2 . Hello and welcome to “Words and Their Stories”. We will research into some commonly used words and expressions. As with other languages, American English is rich in expressions that come from animals. Today we will talk about the wolf.

Wolves are important animals in the traditions and stories of America. Before the Europeans arrived at north America in the 1500s, to native Americans, wolves often meant being brave.

However, in English, wolves are not to be trusted. Perhaps wolves attacked too many people or ate too many farm animals. Whatever the reason, wolves were killed in many places. So many died that they almost became endangered. They also became known as bad animals.

To begin with, there is an expression lone wolf (独来独往的人). If we call somebody a lone wolf, he isn’t a bad person, but he may like to do things by himself. In fact, he sometimes makes you think he doesn’t want to be around people because he dislikes them.

Now, let’s move on to the home. Parents tell their children not to wolf down their food. In other words, the child eats too quickly and without care. And if someone says a child was raised by wolves, that child has bad manners and is behaving like a wild animal.

A wolf call is the noise made by a man to show that he likes the way a woman looks. But a wolf call is not a nice thing. These men sound rude. And trust me, most women really hate wolf calls.

By the way, there is a popular expression about wolf from a very old story: a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A wolf in sheep’s clothing describes someone who acts and looks nice on the outside but is bad on the inside. It tells us not to be fooled by appearances (外貌).

April Fools Day is on April 1st. People can play jokes on others on this special day. If you succeed, you usually laugh and say, “April Fool!” The person who has been fooled by you laughs, too. And he will never be angry with you.

Mother’s Day is on the second Sunday of May. It’s a day to thank mothers. On that day, mothers usually receive flowers and cards from their children. Fathers and children do the housework so that mothers can have a good rest.

Easter Day falls on the first Sunday after the full moon which is on or after March 21. It’s also called Easter Sunday. It’s said that on that day Jesus Christ (耶稣) comes back to life. Many people go to church and children often get presents such as toys.

Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November in the USA. It’s a day when people give thanks for the good things in life. Usually families all get together and have a big dinner.

Christmas Day comes on December 25th. It’s the most important festival in a year. The beautiful things can be seen everywhere. People exchange gifts, send Christmas cards and visit friends.

On a cold, rainy day, a boy found a turtle (乌龟) along the river. He was very happy, hoping to raise the turtle as his lovely pet.

He put the turtle on a stone and watched it for a long time. But the turtle didn’t move.

Out of curiosity (好奇心), the boy started to examine it to find out what was wrong with it. But the turtle pulled in its head and firmly closed its shell. The boy was upset. He grabbed the turtle and began to shake it. But the turtle still stayed in its shell.

The boy picked up a stick to try to pry (撬开) it open. The boy’s uncle was watching all of this.

“No, that’s not the way,” he yelled, “In fact, you may kill the turtle before you make it open up with a stick.”

The boy’s uncle took the turtle into the house and set it near the fireplace.

The turtle didn’t move at all until it got warm. Then it pushed out its head, stretched out its legs and began to crawl (爬).

“Turtles are like that,” said the uncle, “and people, too.”

Thanks to modern transportation (交通工具) such as planes and trains, you can get things from different parts of China. You can travel far and fast.

But what was life like in ancient times without modern transportation? About 2,500 years ago, Chinese people used the Grand Canal (大运河) to travel and carry things.

The canal was built from the Spring andAutumn Period (春秋时期). It is nearly 3,200 kilometers long. In the world, it is the longest man-made waterway and runs from Beijing in the north to Zhejiang in the south. With the canal, people in ancient China carried things more easily than by using horses and cows or traveling on foot.

Today, half of the canal is still making a difference to our life. To remember the canal, the United Nations issued (发行) a stamp of it on August 25th, 2021. It will let more people learn about the great waterway of China.

6 . There are about 5, 000 different kinds of ladybugs (瓢虫) in the world. They come in many different colors. Their bright colors warn other animals or insects not to eat them. Ladybugs taste bad. A bird or a frog that eats a ladybug will remember the bright colors and it will not eat another ladybug with the same colors again. When ladybugs are in danger, they will give out a fluid (液体) that tastes terrible.

In many cultures, the ladybug is considered to be a symbol of good luck. Most ladybugs are kind to humans. They eat other insects which destroy crops. One ladybug can eat up to 5, 000 insects in its lifetime.

Ladybugs have six short legs. They live in many different places, including green lands, forests, cities, the countryside and along rivers. Different ladybugs have different spots (点) . Some of them don’t have spots at all. The most common kind in North America is the 7-spotted ladybug. The 7-spotted ladybugs are the most active from spring to autumn. When the weather turns cold, they look for a warm place to sleep, such as under stones or in houses.

What will life be like in the future? Let’s just close our eyes and think. Computers will be able to show their feelings. The computer may think better than the human mind. We will spend more time in front of computers and forget what our real needs are. Many of us may become overweight (超重)!

We will have very small robots and we can use them when we are sick. For example, when you have a stomachache, you will swallow (吞服) a very small robot and it will travel through your stomach, taking video of what’s happening there. The video will help the doctor to find out your problems quickly. Genetic engineering (基因工程) will probably make the human perfect. Babies may grow up to be as tall as Yao Ming or as beautiful as Liu Yifei. Do you agree?

8 . It was a cold night. A taxi driver, Peter, didn’t take even one passenger all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands. So he drove to him and asked, “Where are you going, sir?”

“To the Red Hotel.” the young man answered. When the taxi driver heard this, he didn’t feel happy any more. The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was near the railway station. But suddenly, he had an idea. He took the young man through many streets of the big city.

After a long time, they arrived at the hotel. “Here we are! You should pay me fifteen dollars, please.” The taxi driver said to the young man. “What? Fifteen dollars! Do you think I’m a fool? Only last week, I took a taxi from the railway station to this hotel and only gave the driver thirteen dollars. I know how much I have to pay for the trip.”