One evening Nasreddin heard a noise in his garden and looked out of the window. A white ox had got into the garden and was eating his vegetables. Nasreddin at once took his _______, ran out and chased the ox, but he was too old to catch it. When he got back to his garden, he found that the ox had ruined（毁坏）most of his precious vegetables.

The next morning, while he was walking in the street near his house, he saw a cart（运货车）with two white oxen which _______ the one that had eaten his vegetables very much. He was carrying his stick with him, so he at once began to beat the two oxen with it. As neither of them looked more like the ox that had eaten his vegetables than the other, he beat _______ of them equally hard. The owner of the oxen and the cart was drinking coffee in a nearby coffee-house. When he saw what Nasreddin was doing to his animals, he_______ out and shouted, "What are you doing? What have those poor animals done to you for you to beat them like that?" "You keep out of this!" Nasreddin shouted back, "This is a matter between me and one of these two oxen. He knows very well why I am beating him!"

For most of us in China, we only have to turn on the tap to get clean water. We seldom think twice about where it comes from.

Day after day, thousands of children in poor countries have to_______ hours walking for miles to collect water. What's more, the water is dirty and can cause serious diseases, such as diarrhea（腹泻）. It's hard to believe, but every 20 seconds a child dies as a result of a water-related disease.

The international water-aid charity called Just a Drop ______ clean water to some of the poorest areas in the world, by building wells, pipelines（水管）and toilets. The charity has helped about 1. 5 million people ______.

Betty, from Uganda, is just one of the people who have been helped by Just a Drop. 11-year-old Betty had to walk two miles every day, carrying two heavy cans ______ dirty pond water before Just a Drop placed a well in her village. "I used to get sick from the water. Now, I don't have to walk long distanced and I feel much safer with this clean water."

Time speaks louder than words. Time communicated in many ways.

Think of the different parts of the day, for example. The time of the day when something is done can give a special meaning to the event. In the United States, it is unusual to telephone someone very early in the morning. If you telephone him early in the day, while he is having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very important and required immediate attention. The same meaning is given to telephone calls made after 11:00 p.m. If someone receive a call during sleeping hours, he may assume it is a matter of life or death. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.

In daily life, time plays a very important part. In the United States, guests will feel they are less important if the invitation to a dinner party is received only three or four days before the party date. But this is not true in all countries. In other areas of the world, it may be considered foolish to make an appointment too far in advance because plans which are made for a date more than a week away are likely to be forgotten. The meaning of time varies in different parts of the world.

In the western world, especially in the United States, people think of time as something fixed in nature, something from which one cannot escape. As a result, American think of time as a road into the future, along which one progresses. Those who can plan their time well are more likely to achieve success.

Since time has such different meanings in different cultures, communication is often difficult. We will understand each other a little better if we can keep this fact in mind.

Australia's worst pests（害虫）are the rabbits, ______ by a settler who released 24 into the wild for sport hunting. In less than 100 years, the rabbits grow into the millions of ones, leaving large areas of land looking like the surface of the moon due to thousands of rabbit caves. The spread of the rabbits in Australia was the fastest of all animals in the world. The spread of the rabbits' _______in 1950 cut the number, but it was not until 1997 when the spread of another disease targeted the pests that the number was finally brought under control. Farm losses due to rabbits today still ______ a surprising total A $200 million （US $112 million）a year.

The European red foxes, also released for sport hunting, are growing and eating sheep flocks, costing farmers A $40 million（US $22. 4 million）a year. The State of Victoria ______ a A $10（US $5. 6）prize for each fox tail and has gathered 25,000 in a few months.

Foxes are one of the biggest threats to wildlife in Australia. Foxes kill thousands of lambs, birds and native wildlife.

Now the government is paying more attention to this problem. Scientists ______ that they should import some wild dogs, which are natural enemies of rabbits and foxes. But how to control their ______ is also a problem. Scientists say they will not take any big action until they are sure not to bring another ecological（生态的）problem.

Singapore worries a lot about the fitness of its people. One-third of the people in the country are overweight and about 6% of them are too fat. Every year, September is the health month for "Fighting Obesity（肥胖）".

This fight against unhealthy lifestyle starts in the schools. Everyone is educated about eating w_______ and taking exercise. Students whose weight is more than it should be are asked to join the school health club and take part in special activities to help them lose a couple of kilograms. D_______ breaks they do not go to eat snacks, but to the school hall for some exercise. The school also talks to their parents to see if they can plan a healthier d_______ for the children. Sometimes the parents realize that their cooking c_______ the problem. Some children find it difficult to lose w_______, but they're not allowed to give up. Fun and games are used to a_______ the students to running and jumping. Parents can print out a list of the food their child is eating and discuss it at home. F_______ classes may be held on Saturdays for those who need them.

An Englishman was showing a foreign visitor around London. "What's this strange building?" asked the visitor. "This is the Tower of London." "I see. How long did it take you to build it?" "About 500 years." "In my country we can set it up in five months," said the visitor. Soon they came to St. Pail's Cathedral. "Very wonderful!" said the visitor. "How long did it take you to build it?" "Almost 40 years," said the Englishman. "In my country we can finish it in 40 days at most," said the visitor. This continued all day. They visited most famous buildings in the city. Every time they saw a new one, the visitor asked the same questions. Then he said that they could do the same thing much more quickly in his country. At last, the Englishman became angry with the visitor though he tried not to show it. A few days later, they came to the House of Parliament and the visitor asked his usual question, "What's it?"

The Englishman answered, "I have no idea. It wasn't there last night."

* Do you have pets at home?

* Do you like raising pets? Offer at least 2 reasons.

My Opinion on Raising Pets