Walk down any British shopping street and you will find shops with strange names. Why is the opticians (眼镜店) called “Eyediology”? And who decided to name the butchers (肉铺) “Meat you there” ? What’s going on?

Puns are jokes based on words that sound the same. You’ve probably noticed that many words in English which are spelt in different ways and have different meanings are pronounced in the same way. Think about the name of the restaurant: “plaice” is a kind of fish so our restaurant is “the place” to eat fish. Butchers sell meat – so we’ll “meet you there” – and opticians look after our eyes in a scientific way – so eyed – iology (ideology) is a name that fits. Hairdressers shear (cut) your locks (hair) and comb it – say the three words together quickly and you have the name of a famous detective. In shop titles and adverts, puns are used to get our attention.

Puns are very old. The ancient Egyptians and Romans liked to pun. Shakespeare uses many puns in his plays – King Richard the Third (the son of York) brings “glorious summer” – just think about a word that has the same sound as son.

Many people enjoy a good pun (pun / fun for all the family!) – others hate them. Puns aren’t really designed to make you laugh. Here are some puns that might leave you asking for no more puns please. Have you heard about the bears who voted in the North Poll? Or the cheetah (印度豹) who couldn’t be trusted at cards? Or how about the clever little Australian animal that had lots of koalaifications or the camel (骆驼) with no humps (驼峰) that was called Humphrey (and so was free of humps...)

Puns can be funny but they sometimes make important points. Here’s a fashion tip: “skinny genes make skinny jeans”: so don’t worry if your jeans don’t fit . Look at your parents!

The sleepover（通宵派对）is so common in America.Usually,it reminds us of images of girls in clean nightclothes,having pillow fights,doing makeup and gossiping.I'll say this now:most sleepovers are like that,but mine usually aren't.I've never been that girl as a child,so I have never really found doing makeup interesting,but there are some ways of sleepovers that stay the same.Let's take a closer look.

Usually,the activities start in the late afternoon.Girls show up carrying a sleeping bag and a pillow.After all the guests arrive,it's usually time to have dinner.Even though it differs,the most common food for sleepovers is pizza.

My friends and I usually go back to my room and start our crazy activities.Sometimes we have a dance party, sometimes we play games on the Internet,and other times we play role-playing games,which is my favorite thing to do as a child.My friends and I are all movie lovers,so sometimes we will pretend to be characters from a favorite movie.It's pretty clownish,but it was a very unforgettable part of my childhood.

When it gets to be past one o'clock in the morning,most of the girls are sleepy already but we usually keep doing whatever we are doing.Most of us end up falling asleep at around 5.

The sleepover is a great experience for girls.While the activities are different,the feelings are still the same.We all experience happiness and excitement.Sleepovers are fun because we get to be with our friends,which is the most important thing.