makes the salad, she says to 8 , "Who wants to eat the salad?"

"I will," they all say.

"No, you can't. You don't want to do anything before I make the salad. You must 9 ‘No pains, no gains (不劳无获).' " She doesn't 10 any salad to her children but eats it herself.

Young Jim was glad when the ship finally arrived. He said 1 to his shipmates, carrying a heavy bag on his shoulder.

With him was Ben. Jim met the old sailor (水手) on Treasure Island—he was a nice person, but had become a bit strange after being on the desert island for three 2 !

"What are you going to do now, Ben?" he asked.

"A thousand pounds worth of treasure is 3 for me! I will live a happy life!" He waved goodbye as he 4 .

The minute Jim got home, his mother rushed outside. "Oh, my darling boy! It's so good to see you. I thought you had been lost at sea!" she cried 5 .

Jim showed her the one thousand pounds worth of treasure he made. She was amazed! More than 6 weeks later, while Jim was helping his mom with dinner, Ben appeared in front of him.

"Bad luck, Jim! The treasure weighed me down, and there were so many things to spend it on. In fifteen days, I had 7 every coin!" Ben said.

This was a sad turn of events! Jim asked Ben if he had any family he could 8 with. He sighed. "I've been on that island for years, so I've forgotten so many things. I wouldn't know where to find them! I couldn't even tell you when my birthday might be!"

Jim felt sorry for him! He went into the kitchen and came out with a 9 .

Jim told Ben, "Since you don't know when your birthday is, let's say it's today!" When Ben tore (撕破) the paper off the box and smelled what was in it, a tear came to his eye.

"A CHEESE CAKE! The very thing I 10 on that island for so many years. You've taught me a lesson—gold coins come and go, but friendship is a treasure that lasts forever!"