A mother duck and her little ducklings were on their way to a lake one day. The ducklings were very happy, following their mother and quacking along the way.

▲ , the mother duck saw a fox not far away. She was afraid and shouted, “Children, hurry to the lake. There’s a fox!”

The ducklings hurried towards the lake. The mother duck thought for a minute and began to walk dragging one wing (拖着一只翅膀) on the ground.

When the fox saw the mother duck, he became happy. He said to himself, “She must be hurt and can’t fly! I can easily catch and eat her!”Then he ran towards her.

The mother duck ran, leading the fox away from the lake. The fox followed her. Now he wouldn’t be able to harm her ducklings. The mother duck looked towards her ducklings and saw them get to the lake. She was relieved (放心的), so she stopped and took a deep breath (呼吸).

The fox thought she was tired and he came closer, but the mother duck quickly spread her wings and rose up in the air. She landed in the middle of the lake and her ducklings swam to her happily.

The fox was sad, looking at the mother duck and her ducklings. He could not reach them because they were in the middle of the lake.

Living in a different culture can be a both exciting and challenging (挑战性的) experience. You have to learn different cultures and try to get used to them. Let’s share some cultural differences between China and the US to help understand each other.

Privacy (隐私) — Chinese people talk about subjects, such as ages and income (收入), which Americans think is not polite.

Families — In China, elders are traditionally treated with respect (尊重) and they often live with their children. In America, the goal of the family is to encourage independence (独立), especially that of the children. Unlike the Chinese, older Americans seldom live with their children.

Friends — Chinese people have different meanings to describe friends. In China, friendship means a life-long friend who thinks it’s his duty to give each other any help. Americans always call people they meet friends.

Money — The Chinese like saving money. They are always careful when they are planning to spend money. It is different in America, where far fewer American families are saving money.

Education — Chinese people value education and jobs more than Americans do, who pay more attention to good nature instead.

Long ago, in a small village, there lived a bird named Kola and a monkey named Chika. Kola had a beautiful singing voice. Animals from near and far like to come to listen to him sing.

One day, Kola found a shiny pebble (鹅卵石) in the forest that made his voice even more beautiful. He was so happy that he hurried back to share the news.

Chika longed for a beautiful singing voice. After hearing about Kola’s story, he secretly followed Kola into the forest. He searched for a long time until he found a pebble that was similar to Kola’s. Excitedly, he picked it up and wished for a beautiful voice, but nothing happened. He felt a little sad and decided to go back home.

When Chika reached a bridge, he saw a bird caught in a net (网) below. Chika swung down from the bridge and set the bird free. Later, Chika found a tiger running after a group of small animals. He quickly climbed the nearest tree and distracted (使分心) the tiger. The small animals got the chance to run away. By the time Chika finally returned to the village, he had become a hero (英雄). Everyone in the village was amazed by his bravery and agility (敏捷). He realized that being brave and helpful was just as important as having a beautiful voice.

The story of the singing bird and the brave monkey shows us that everyone has his own special talent.