Mr. Smith and Aunt Judy like talking with each other for hours on the telephone. Their     17     topic is their neighbours. Here is an example of what they say on the telephone.

“Did you see the new couple who moved in     18     to me? Do you think they are married? You know, last night they were having a big argument. They were shouting at each other so     19     that I could hear almost every word through the walls.”

“She is very     20    , don’t you think? And have you seen her cat? It’s so big but cheap, I’m afraid. And you know something else, I think she’s going to have a baby.”

There are a lot of interesting things in the world. If someone tells you that they can fish in the desert, you must think they are joking. But this is true. In some places of Africa, people can fish in the desert. It must be very interesting to get some fish from the sand. And in the woods of Asia there is a kind of bird. To our surprise, this kind of bird doesn’t eat anything but iron. I think the bird’s teeth must be harder than the iron. We all know that snakes can eat mice, but in a place in Africa, a kind of big mouse can eat snakes. Isn’t it interesting? Have you ever heard of “brush trees”? They are different from trees we know. People use branches to brush teeth, and they are good for people’s teeth.

You must be very surprised to hear these interesting things. But they are all true. In fact there are a lot of interesting things in our world. If you are careful enough, you can find them easily around you.

A middle school organized a “No TV Week” programme. All the teachers, parents and students worked together for this programme and most of them found it to be a very good one. The headmaster said, “The idea was not to stop watching TV completely but for the students just to find how much time they watch TV and try to use this time for other things.”

What did the students say about this “No TV Week”? One boy said, “I can’t believe I haven’t watched TV for a week, but it’s been fun doing it.” A girl said, “I’m going to give up all TV programmes except for ‘Our Animal World’ and other language-teaching programme. I’m really pleased that I have more time to do things like walking and thinking. I enjoy this ‘No TV Week’ very much.” But not all the students thought it was good. Here one student said something different. “I don’t like ‘No TV Week’ because I like watching TV. I have lots of favourite programmes and I don’t want to miss them. But we have to do it.”

Often, doctors tell some people to go on diets. The doctors hope the diets will make the people feel b    50    . They hope the diets will make the people healthy.

Amy was on a diet, but she didn’t like it at all. She was not a    51     to eat her favourite food by the doctor. While her brother Jim ate chocolates, she had to eat an apple. Amy was on the diet for two months. Her doctor was pleased with her. “You have been very good,” he said. “You can eat some food you like best. But only a little. Don’t eat too many sweets. Don’t eat too much ice cream. If you do, you will get a lot of weight a    52    .”

Then the doctor put Jim on a diet. It was a different kind of diet. “You c    53     eat chicken or eggs, Jim,” said the doctor. “These foods will make you in trouble.”

“How long will I have to be on the diet?” asked Jim.

“A long time,” said the doctor. “Maybe for the r    54     of your life.”

“But I really like chicken,” said Jim. “You said it was one of the best meats to eat.”

“It’s good for most people,” said the doctor. “But when you eat it, it will make you sick, so it’s not good for you.”

“You are right,” said Jim. “Well, I will eat more cakes i    55    .”