Billy always loved blueberries. They were his favorite fruit. Today he was going to make juice with his uncle. His uncle liked to make juice out of everything. He made carrot juice, apple juice, vegetable juice, and more juices. He had never made blueberry juice before though!

  First, Billy and his uncle went to a blueberry farm. They were each given a basket. They picked for an hour and got several pounds. It was hard work picking the little berries from the trees. Now Billy understood why they were expensive in the store.　

  Next, they had to wash the fruit. Some of them still had leaves. Those had to be pulled off. Then the bad berries had to be thrown away. They washed the berries and made them air-dry.

 After that, they pushed the blueberries through a strainer(过滤网). The strainer caught most of the seeds and skins, and only left a small glass of dark purple juice to them.

 When they tasted the juice, it wasn't very sweet. Billy's uncle didn't want to add white sugar to the juice. It was better to use a naturally sweet juice, like apple juice, pear juice, or grape juice. They used grape juice as a sweetener (甜味剂), because grapes had a similar color to the blueberries.

  Finally, they could drink it. It was a lot of work to make juice, but it sure was refreshing!

    Would you believe that the first outstanding deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman? His name was Laurent Clerc. He became a friend of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and together they founded America's first school for the deaf.

    Laurent Clerc was born in a small village near Lyons, France, on December 26, 1785. When he was one year old, he fell into a fire, losing both his hearing and his sense of smell.

    At 12, Laurent entered the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris where he did well in his studies. After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher.

    Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was studying to be a minister. He was very concerned about the lack of educational opportunities for the deaf. Therefore, in 1815, Gallaudet sailed to London, England to seek ideas on how to teach deaf people. While he was there, he met a French educator of the deaf who invited him to go to Paris to spend three months learning at the Royal Institution for the Deaf, the school where Laurent Clerc was teaching. Gallaudet accepted the offer. The two worked and studied well together. When the time came for Gallaudet to return, he asked Clerc to come with him. Clerc accepted on one condition: that he would stay in America only a short time.

    The two men set sail on June 18, 1816. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took 52 days; however, Clerc and Gallaudet put the time to good use. Clerc studied English, and Gallaudet studied sign language. They discussed the school for the deaf which they planned to open. On the long trip, they had many conversations about education and deafness. The year after they arrived, they founded a school for the deaf in Harford, Connecticut.

At the school, Clerc led a busy life. He taught signs to Principal Gallaudet; he taught the pupils; and he taught hearing men who came to the school to study deaf education.

    In 1819, Clerc married Eliza Crocker Boardman, one of his pupils. They had six children. He retired from teaching in 1858. Although he had intended to return to France, he never did. He died on July 18, 1869 in the United States.

    Some years ago on a hot summer day in South Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming lake behind his house.

In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind his shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam towards the middles of the lake, an alligator(鳄鱼) was swimming towards the shore.

    His mother in the house was looking out the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer. In extreme fear, she ran towards the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him.

    From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched(夺取) his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war(拔河). The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate. A farmer happened to drive by, took aim and shot the alligator.

    After weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. The newspaper reporter asked if he would show him his scars(伤疤). The boy lifted his legs, then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. T have them because my mum wouldn't let go."

    Some scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds are because love has refused to let go.

    Johnny English is a funny spy (特工). He isn't very smart and often makes mistakes. After he retires (退休)as a spy, he teaches English at a primary school.

    One day, a hacker (黑客)attacks (攻击)the UK. The hacker reveals (公布) the names of all of Britain's spies. Only English is left, since he is retired. He is asked to find the hacker.

    English knows nothing about high—tech weapons (高科技武器). He makes a fool of himself quite often. To find the hacker, he has to work with his old friend, Bough. Soon, they find the hacker as well as a bigger plan behind him.

    English and Bough show that two heads are not always better than one. Sometimes they do silly things. But they stop the hacker's plan in the end. Do you want to meet these two silly spies? You can see them in Johnny English (《憨豆特工3》). It opened in Chinese mainland theaters on November 23rd.

    It's Paul's twelfth birthday today. After breakfast, some of his friends come to see him. They give (给) him many nice gifts. Paul is very happy. At about 9:00 in the morning, they play basketball. They have lunch at McDonald's. In the afternoon, they go to the park (公园).

    At about 5:30 in the afternoon they come back home. Paul's mother buys a big birthday cake (蛋糕) for him. Paul's name and the words "Happy Birthday" are on the cake. Paul gets some nice presents from his family, too—a yellow T-shirt from his mother, a pair of sports shoes from his father, a CD from his sister Lucy, a basketball from his grandpa and a book from his grandma.

    How happy Paul is!