Wood has many uses. It is a very important kind of building material. Wood can be made into desks, chairs, beds and many other things. Paper is made from wood too.

Only trees can provide enough wood. Trees can provide us with oxygen (氧气) and make the air fresh. In hot summer, trees give us shade (阴凉处；树荫) and make our surroundings more beautiful. What’s more, trees can stop soil (土壤) from being washed away by heavy rain. Since trees are so important to us, we should plant more trees. At the same time, many effective measures (有效措施) should be taken to protect forests and prevent trees from being cut down.

Bob and Jim once worked in the same factory. One day, Bob lent Jim ten dollars, but then Jim left his work and went to work in another town without giving back the money.

Bob didn’t see Jim for a year. And at that time he knew that Jim was in another town and staying at a hotel (旅馆) .So he went there to look for him late in the evening.

When he got to Jim’s room, he saw his shoes near the door. “Well, he must be in,” he thought and knocked at the door. There was no answer. He knocked again and said, “I know you are in, Jim. Your shoes are out here.”

“I’ve gone out in my boots (靴子),” answered Jim.

One day, a monkey rides his bike near the river. Suddenly, he sees a lion under a tree. The lion runs to him. He is afraid and falls into the river. He can’t swim. He shouts. The rabbit hears him. He jumps into the river. The rabbit swims to the monkey, but he can’t help him. Luckily, an elephant comes along. He is very strong. He helps the rabbit and the monkey. They are very happy. They go to the elephant’s home. Then, they become good friends.

Some factories will do harm to our human beings’ life and the environment. They will pollute the air, and some will pollute the water. That is why we cannot see any fish in many rivers in the city. Some rivers have black colour and pungent (刺鼻的) smell. And usually the air around rivers is not so clean. What’s more, the polluted water will make people and animals sick. So the environment is very important to us. We should try our best to protect it.

A businessman was on a business trip to Tokyo. One day he went to a supermarket. A lady smiled and welcomed him. He felt good. She gave the same smile to all people in the supermarket.

The businessman asked, “My dear lady, are you tired of doing this job?” The lady smiled and said, “No, sir. I’ve been working here for 10 years and I love my job. I am doing something good for my country. Most of my customers are foreigners. They spend (用，花) foreign money here. People are happy with my service. They will visit more often and spend more money in my country. So my country becomes richer.”

Harbin is a great city in China. It’s in the northeast of China. It’s famous for its cold winter. People call it “the Ice City”.

Every year, millions of people from all over the world visit Harbin. They come to see the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival. The festival usually begins in January. During the festival, visitors can enjoy the beautiful Ice and Snow World. They can see many kinds of ice and snow sculptures (雕塑). They can go skating and skiing too. If you like ice and snow, you will love Harbin.

Harbin is over 800 years old. Tourists can see many traditional (传统的) buildings in the city. They can also see many nice European style (欧洲风格) buildings in Central Street. People call Harbin “the Eastern Moscow(东方莫斯科)”.

Mr Brown got up late this morning. He was going to be late for work. It was raining hard and the streets were wet. He drove so fast that he didn’t see the red lights. He couldn’t stop his car and hit a car. An old man got out of the car and called out angrily, “What are you doing? How can you drive so fast?”

“I’m sorry, sir,” said Mr Brown, “I didn’t see the lights turn red.” Then he brought out a bottle of wine and gave it to the old man.

“It’s cold today, sir,” said Mr Brown, “Please drink a little, and then you’ll get warm.”

The old man drank some wine and became happy. He said, “I’m feeling much better now. Why don’t you drink any?”

“I can’t drink anything now, sir,” answered Mr Brown, “I’m waiting for the policeman. Only drunkards (酒鬼；醉鬼) cause accidents, you know!”

Mr Johnson lives in a town. He works in a museum. There are a lot of wonderful old things in it. He likes his work and often goes to work on time.

One day he left his office at twelve. He went to eat something. As soon as he went out of the gate, he met an old friend. They hadn’t seen each other for about five years. They were very happy. His friend asked him to drink. He agreed with him, and they went into a restaurant. There they drank a lot. Then his friend said, “Perhaps you’ve drunk too much. Let me help you get to your office.” “No, no,” said Mr Johnson. “My office is only two minutes’ walk. I can go there by myself.”

When his friend left, it was hard for him to stand. He was afraid to be late and stopped a taxi. When he got on, the driver asked, “Where are you going, sir?”

“To Park Street.”

“Oh! Sorry, sit,” the driver said in a hurry, “It’s just the Park Street.”

“OK!” Mr Johnson said and got off. He brought out some money and threw it to the driver. He shouted, “But don’t drive so fast next time!”

Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, a cartoon film based on a popular Chinese cartoon TV series, won the hearts of children in China.

The Chinese cartoon began to show in public on 16th January, 2009 (the first day of the winter holiday for Chinese primary school students). The children seemed to go straight to the cinema.

Two weeks after its release (首次上映), the cartoon film got a box-office income (票房收入) of 68 million yuan more than that of Madagascar 2 (《马达加斯加2》), which was released in China on January 1, 2009.

“I think it is more interesting than Madagascar 2,” said 8-year-old Wang Lu who saw both Chinese and American cartoon films.

However some parents didn’t enjoy Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf so much. “It’s so childish that I almost fell asleep in the cinema,” Wang Lu’s father said.

But primary school children’s great interest has brought the great box office. Parents join their children in the cinema—buying two or three tickets to keep them company (陪伴).

Catherine is my good friend. She is from the US. She lived in Chicago when she was a little girl. After she grew up, she moved to Cuangzhou. She has blonde (金黄色的) hair and big green eyes. There are four people in her family. Her father is an engineer and her mother stays at home to take care of them. Catherine has a brother. He is a primary school student.

Catherine speaks English, and she can speak Chinese too. We often talk about our favourite books and movies. We know about each other very well. Every Friday, we go to the singing club together. We both like singing very much. After having the singing class, her mother often sends me back home. Sometimes, she can even stay overnight (过夜) at my home. We are like twin sisters.