【推荐1】Paul is a funny boy. He has funny ideas and often does some special things.

One day, he went to the bakery next to his house. The assistant saw Paul and asked, “May I help you?”

Pau answered, “Yes, do you have fifty buns?”

The assistant looked at the buns and said, “Oh, sorry, my little boy. We don’t have so many buns. It’s 8:00 p.m. now. Many of them are sold in the day. Do you need anything else?”

“No, thanks,” Paul felt a little unhappy and went out.

The next day, Paul went there again. “Do you have fifty buns today?” The assistant answered, “Sorry, I’m afraid we still don’t have enough. But we have some cakes. Do you want some?” Paul said “No.” and went out.

On the third day, Paul went to the same bakery. He asked, “Do you have fifty buns now?” The assistant was very happy. She said, “Oh, yes, yes, we have fifty this time. They are all delicious.”

“How much is a bun?”

“It’s 2 dollars.”

Paul took out 2 dollars and gave it to the assistant. “QK, please give me one.”

【推荐3】After having two more glasses of cordial, Diana turned pale suddenly.

“I’m sick,” she said, “I must go home.” And she left Green Gables and ran all the way home.

On Monday, Anne went to see if Diana was better. She soon ran back home with tears rolling down cheeks.

“What has happened, Anne?” asked Matila.

“Mrs. Barry says that I sent Diana home drunk on Saturday. She says she’s never going to let Diana play with me again!”

Marilla went to the cupboard and then came back to the kitchen with a bottle of wine, trying not to smile.

“Anne, you gave Diana wine instead of raspberry cordial. Didn’t you know the difference?”

“I never tasted it,” said Anne. “But Mrs. Barry will never believe me. And now I’ll never be able to play with Diana again!”

The following Monday, Anne surprised Marilla by coming down from her room with her books. “I’m going back to school,” she said. “That is all there is left in life for me, now that my friend is gone.”

Marilla tried not to show how happy she was to hear this. “You’d better work hard,” she said.

Anne did work hard, and soon she was top of the class with Gilbert Blythe, whom she still found very annoying.

One evening, Anne was at home doing her homework. Matthew was home, but Marilla had gone to town with the Barrys and Mrs. Lynde. Suddenly, Anne looked up and saw Diana standing at the door. She looked very worried.

“What is the matter, Diana?” cried Anne.

Oh, Anne, do come quick,” said Diana nervously. “Minnie May is very sick. Father and Mother are away in town and there’s nobody to go for the doctor.”

Matthew quietly got his cap and coat and went for the doctor.

【推荐1】We call the Chinese New Year the Spring Festival. There is an animal name for each Chinese year. We may call it the year of the sheep, the year of the monkey or the year of the dog. And this year is the year of the pig.

Before New Year's Day, people are busy shopping and cleaning their houses. On New Year's Eve(前夜), there is a big family dinner. After dinner, all the family stay up late to welcome the New Year. On the first day of the New Year, people put on their new clothes and go to visit their friends and relatives(亲戚). They say "Happy New Year" and some other greetings(问候）to each other. People usually have a very good time during the festival.

Comparing Different Cultures of Gift-giving

With Children’s Day on its way, it’s time to start thinking about everyone’s favorite topic: gifts! More specifically, the giving of gifts and the culture behind them. Coming from the US, I have found gift-giving to be quite different in China compared with my home country.

    1     In the US, the person who gives the gift will often want to see the person who gets the gift immediately (立刻地) open the present. They want to see their reaction (反应) of excitement and joy.     2    

    3     Although people in the US might give money to their children, it is usually done very secretly with the money put in a card and not discussed out loud. In China, the practice is much opener in a flashy red envelope (红包).

Finally, the monetary (金钱的) value of the gift can play a big role in China in ways that are different from the US.     4     But in China, it can make the person who accepts the gift feel embarrassed due to a sense of having to return the favor (恩惠) in the future to the person who gives the gift.

So, the next time you give a gift to somebody, remember that culture and meaning are part of every action we take.