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.

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.

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!

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.

Little Robert’s mother gave him two cents the day before yesterday, and two cents yesterday. But now he is asking his mother for two cents more. His mother is very confused, because Little Robert always asks her to give him money these days.

“What did you do with the money I gave you yesterday?” his mum asks.

“I gave it to a poor old woman,” he answers.

“You are a good boy,” says his mother proudly. “Here are two cents. But why are you so interested in the poor old woman?”

“She is the one who sells the candy.” says Little Robert.

The Spring Festival was on February 16th this year. On the eve of the Spring Festival, we had a big dinner. After dinner, I put on my new clothes and went out to watch fireworks. Wow! How colourful and beautiful they were! So we took some photos. After that we went home happily. At twelve o'clock, we cheered to welcome New Year and wished each other good luck. During the Spring Festival, I got lots of red packets. My favorite festival is the Spring Festival.