I was jogging with my dog this morning when I saw John at a street corner. He was sitting on a bike with one of his feet on the ground. “He’s waiting for someone,” I thought. John and I were both in the ninth grade. He was a basketball player on our school team and was very popular with many girls. But I never talked to him before. He was not my type.

John saw me, too. He smiled. For a moment I thought he was smiling at someone else. But he was not. “Hi, Mary,” he said to me. “You have a cute little dog.” I smiled but did not say anything, because I did not know what to say. “I’m here waiting for you. Would you ... would you like to go to the movies with me? “ he asked. I was very surprised. I never thought he would do this, and I never thought about going out with him.

I said “No”, of course. But he seemed nice and friendly. Maybe I would go to watch him play basketball someday.

   Stanley was a person who loved singing to himself in the bath. One cold winter night, he went into the bathroom to have a hot bath. He took off his clothes and turned on the tap, but there was no hot water - the water from the tap was cold.

Stanley didn’t know what was wrong, but he finally decided to take a bath without hot water. He started to sing as usual, one song after another. Stanley was surprised that the water felt warm this way. So he kept singing, louder and louder, until he finished his bath.

The next morning when Stanley was going to work, he saw a piece of paper on his door:

Please do not sing so loud! Every time you sing I get a headache, and my baby cries.

The poor mother next door

   We all do it. We all need it. Most of us need to do it for seven to nine hours a night, It is of course sleep. Many scientists believe that an average adult should get eight hours sleep per night. However, some people can live without feeling sleepy after as little as six hours of sleep. Yet, other people need about ten hours a night. Newborn babies usually sleep between 14 to 17 hours a day. Usually they only stay awake for one to three hours.

Do you take a nap in the day? Some adults and children need to nap. This just depends on the person. One thing scientists have learned is that man is the only mammal that stops himself from going to sleep. This can be bad for our bodies in many ways. Scientists believe not sleeping enough can make us eat more and put on weight. That’s right! A hormone called leptin falls when we don’t sleep enough and this makes us hungrier. Hopefully you are a good sleeper and get a good night’s rest tonight!

   Kelly is a very special student in my class. Her father is an American, and her mother is a Chinese from Hong Kong. Kelly was born in New York and finished elementary school there. Then the family decided to move to Taiwan because Kelly’s father found a new job in Taipei. Kelly could speak only English, but her parents did not send her to a special school for foreign children. They wanted her to study in a regular junior high school and to make friends with the local students.

Kelly has to work very hard at school. English is easy for her, of course. Math is OK, too. But Chinese and history are big headaches for her because she cannot read the books in Chinese. She often comes to me, her English teacher, to ask questions about Chinese and history. She is trying very hard, and I believe she will do well in Taiwan.

△When is the spring season?

Spring is the season succeeding winter and preceding summer. Spring refers to the season as well as to ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection, and regrowth. During spring an important celebration takes place: Easter Day. It varies between March 22 and April 25 in Westem tradition, and between April 4 and May 8 in Eastern Christianity.

△What happens in spring?

Spring is a time when flowers bloom and trees begin to grow and reproduce. The days grow longer and the temperature in most areas becomes more temperate. You can also contemplate the melting of ice and thawing of the ground. The weather during this period becomes much sunnier while hibernating animals begin to come out of hibernation.

△What to do during the spring season?

There are so many things to do to enjoy spring:

☆Plan a holiday and make a trip, Vacations aren’t just for summer anymore!

☆Take a walk in a field of flowers.

☆Meditate: Contemplate and reflect on the beauty of nature. Forget the worries of everyday life and empty the mind. Concentrate on the sounds and the scent of nature.

☆Spot the things you want to change in your life. Spring is a time for rebirth.

New Year’s Eve

New Years Eve, also called Old Year’s Night, is celebrated on December 31st, the final day of the year. It is celebrated all over the world with parties and social gathering with usually a lot of fireworks and noise.

In the United States of America, New York is the place where this celebration is associated with. People gather in the Times Square just before midnight in the last minute of the countdown to see the “ball dropping”.

The celebration is also associated with parties in other parts of the world. In France, for instance, the celebration is called le Reveillon. Special food is prepared accompanied with champagne. People also go to the Eiffel Tower in Paris to see fireworks display. In Japan, people traditionally clean their home. Buddhist temple bells are rung 108 times at midnight. In Brazil, the beach of Copacabana is considered by many to be the place of the most beautiful fireworks show in the world.

On New Year’s Eve, people commit themselves with resolutions. These are made reform a habit and should go into effect and remain until fulfillment.

   At 9: 30 p. m. yesterday, I was sitting in my chair, listening to a strange sound. It made me ______.

This was the third time I heard the ______. I didn t know who or what made the sound. It sounded like someone was knocking at my ______, but I lived on the ninth floor!

I was ______ scared to open my eyes until the sound stopped. I thought about asking for help, but I was sure people would ______ me. “There are no such things as ghosts,” they’d say.

“There it is again!” I shouted My mom came upstairs and ______ me what was going on. Then she heard the strange noise too. She went into the bathroom. I wanted to ______ my mom because I was afraid that something bad would happen to her. ______ she started laughing. “It’s OK, dear. It’s just a strong wind making your curtain shake and knock the window.”

I was very surprised. Since then, I’ve started thinking more ______. In the world, there are ______ ghosts. I don’t need to be afraid. If such things happen again, I will do like what my mom did and find out the truth.

   
41．You may have heard of the famous saying, “East or west, home is the best.”
42．“home”这个词对你来说意味着什么? How do you say the word in French, in Chinese, in your language?
43．Although people usually know that the word means, it sometimes has no exact translation. It’s not surprising, because the idea of home is different from country to country, and from person to person.
44．家不仅是屋顶和四面墙. It’s the cooking, eating, talking, playing and sleeping that go on inside. And at home you usually feel safe and relaxed.

45．Homes look different in different countries. They also have different things inside. For example, in cold northern Europe, there’s a fire in the living room or kitchen and all the chairs face it. In the south, where the sun shines a lot and it’s more important to keep the heat out, there are small windows and cool stone floors.

   Most people want to be happy, but few know how to find happiness. Money and success alone do not bring lasting happiness. Aristotle, a Greek thinker, said, “Happiness depends on ourselves.” In other words, we make our own happiness. Here are a few suggestions to help you be happier.

The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend so much time thinking about the future - for example, getting into college or getting a good job - that we fail to enjoy the present. You should enjoy life’s simple pleasure, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends. People who have several friends often live happier and healthier lives.

Another secret to living a happy life is to be active. Many people go dancing or play sports. People can forget about their problems and only think about the activities.

Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. Studies show that people feel good when they spend their time helping others. If you want to feel happier, do good thingsfor someone. You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to buy food for an elderly person, or simply help out around the house by washing the dishes.