(At Tony's home)

A: Good morning, doctor!

B: What's wrong? Where are your parents?

A: They have gone to England for a holiday. I am alone at home. I have a sore throat.

B: How long have you been like this?

A:

B: Have you taken your temperature?

A: Yes. My temperature is OK.

B: Say "Ah".... You have a cold.

A: Is it serious?

B: Nothing serious. You'll get better soon.

A: Thank you, doctor!

    A kidnapped 3-year-old boy (name) Aiden helped police find himself on Tuesday, Jan. 13, after answering (he) mum's phone in her stolen car- find out how he pulled it off!

    Authorities said they found a 3-year-old boy who was sitting a car stolen outside a Utah day care on Tuesday after he (answer) his mother's cellphone and honked the horn to draw their attention.

    "The boy's mother, Elizabeth Barrios, left the car unlocked and running a snowy morning as she dropped off another child, a baby, at the day care around 7 am in Ogden, a town about 40 miles north of Salt Lake City," the police said. When she walked out, she saw someone (drive) her car away with her 3-year old son Aiden inside.

    Police arrived and called her cellphone, which was in the car, hoping (reach) the thief and negotiate the boy's release.

    Instead, the boy answered the phone. He told his mother that a (strange) had driven away her car and was going through her purse. She told him (stay) calm as the man took things from her purse ran away.

    "He is a very smart child," the police praised the kid. "He did a great job."

    For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming to an empty house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. Some may hide. But all of them have something in common. They spend part of each day alone. They are called "latchkey children". They're children who look after themselves while their parents are working. And their bad condition has become a subject of concern.

Lynette Long was once the headmistress of an elementary school. She said, "We had a school rule against wearing jewellery. A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys fastened. I was constantly telling them to put them inside their shirts. There were so many keys. It never came to my mind what they meant," Slowly, she learned they were house keys.

    She and her husband began talking to the children who had them. They learned of the impact(影响) working couples and single parents were having on their children. Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone. One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared. Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety.

    The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding. It might be in a shower stall, under a bed, or in a closet. The second is TV. They'll often play it at high volume. It's hard to get statistics(统计数据) on latchkey children, the Longs learned. Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone.

    "You don't understand me!" I shouted. Then I ran out of the house and got on a bus. I didn't know1it was going. I just wanted to get away from home as2as 1 could.

    I couldn't3what had just happened to me. My mother, the person I believe in, had just read all of my 4 from my close friends! It shouldn't have happened to me. She read my letters and told me not to write to5any more! I couldn't6the tears from falling when I thought about this.

    Later that day, I went to my close7house.8my friend gave me a cup of water, the phone rang.

    "It's your mother," she spoke to me in a low9.

    "Tell her that I'm not here!" I replied. However, my mother heard it. "Tell her not to leave! I'll be right there!" Then she hung up the phone10a "goodbye". In fact, I should say that I was a little11. I couldn't imagine what would happen.

    But to my12, when my mother arrived, "sorry" was the first word she13to me. Her14 told me that she had been crying and her voice told me that she was really tired. "Will you forgive me?" at last she asked. I didn't know what to say. I just15her, and gave her a big hug.

    She held me so tightly. You know, at that time, I felt so warm. I really love you, Mum!

    Bob was only seven years old. One night Bob was at home alone while his parents were out for a party. He had often stayed alone before, so he wasn't afraid. As he waited for his parents to return home, he watched a film on TV. His eyes became heavier and heavier as time passed by.

    Suddenly Bob's eyes opened wide- what was the sound in the next room? Bob heard the window being opened slowly. For a minute, Bob was so frightened that he could not move, and his body felt like ice. He knew that he couldn't lose his head and began to think of the things he could do.

    Again he heard the sound of someone trying to climb into his home through the window.

    Bob's drums were standing in the corner near the TV. "Wait, maybe there is something I can do," thought Bob. He beat his drums as hard as he could. The sound was so terrible that Bob surprised even himself. He also surprised the man in the window, who ran away as fast as possible. How clever he was!

    In order to learn how the students in our school spend money, we made a survey by asking them some questions. First, we asked them how much money they spent last month. And then we asked how much money they spent on snacks, books, movies, computer games, phones, transportation and other things last month. Our maths teacher helped us make a graph(图表) of their answers as follows.

    In our school, each student spent aboutyuan on average(平均) last month. According to the graph made by our, teacher, we know how much money the students spent on different things in our school. As the graph shows, they spent most on, covering 22% of all. It was followed by computer games and movies. Each of them was. But to our surprise, the students spenton books, only 6%.

— Look at the _________________ on the wall. It's half past six.