Why do plants grow in some places and not in others? Why does some land have so many plants growing on it, while other land has almost no plants growing on at all?
To grow, plants need some things. One is warmth. In very cold places, almost nothing grows, Plants also need water. In very dry parts of the Earth, only a few unusual plants can grow. That's why dry deserts(沙漠）almost don't have trees or grass.
Plants must also have a place in which to put down their roots（根）and grow. They find it difficult to grow on hard land. The town is on hard land. The plants here can only grow in the soil（土壤）between the cracks of the stones.
Another thing plants must have before they can grow is food.
What will happen if we try to make things grow on the sandy（有沙的）beach? A few plants, such as beach grass, will grow in sand, but most plants won't. Even if（即使）the weather is warm enough and we water the plants each day, many of them will die because the sand on this beach has almost no food for plants.
Jim was clever, but he never liked to work hard. He often said to his friends, "If I work hard, I will make a lot of money. But I want an easy job and a lot of money. That's the best."
So he could only be a thief (小偷). But he still thought it was too much work, so he only told his friends what to do and how to get money from others.
One day Jim sent one of his friends into a very large and beautiful house. He told him to steal some money from that rich (富有的) family.
It was evening, and when the man looked through one of the windows, he saw a young man and a girl in the room. They were playing duet(二重奏) on a piano. The thief left the house.
When he got back, Jim asked him what he got. But he said, "I didn't take anything. That family can't have much money. You know, two people were playing only the same piano there. They didn't have enough money to buy another one."
