【推荐2】My birthday party was supposed to be outside, but it was raining. All of my guests were very wet. My presents were wet, too. I had planned some games, but my friends were acting strangely. They kept whispering to each other all through the party games.

When it was time to open my presents, it turned out that all seven of my friends had bought me the same gift! How many copies of Map Zap software does one person need? It was hard to keep saying “thank you” and sound thankful each time. My friends seemed to think that the whole thing was really funny. They could not stop snickering (偷笑).

Then it was time to open my present from my parents. Mom handed me a gift, and I ripped off the paper. Map Zap again! But Mom said, “Look inside, Darcy.” Inside the box was a photo of a young dog sitting in front of a pile of gifts.

Underneath the picture, it said, “I’m waiting in the garage.” I raced outside in the rain to the garage door. There was my new dog, Snoopy, and the real gifts my friends had bought me. What a great party!

【推荐3】Some people just cannot decide what to do all by themselves. They often ask for the advice of their friends. But they never do as their friends have said. My friend Jack is such a person, and he is always asking me for help. I try to help him as well as I can. But he never listens to me. Yesterday I tried a new way to make him take my advice. It worked. “Look,” he said, showing me a letter. “What do you think I should do?” The letter told him that there was a good job for him. It seemed to be a good chance for a young artist. His teacher would send him to Australia to work. The job would pay very well, and he would be able to travel and visit many interesting places. “What do you think of this, Rose?” he asked. “If I take the job, I will have to stay in Australia for two years. I may stay a bit longer. But it would be a wonderful time for me. Should I go. Rose?”

“Don’t go,” I told him, “You’ll suffer a lot there.” “Don’t go?” he looked surprised at my answer. As you have probably known, Jack went. I wonder whether he found that I really wanted him to take the job.