Which animal do you like? A baby panda, a frog or a snake? Most people choose the baby panda. Why? Because they like cute, hairy animals and think animals like the frog and the snake are not cute at all.

Lucy Cooke wants people to respect ( 尊重 ) all animals. Who is Lucy Cooke? Why does she want to show people the importance of other animals? Cooke is a scientist who studies animals. She worries about the future of all animals. Scientists need money to study and protect animals, but they get less money for animals like frogs and snakes.

“There are so many television shows about cats, dogs and bears, ” Cooke says. To get people interested in less popular animals, Cooke writes stories about them online. She also makes online videos about them. Many of her videos are fun to watch and a lot of people love them.

Cooke is especially interested in frogs and other amphibians (两栖动物). Some of these are in danger. She wants people to notice and protect these animals. She says by saving them, we also save other animals that eat them for food.

Thanks to Cooke’s online videos and stories, many people began to care about (关心) less popular animals and are now trying to do something for them.

Mr. King lives in a city. He owns some shops and makes a lot of money. His son, Mike, studies at a middle school. The boy likes everything but studying. He doesn’t listen to his teachers in class and he never finishes his homework on time. He always plays football when he has any free time. He can never pass the exams.

Mr. King is so busy with his business that he has little time to stay at home. He never pays any attention to his son’s studies, so he doesn’t know how he is doing.

One day Miss Read, Mike’s teacher, telephones Mr. King. On the telephone she tells him all about the boy’s studies. She wants him to try to help his son at home. When the man hears this, he doesn’t feel very happy.

In the afternoon when his son comes back from school, Mr. King shouts at him, but soon feels sorry for it when he sees Mike crying in the bedroom. The next morning, before Mike goes to school, he says to him, “Study hard and I’ll buy you a car when you pass the exam next year.’’ Another term is over. Mike doesn’t pass the exam once more. Mr. King has a look at the school report for a few minutes and then he asks his son, “You don’t pass the exam again, Mike. What did you do this term?” “I learned how to drive a car, dad.” answers the boy.