2. The government provides homeless people____ nice houses.

John graduated from a key university and he was very good at his major (专业). He wished to find a good job. One day, he went to a company to apply (申请) for a job. He got the news in a newspaper. He did some research on this company. When he was___________, everything went well. The manager asked him some questions and he answered them fluently (流利地). John was very satisfied with his performances and was very___________that he could get the job.

But at that moment, the manager’s phone_____________.He picked up the phone, listened and nodded. And then he turned around and said to John, “Sorry, I want to get some important information now. Please give me the book with the red___________ on that desk.” John looked around and found three books on the desk, _________John went to the desk, took one book and handed it to him politely. Holding the book, the manager___________ the phone and said, “Sorry, we cannot give the job to you.” John was___________ and wondered why. The manager said, “There are three_____________. First, when you came into the office room, I found that the third button (纽扣) on your shirt had been missing. Second, there are three books with red covers on that desk, but you didn't ask me which one I needed and you took one randomly (随意地). Third, I was answering the call. You should run to the desk to save time. These details (细节) showed you are not a careful person.” Therefore, John didn't get the job.

We can learn a(n)_____________ from John's experience. Some people don't____________ the details in our life. But it is the details that count.

Big Bubbles（气泡）

We all love bubbles. They float (飘动) through the air like little glass balls, shining with colors and light.

You can make bubbles with dishwashing soap (肥皂) and a paper cup.

Soap makes the water stick together in a round shape. The bubbles you blow will be really big!

Here's what you will need:

large bowl

spoon

4 cups of water

5 tablespoons of dishwashing soap

pair of scissors

paper cup

Follow these steps (步骤)to make bubbles:

1. Fill the bowl with the water.

2. Add the dishwashing soap into the water and mix them together.

3. Cut a small hole in the bottom of the paper cup. This is the hole that you will blow through.

4. Dip (浸泡) the top rim (边) of the cup into the soapy water slowly in the cup out of the bowl.   There should be a thin “window” of soapy water filling the open space of the cup.

5. Slowly put your mouth up to the hole in the bottom of the cup. Gently blow air through the hole. A big bubble will rise into the air!

For a party, you can make a bowl of soapy water and a paper cup bubble blower for each friend. If your friends do step 4 and 5 again and again, just think of how many bubbles you can make together!

Some English words have more than one meaning. These are called multi- meaning words.

Multi-meaning words have the same pronunciation with different meanings. For example, let's look at the word “ball” You could have a “ball” which means you would have a good time. You could toss a “ball” which means you throw an object. You could be on the “ball” which means you know what is happening. You could go to a “ball” which means a dance.

_______Take the word “can”. You “can” ride a bike which means you are able to ride a bike. You have a “can” of soup which means the soup is in a round-shaped holder. You can do the “can-can” which is a dance from the 1920s. And you might get “canned” if you do a poor job at work, which means you might lose your job.

How about “fly”? You can “fly” that is on your food in your house. Or, you can “fly by the seat of your pants” which means you don't make a plan before taking an action. And, you know that the “fly” of the zipper.

There are hundreds of words that are multi-meaning words. The word “set” has more meanings than any other word in the English language. When you have time, why don't you try to think of all the ways the word “set” is used?

If you look at the title of this book Can a Fly, Fly? …you know that the answer is “Yes” because you have seen an insect named a “fly” go up in the air and move around through the air …which is what “fly” means. Can a Fly, Fly? Of course, it can!

People travel for a lot of reasons. Some tourists go to see battlefields(战场) or other Historic remains (历史遗址). Others are looking for culture, or simply want to have their pictures taken in front of famous places. Most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on.

Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money for the sun because they have so little of it. People of cities like London, Copenhagen (哥本哈根) and Amsterdam (阿姆斯特丹) spend much of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain. This is the reason why the Mediterranean(地中海) has always attracted(吸引) them. Every summer many people travel to Mediterranean resorts (度假胜地) and beaches for their vacations. They all come for the same reason: sun!

The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economics (经济) of Mediterranean countries. Italy's 30,000 hotels are booked without a break every summer. And 13 million people camp out on French beaches, parks, and roadsides. Spain's long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere else, 37 million tourists there yearly, or one tourist for each person living in Spain.

But there are signs that the area is getting more tourists than it can deal with. The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted seas on earth. None of these, however, is ruining (毁灭) anyone's fun. Obviously (显然地)，they don' go there for clean water. They allow traffic jams and seem to like crowded beaches. They don't even mind the pollution No matter how dirty the water is, the coastline sill less beautiful. And as long as the sun shines, it's still better than sitting in the cold rain in Berlin, London, or Oslo (奥斯陆).

The average (平均的) American child spends three to five hours a day watching TV. In 1961, the average child began to watch television at age three; however, today it is nine months. Yet, most parents think that television has bad influence on their children. For example, in the early 1970s, my parents believed that my bad eyesight was the result of sitting too close to the screen, and they therefore made my stay at least six feet from it. Today, most people have no such worry, but many new ridiculous (荒谬的) sayings have appeared:

*TV makes kids stupid. Many children watch more educational programs when they are pre-schoolers (学龄前儿童). When they grow up, they can read more books and have much better ideas to solve difficult problems than other children.

*TV makes kids violent (暴力的). The real story is not so simple. Hundreds of studies show that watching violence on TV makes children more aggressive (好斗的). But a study of over 5000 children also finds that some positive(正面的) programs make children kinder The problem is that kids are increasingly watching shows with violence instead of those suitable for their age.

*Sitting around watching TV makes kids overweight. An experiment finds that when children watch less television, they do lose extra weight; however, reducing their television time does not make them more active. The real problem lies in snacking (吃零食). A widespread habit for kids, and junk food advertisements.

*TV helps kids get to sleep. The opposite is true. The more television children watch, the more likely they are to have irregular(无规律的) sleep and nap (小睡) patterns(模式). Allowing kids to watch television is part of the problem, not the solution(解决方法).