Once there was a boy named Jimmy. He drew many beautiful interesting pictures, and many people bought his pictures. They thought this boy would be famous when he grew up, and then they were going to sell these pictures for a lot of money.

Jimmy’s pictures were different from other people’s because be drew on half of the paper, and the other half was always empty. “That’s very clever,” everyone said, “His drawing is special!”

One day somebody asked him, “Jimmy, why do you draw on the bottom (底部) half of your pictures, but not on the top half?”

“Because I’m short,” Jimmy said, “And my brushes can’t reach very hight.”

Some people think that all wild animals are dangerous. But in fact, very few of them will attack a man if he leaves them alone. If you meet a lion or an elephant, I guess you will run away. But even a lion will avoid (躲避) a man if it is not very hungry. Lions and tigers only kill and eat men when they have grown too old and too weak to catch their usual food, such as deer and other small animals. If you see a wild elephant, perhaps you will be frightened. However, elephants usually run away at once if you don’t attack them. Some animals get very frightened if they smell a man. Some stand and look at him for a moment before they run away. Some take no notice at all but walk away quietly in another direction. Wild animals only attack people when they are afraid that people want to harm (伤害) their babies, or when the hunters shoot at them and make them angry.

Mr Brown and his wife lived in a small house near London with their child. Mr Brown came back from his work very late. His wife and the child were asleep. He usually opened the front door of his house with his key quietly. But one night when he came home late, he lost his key. So when he reached his home, he rang the bell, but nothing happened. At last he had a good idea. He began to speak like a small child. “Mother!” he said, “I want to go to the toilet!” At once Mrs Brown woke up. Then he spoke to her, and she opened the door for him.

Americans with small families own a car. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. If the family is big, they will buy a van (面包车).

Americans call vans “motor homes”. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family is travelling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happy trip because they are travelling together. That is why motor homes become popular. In America, there is a lot of parking for motor homes.

Mr Black and his wife had a third child last year. So they bought (买) a van. They put things on the sixth and the seventh seats, because a family of five must carry many suitcases (旅行箱) when they travel.

In England, nobody under the age of eighteen can drink in a bar (酒吧). Mr Green often went to a bar near his house, but he never took his son, Tom, because Tom was too young. After Tom had his eighteenth birthday party, Mr Green took Tom to his usual bar for the first time. There was one light at the end of the bar. They drank for an hour, and then Mr Green said to his son, “Now, Tom, I want to give you a lesson. You must be careful not to drink too much. How do you know when you have had enough? Well, let me tell you. Can you see those two lights at the end of the bar? If they seem to become four, you have had enough and should go home.”

To save time, many Americans buy food which can be quickly made ready for the table. During holidays, families enjoy delicious meals. For example, on Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November, family members get together for a turkey dinner with pumpkin pies.

The United States is known around the world for its fast food, such as hamburgers, sandwiches, pizza and many kinds of ice cream. People can easily find fast food chains(连锁店), such as McDonald’s and KFC in most of the big cities in the world.

These years, many people have taken more and more care of their health while eating. They come to know eating too much meat will make them overweight. Many of them are also worried about food additives(添加剂). Some food additives may be harmful to the body.

A good breakfast is important. We can easily understand it. We have not eaten anything for about twelve hours until breakfast time. Our bodies need food for morning activities.

One good breakfast should have rice or bread, an egg, milk and fruit. On a cold morning, a cup of hot drink is necessary.

We must get up early to have enough time to eat breakfast. A good breakfast helps us to be more friendly and also to work better and play more happily.

Alice lives in Shenzhen. She had a wonderful and busy summer holiday. She went to a lot of places and did a lot of things. At the beginning of the summer holiday, she finished her homework at home. Then she went to Hong Kong and bought many things with her family. After that she went to her hometown. Hunan and visited her grandparents. She helped her grandparents do a lot of housework. She watered the plants, set the table, made the bed and cleaned the room. Then, Alice went to Guilin with her family. They ate a lot of delicious food and took the bamboo raft. At the end of the summer holiday, she went to Yunnan. She climbed the Yulong Snow Mountain. She felt very excited!

Jill and Kate are going hiking with their classmates tomorrow. They want to take some fruit with them. Jill likes oranges and Kate likes apples. When they get to the supermarket, they can’t find any oranges, and the apples are too green. “What are we going to buy now?” asks Kate. “Hey, what’s that big round fruit over there?” asks Jill. “I don’t know. Let’s ask the salesgirl.” “Excuse me. What’s this?” asks Kate. “It’s a grapefruit(柚子),” answers the salesgirl. “Why don’t we buy one?” asks Jill. “OK. We will have a fun hiking and eat a new kind of fruit!” says Kate.

Lisa is the youngest child in the family. When Lisa was a little girl, she loved to play games with her brother and sister.

One day, after a heavy snow, their father was reading in the living room, and their mother was cleaning the house. Lisa and her brother and sister were playing in the backyard. They decided to make a snowman. So Lisa and her sister went back to the house, and they took a carrot, a long red scarf, a hat, and some colourful buttons. The carrot was for the nose, and two buttons were for the eyes. At last, they made a big round snowman. It was very cute.