All the housewives who went to the new supermarket had one great ambition: to be the lucky customer who did not have to pay for her shopping. For this was what the notice just inside the entrance promised. It said: "Remember, once a week, one of our customers gets free goods. This May Be Your Lucky Day!"
For several weeks, Mrs Edwards hoped, like many of her friends, to be the lucky customer. Unlike her friends, she never gave up hoping. The cupboards in kitchen were full of things which she did not need. Her husband tried to advise her against buying things but failed. She dreamed of the day when the manager of the supermarket would approach her and say:" Madam, this is Your Lucky Day. Everything in your basket is free."
One Friday morning, after she had finished her shopping and had taken it to her car, she found that she had forgotten to buy any tea. She dashed back to the supermarket, got the tea and went towards the cash-desk. As she did so, she saw the manager of the supermarket approach her. "Madam," he said, holding out his hand, "I want to congratulate you! You're our lucky customer and everything you have in your basket is free!"
Having a great collection of books at home doesn't really mean that you are a person who loves reading. It may be got from your father or your father's father, and it can just impress people around you with the fact that you are a person of culture.
From my point of view, reading is very important in our daily life. For example, reading is a way of gaining knowledge in different areas. It can help us have a great imagination, and it makes things easier when it comes to making compositions on different themes. It gives you the possibility to speak about science, even if you don't work in this field. You can express your opinions about a political event because you have read something about that.
Secondly, reading gives us the possibility to enter the world of imagination. We can imagine what life will be like in the future. Sometimes, we compare ourselves with the people in the stories we read and they can give us some clues to solve the problems and tell us what to do in certain situations. Books are based on real life. Even if writers are considered to be somehow different from common people, they often face the same problems as we all do.
In short, I would like to say that literature is the perfect way of enriching our culture, expressing correctly, having a rich vocabulary, being able to understand different fields and really being considered to be a learned person.
Different Functions
D . Having a Good Collection of Books Means a Lot
Memory, they say, is a matter of practice and exercise. If you have the wish and really make a conscious effort, then you can quite easily improve your ability to remember things. But even if you are successful, there are times when your memory seems to play tricks on you.
Sometimes you remember things that really did not happen. One morning last week, for example, I got up and found that I had left the front door unlocked all night, yet I clearly remember locking it carefully the night before.
Memory "tricks" work the other way as well. Once in a while, you remember not doing something, and then find out that you did. One day last month, for example, I was sitting in a barber shop waiting for my turn to get a haircut, and suddenly I realized that I had got a haircut two days before at the barber shop across the street from my office.
We always seem to find something funny and amusing in incidents caused by people's forgetfulness or absent -mindedness. Stories about absent -minded professors have been told for years, and we never get tired of hearing new ones. Unfortunately, however, absent -mindedness is not always funny. There are times when "tricks" of our memory can cause us great trouble.
Five Things to Do in a Traffic JamTired of traffic jams? Here are some tips that can help you to calm down in a traffic jam. Listen to CD audio book. It's a good idea to keep several audio books in your car. Listening to an exciting story is more interesting than sitting silently and being bored. Sing loudly. If you begin getting angry because of a long traffic jam, turn your CD player on or radio up. Imagine you're a wonderful singer and the audience is listening to you in admiration. Your stress will disappear. .You can use the radio and play entertaining games while waiting. For example, you can guess the song or the singer or to see how quickly you can recognize a new song. Have a snack Keeping a tasty snack in the car is especially good for waiting in traffic jams. Choose what you like most of all, so you will look forward to traffic jams to have a chance to eat the delicious snack. In that case, time is the last thing to worry about. Argue with the radio talk show host Find a station with a radio talk show.If you disagree, you can show your anger. Don't be afraid to call their ideas stupid. Only make sure that the car windows are closed so no one may hear you. Sitting in a traffic jam can be very stressful but next time you can use these simple tips, and you won't notice how long you have been waiting and soon you will be on your way.
A. Play games
B. Use the radio.
C. Enjoy every bite of it.
D. Listen to their debates carefully.
E. Loud singing can help to reduce stress.
F. Begin to enjoy them as quickly as you can.
G. The storyteller's voice can clear all your bad emotions.
Four brothers left home for college, and they became successful doctors and lawyers.
Some years later, they got together again. While having dinner, they1for a long time. They discussed the2they had given their elderly mother who lived far away in another city. The first said, "I had a3house built for Mama." The second said, "I had my Mercedes-Benz dealer (奔驰经销商) send a4to her." The third said, "I built a beautiful 5for Mama." The fourth said, "You know6Mama loved reading poems and you know she can't read any more because she can't 7very well. I met a businessman who had a parrot that can recite many8. It took him 12 years to9it to speak and he earns his living by renting it out. I had to pay him $100,000 a year for twenty years,10it is worth it." On hearing that, the other brothers were11by his good thought.
After the holidays, their mother12 her thank -you notes, which read，"Milton, the house you built is so huge. I only live in one room, but I have to clean the whole house. It's a (an)13job. Thanks anyway." "Marvin, I am too old to14.I stay home and have others work for me, so I'll15 use the car. The 16was good, although not realistic. Thanks."
"Michael, you gave me an expensive building for many people to17plays or I watch movies in it, but all my friends are dead. I've almost18my hearing and I'm nearly blind. I won't use it. Thank you all the same.
"Dearest Melvin, you are the19 son to have the good sense to give a little thought to your gift. The chicken tasted so20. I liked it very much. Thank you."
"Carnival" comes from tow Latin words, (mean) "No more meat". In Europe, it began, people saw carnival as the last chance to have fun at the end of the winter season. (have) fun meant eating, drinking and dressing up. The most famous carnival was in Venice. At first, it lasted for just one day. time passed, the carnival period was extended. People walked around the street wearing masks, doing they wanted without (recognize).
Later, wearing masks was limited by law. Finally, at the end of the 18th century, masks (ban) completely. But in late 1970s, the tradition was revived by students and the festival was developed for tourists. Today, carnival in Venice is celebrated for five days in February. Hotels are (full) booked and the narrow streets are crowded wonderful costumes. If the key to Rio is music and movement, then in Venice it is the mystery of masks.
) in the western part of the country.