1 . Just now Dad decided that we should all go on a camping trip. He read an article in the newspaper about camping and how it “brings families together in nature”.

“Not as good as you think,” I joked. But Dad disagreed with me. “Let’s go next weekend,” Dad said. “This will probably not go off completely as planned,” my little brother, Paul, said. I laughed and replied, “But it will surely be fun.”

I started to think back. Once Dad decided we should all learn to canoe (划独木舟). We borrowed two canoes from our friends and drove to a lake. Alone in the middle of the lake, we found that we forgot to take the paddles (桨). Hours later, we all jumped in the lake and pushed the canoes back. It was a fantastic trip.

Another time, Dad decided we should all learn to ski. All of us hated the cold so we spent the weekend around the fire in the hotel, drinking hot cocoa and playing board games (棋类游戏). It was great.

When I stopped daydreaming, Mom said, “Sweetheart, we don’t have a tent.” “We don’t need one!” Dad said happily. “We’ll take all the seats out of the car.”

Oh! I don’t know what will happen next weekend, but I am sure we will have a good time.

2 .

4 . Many people like animals and keep one or more as pets—dogs, cats or some kinds of birds. If you keep a dog or a cat as a pet, you must know how to look after them.

A grown-up dog needs two meals a day—not more. And it can eat meat, fish, rice and some other things. Dogs like large bones, but don’t give them chicken bones. Remember to give them much clean water.

A dog should have a clean, dry box for sleeping. Washing it once a week is good for its health. If it is ill, take it to a doctor. A healthy dog will bring you more pleasure.

Be careful if you have a cat. It has two meals a day with some meat of fish. Cats drink a little milk every day. Sometimes you should give them vegetables to eat. Don’t forget that they need clean water to drink.

Take good care of your pets. They will be your good friends. Maybe they can give you some help when you need.

Sometimes parents wonder if they should give their kids some housework or not. In some parents’ eyes, kids needn’t do housework. After all, it’ll be a long time for kids to do it after they grow up.

Most kids seem to be busy all the time. They have little time to do the cleaning or make the bed. However, it’s important to teach your kids to do some easy housework. It will be useful in the future life.

When kids start going to school, you can ask them to do some simple things at home. For example, teach your kids to put away their shoes and schoolbags. Then you can give more jobs to them. As the jobs become more difficult, you can teach your kids slowly how to finish each of them. For example, when kids do the dishes, tell them how to make the plates clean. It’s common that kids can’t do everything very well at their first try. Just let them practice more, and they will do the jobs better and better.

9 . One Sunday evening two men met in a London pub(酒吧). One of them was very unhappy.

“Life is terrible. Everything in the world is really boring,” he said.

“Don’t say that, ” said the other man. “Life is marvelous! The world is so exciting! Think about Italy. It is a wonderful country. Did you ever go there?”

“Oh, yes. I went there last year but I didn’t like it.”

“Well, did you ever go to Norway? Did you ever see the midnight sun?”

“Oh, yes. I went there in 1994 and I saw the midnight sun. But I didn’t enjoy it.”

“Well. I just returned from Sahara Desert in Africa. Did you ever visit Africa?”

“Yes. I went to Sahara Desert in Africa last month. It was really boring”

“Well,” said the other man, “I think you’ re very ill. Only the best psychiatrist(精神科医生) can help you. Go to see Dr. Greenhaum in Harley Street.”

“I am Dr. Greenhaum,” answered the man sadly.