Once a general (将军) lost a battle (战争), and his enemies were after him. He was running away with a servant. They were tired, hungry and thirsty. But they didn't dare (敢) to go into any town because they were afraid of being discovered and caught by the enemies.

    Towards evening, they arrived at a mountain where there was a small cave.

    "Let us hide here," said the servant. "This will be a safe place."

    "No," the general said, "I'm afraid the enemies will try everywhere to find us. We cannot stop to rest. "

    But they were too tired to go. They entered the cave for a short rest. And soon they were fast asleep inside.

    In the morning, they heard steps nearby. A group of enemy soldiers were coming near the cave's entrance.

    "Let's look in here," said one of the soldiers.

    "Don't be foolish," said another. "No one could be hiding inside. "

    "How do you know?"

    "Don't you see the spider's web (蜘蛛网)?It covers the entrance from one side to the other. How could anyone enter?"

    True. There was a huge spider's web which completely covered the entrance. So the soldiers continued on their way.

    The general and the servant were grateful to the spider, which had woven (织) the web across the cave's entrance during the night.

—         

the of that suitcase?

    What's your favourite weather? Do you like sunny or rainy days? Many people like sunshine a lot. They don't like rain. They think rain can make them feel sad. During a long holiday, they like going to the beach to enjoy the sunshine. Sunshine can make them feel good and happy. I like sunshine very much, but I also enjoy rain.

    I enjoy the sound of rain. It can make me feel quiet. On rainy days, I like listening to music and reading books, or just looking at the rain and daydreaming (做白日梦).

    Sunshine can make one run around and rain can make one quiet, so I hope you can feel happy no matter it rains or shines.

    People use money to buy food, books, bicycles and hundreds of other things they need. When they work, they usually get paid in money.

    Most of the money used today is made of metal (金属) or paper. But in ancient times people used to use all kinds of things as money. One of the first kinds of money was shells.

    In China, cloth and knives were used as money. Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used as money in some parts of Africa. Rice was also a kind of money used by ancient people on some islands. Cows and other animals were used as money, too.

    The first copper (铜) coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the centre. Different countries had used different metals for their money. Later some countries began to make coins of gold and silver. But gold and silver coins were heavy to carry when people need a lot of coins to buy something expensive. The Chinese were the first to use paper money. The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than paper money we use today.