1 . A spider (蜘蛛) was looking for a place to make his web (网). He wanted to live there eating, drinking and relaxing with pleasure.

Soon, he found a corner of a house and started making his web there. A cat passing by started laughing loudly after seeing him. When the spider saw the cat laughing, he asked, “Why are you laughing?” The cat replied, “Can’t you see how clean this place is? No insects will come here. Who will fall in your web?”

After listening to the cat, the spider stopped and started looking for another place. Then he saw a window and started making his web by it. Then a bird came, and started making fun of him, saying, “How silly of you! A strong wind will blow your web away.”

Hearing the bird’s words, the spider started searching for another place. But the whole day passed quickly. He was tired and hungry.

A dog saw all this and said, “I have been watching you since morning. You just listened to the advice of others and didn’t think on your own, so you didn’t finish your web.” Hearing the dog, the spider realized his problem.

4 . 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.

5 . It is a nice day today. A dog is sleeping. A panda comes to the dog and says, “You are a lazy dog. You don’t do anything every day.”

“What do I need to do?” asks the dog. My owner gives (给) me food to eat. My owner takes me out for a walk. My owner loves me. Ha! I eat, I go out for a walk and I sleep. I don’t have any other things to do.”

“But don’t you have any ambitions (抱负)?” asks the panda.

“Ambitions? What do I need ambitions to do? I’m just a dog,” says the dog. “What ambitions do you have?”

“I often go to other countries (国家) and make friends with people there. So I can show the world (世界) that Chinese are friendly,” answers the panda.

“Oh,” says the dog, “maybe (也许) I should (应该) do something for others (其他人).”

6 . Round eyes, round head, round ears, round body! What is this cute animal? He looks like a bear. But he is not a bear. He’s a koala, it’s the symbol of Australia.

Koalas are the most popular animals in Australia and people always take good care of them. They make houses for them to live in safely. No one can kill them for their pretty fur (皮毛). When a koala is born, he has no fur. And he is not as big as your little toe! The mother koala has a pocket (口袋) in the front of her body. The baby koala goes into this warm pocket. He can stay there for six months.

The koalas could not live without special trees. The trees give them both their home and food. For most of the day koalas sleep in the trees. At night koalas look for food. They may go miles to find it. They only like the bark (树皮) and the leaves of the trees. They eat nothing else And one koala eats more than two pounds each night!

10 . What will the weather be like? Some people say they can know what the weather will be like from birds. When they see birds fly high out to the sea, they know it is a nice day. Because birds don’t like to fly out if it rains. When the weather is bad, the birds will come back to the beach. A big wind may come with a heavy rain. Birds do not like to fly in a big wind. They may sit in a tree when rain is coming. Other animals can also tell the weather. It is a cloudy day. The rain is coming. Chickens are not quiet, and they are running here and there. Frogs (青蛙) are making a big noise in the pool. If it is a nice day, the frogs will come out of the water.