阅读理解

　　John sent his mother expensive presents on his mother's birthday every year．He liked to show her how rich he was．

　　"I must find something wonderful for her, and it must be the only one in the whole world．"John thought．

　　He advertised(登广告)in the newspapers．" Wanted－the best present for the woman who has everything．"

　　For many days his telephone did not stop ringing．People phoned him from all over the world．They wanted to sell him "the best present"．But they did not have anything that was the only one in the whole world．

　　Then less than a week before his mother's birthday, a man came to his office．He was carrying a cage, and in the cage there was a large bird．

　　"This bird, "the man said, "can speak ten languages and sing any pop song．There is no other bird like it in the world．"

　　"I will listen to it, "John said．"If what you said is true, I will buy the bird from you．"

　　The man spoke to the bird．"Talk to me in French, " he said．The bird spoke to him in French．"Tell me a joke in Japanese, " he said．The bird told him a joke in Japanese．"Sing a famous pop song, "he said．The bird sang a famous pop song．

　　"I'll buy it, "John said．"How much do you want?"

　　"One hundred thousand dollars, "the man said．This was a lot of money but John paid him．Then he sent the bird to his mother with a birthday card．

　　The day after his mother's birthday he phoned her．"Well, mother, "he said, "Is the bird wonderful?"

　　"Oh, it was delicious, dear, "she said．

阅读理解

　　Want to be an astronaut? Then “study hard, stay healthy and have perseverance(毅力)”!This is what Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng said in a talk with some students．

　　Students were interested in the astronauts'space lives．They asked questions like “Did you see the Great Wall from space?” Fei and Nie said they didn't see the Great Wall．But they felt excited when they passed over China, including Taiwan．The island “looked very beautiful, like a jade(翡翠)”。

　　Speaking of their lives beyond(在……之外)the earth, the two astronauts said cooperation(合作)with each other was most important．“We are like the left and right hands,” they said．

　　Young people wanted to know how the astronauts developed their careers(事业)．

　　“How did you decide to be astronauts when China's space industry(工业)is still at the beginning?” asked a young woman．The astronauts said it was because of their love of flight and also the need of the country．

　　They said their love of flight could be seen from their children's names．Nie's daughter is called “Nie Tianxiang”, which mean“flying up high”．Fei's son is called “Fei Di”, which sounds like “Feidie”, meaning UFO．

　　After the success of Shenzhou VI, China pans to put a man on the moon and build a space station in 10～15years．