【推荐1】Ben can’t sleep well these days. He is angry at the Lee family. The Lee family moved to this town last month. They live in the same flat with Ben. They live upstairs. They come back home very late every night. When Ben goes to bed, bad things always happen. For example, when Mr. Lee watered his flowers last night, the water dropped on Ben’s windows. It made noise (噪音). A strong smell of curry (咖喱) noodles came out of their kitchen at the same time. It made Ben feel really hungry. Also, their three-year-old twin girls were running on the floor and fighting with each other at one o’clock last night. The noise didn’t stop until three this morning. These all made him awake for a long time. Ben was sleepy when he was taking the English test at school today. So he got very poor marks. He plans to buy earplugs,or he may fail the English test again next time.

【推荐2】When Kyle walks into Ernie’s Pet World, he looks very anxious. The shop owner, Ernie, jumps out of his seat to greet Kyle. He is the shop’s first customer（顾客）of the day.

“Good morning, sir!” Ernie says, “What can I help you with?”

“Well, I...” Kyle starts to say.

“Wait, don’t tell me,” Ernie stops him, “You’re looking for a...a little dog... for your daughter’s birthday. Right?”

“Not really, I just…”

Ernie doesn’t let him finish. “Ah, I’ve got it. You just moved to a new office, and you want some fish for it, I have some very nice fish bowls over here.”

“In fact, I...” Kyle starts to look very nervous and strange（奇怪的）.

“No fish? Ah, a cat! You look like a cat person. At Ernie’s Pet World, we have the best cats. Take a look at this lovely one with long, white hair. She’s looking at you. She’s thinking, ‘Take me home. Take me home.’ Would you like some cat food and toys, too?”

“No, thank you,” Kyle says. By this time, he is walking up and down. He has a terrible look on his face. “Really, I’m not interested in cats or fish or little dogs.”

“What do you want, then?” Ernie asks.

Kyle looks like he is going to cry. “I just want to know if I can use your toilet!” he says at last.

【推荐3】We often hear stories of animals rescuing people. But now someone has managed to return the favor.

The event took place one snowy January morning. Thomas Smith was walking his dog, Jack, in the park. “As I was walking, I just saw Jack running onto the ice towards the ducks in the middle, and then he fell into the water and couldn’t climb out,” said Smith. He realized he had no choice but to try and save his dog. “Someone else told me the lake was only one-meter deep, but it was at least twice that. I had to break my way through the 6-cm ice. Finally, I got Jack by the neck, and pulled him out. I don’t think I have ever felt so cold by the time we got back to dry land. And when we got there, everyone was asking if Jack was okay — no one was particularly worried about me!”

A neighbor, Julie Brown, saw it all happen. “The dog went onto an icy lake. All of a sudden, it started to go under. There were crowds of people around, and they were all shouting and screaming. Before I knew it, the owner Smith was in the water forcing his way through the ice. I can’t begin to imagine how cold it was. Everyone was very nervous, but he was as cool as a cucumber (黄瓜) — he just crawled back out, put the dog on its lead (狗绳), and went home.”

Many regard him as a hero, but Mr. Smith said, “Most dog owners are the same as me. They would do what I did without a second thought. But in the future, I’m going to make sure he’s on a lead near any ice ponds.”     

Pets are members of our family. Would you do the same for them?