When I was a boy, every holiday that I had seemed wonderful. My parents took me by train or by car to a hotel by the  1. All day, I seem to remember, I played on the sands with strange 2 children. We made houses and gardens, and 3the tide destroy(破坏) them, when the tide went out, we 4 over the rocks and looked down at the fish in the rock-pools.

    In those days the 5 seemed to shine always brightly6the water was always warm. Sometimes we 7 the beach and walked in the country, exploring(搜寻) ruined houses and dark woods and climbing trees. There were sweets in one's pockets or good places where one could 8 ice creams. Each day seemed a life-time.

    Although I am now thirty-five years old, my idea of a good 9 is much the same as it was. I 10 like the sun and warm sand and the sound of 11beating the rocks. I no longer wish to 12any sand house or sand garden, and I dislike sweets. However, I love the sea and often feel sand running through my fingers.

     Sometimes I wonder what my ideal(理想的) holiday will be like when I am 13All I want to do then, perhaps, will be to lie in bed, reading books about 14 who make houses and gardens with sands, who watch the incoming tide, who make themselves 15on too many ice creams.

    On Thanksgiving Day, about 88 percent American eat turkey. But one lucky turkey not only will not be eaten but also will become famous. Every year, turkey farmers present turkeys to the US president. But instead of eating this turkey, the president gives it a "Pardon". The turkey is flown to Florida for a thanksgiving Parade (游行). Then it lives on the farm for the rest of its life.

    Turkeys come from America and have been part of American culture for centuries. Benjamin Franklin even wanted the turkey to be America's national bird.

    Turkeys that are kept on farms are large, awkward birds that can not fly. But wild turkeys are quite fast. They can fly at speed up to 88 kilometers per hour. They can also run at 40 kilometers per hour.

    Turkeys don't have ears. They hear by using the growth of beaks(尖喙). But their hearing is about five times better than human hearing.

    Turkeys are such interesting birds.  No wonder Benjamin Franklin wanted them to be American national birds.

    Once there lived a rich man called King. He loved chatting(聊天) very much. Every day he had his men do all the housework, so he had enough time to chat with others.

    One summer afternoon, his friend Bruce invited him to his birthday party. King kept on chatting at table. Later, all the other friends had left, but he didn't notice it. Bruce was worried, because he had just received a call from his sister and he would go to the station to meet her. But King didn't say goodbye to him, and he went on chatting.

    At that time, King's wife came in and asked her husband, "Would you like a roast(烤制) bird, dear?"

    "Of course," King answered, "but where is it?"

    "I heard a bird singing in the big tree outside just now," said the woman. "I want it to be the last dish. I'll cut the tree down. "

    "But I'm afraid it will fly away when you begin to cut the tree," said King.

    "Don't worry about it, dear," the woman said with a smile. "It is a foolish(愚蠢的) bird. It doesn't know when to leave."