There was once a little ragged girl who lived with her widowed (丧偶的) mother. She had few clothes to wear and those that she had were old and _______. However, her mother made sure that she was clean and _______. Even though, her schoolmates always _______ her.

One day before Christmas, she saw two boys _______ on her way home. One of the boys hit the other boy hard, took the coat off his back and ran off with it. The other boy _______ to run after him but fell down. The ragged girl ran up to the boy on the _______. She was surprised to find it was the _______ boy who had always made fun of her at school. _______, she took off her coat and gave it to the boy. Then, she walked the boy to his _______.

After hearing what had happened, the boy’s mother was very ________ to the little girl for her help and gave her a brand new coat. “I had bought that coat for my niece for Christmas, ________ I think you deserve it much more.” she said.

Then the mother drove the little ragged girl to her own front door. The little girl ________ the woman and ran into the house to show her mother the ________ coat. After she had finished telling her story, she saw that her mother was ________.

“I thought you would be ________, Mama.” she said softly. “But if you are not happy, I’ll take the coat ________.”

“I’ m not unhappy, honey,” she wiped her tears. “Instead, I’m filled with ________. I knew that I would never be able to ________ a new coat for you, but you got one because of your ________ deed. I’m proud of you.”

“You know, the little ragged girl said as she wiped her mothe’rs tears,” I really am very rich to have a ________ like you.”

Have you ever noticed that your fingertips are wrinkled (起皱的) when you’ve just finished swimming or washing dishes? It seems as if your hands have aged 30 years in a second. But is this an accident? Or is it something that nature has built into our bodies?

“If your finger’s wrinkling up had no use at all, it wouldn’t need to.” Professor Tom Smulders from Newcastle University UK told BBC News. By studying wet fingers closely, Smulders and his partners found that the wrinkles looked a bit like the patterns on the car tire or the bottom of the running shoes. So they made a guess that wrinkles on fingers might be able to help the hand hold things more tightly.

To test this, researchers asked 20 people to pick up marbles (大理石) from water with their hands. But before they started, some of the people had to keep their hands in water for half an hour. The researchers found that the people with wrinkled fingers completed the task faster than those with dry hands. But when they were asked to move dry marbles, all the people performed equally well no matter they had the wrinkled fingers or not. Researchers said our ancestors might not have played with marbles but wrinkled fingers could have made it easier for them to climb around in the wet forests and catch fish from rivers. Similarly, our toes also get wrinkled in water. This may have developed from our ancestors need to run on wet ground.

But the question is if wrinkled fingers are so helpful, why don’t our hands just stay that way all the time? Researchers explained that wrinkling had its disadvantage: wet fingertips are far less sensitive than smooth ones, reducing our sense of touch.

This was the first real task I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. As I searched the name, I found that there were two famous people having the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts（花生）, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; let the coin decide. I flipped(掷) a coin and Ah! Tails (背面)! My report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

Weeks later, I stood in front of the classroom and proudly read my homework. But things started to get strange. I looked around the room, only to find my classmates with big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes and my stone-faced teacher. I was completely lost. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

Oh well, I dropped the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American War of Independence.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that my teacher meant that George Washington?

Of course, my subject result was awful. Sad but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to the headmaster Miss Lancelot, but she said firmly: No re-dos; no new score. I felt that it was not fair, and I believed I deserved a second chance. So I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, I sat in the headmaster’s office again, but this time a completely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the terrible moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster told me I was good enough to skip(跳过) the 6th grade and started the 7th grade next term.

Birthdays are especially important to the very young and the very old. On their birthdays, people receive birthday cards and birthday presents from their family and friends. Children’s cards often have a large number on them showing how old they are. Cards for adults have pictures of flowers or scenery, or humorous or rude cartoons. Inside there is usually a simple greeting, such as “Happy Birthday” or “Many Happy Returns of the Day.”

In the US, children who have their birthdays during the school year take a cake to school and have a small party with their classmates. In Britain, children sometimes get Bumped (lifted off the ground horizontally and put down again sharply) by their friends.

In the US, the 16th birthday is called sweet 16. It is the age at which a person can get a US driver’s license, and some wealthier parents give their children a car as a present. At 18, in Britain and in the US, young people become adults and many have a big party. In most parts of the US, 21 is the age at which people can drink alcohol legally.

In Britain, people celebrate 21st birthday less. Many adults dislike getting older and a few lie about their age. But in general older people are now much more willing to tell others their age. You may see a sign by the side of a road saying: “Dave Ell is 40 today!”, put there by Dave’s friends. At about 65, people retire, and those who have reached this age are called senior citizens. Few people live to be 100, so a 100th birthday is very special. In Britain, people reaching this age may receive card containing a printed message from the Queen.

Failure is a word that no one wants to hear. It is human beings’ biggest fear yet it is faced by every human being. Sometimes, people’s fear of it is their biggest barrier to success.     32     Here are some tips which can help you get on the positive side of life.

Never give up. Before starting anything that you think will give you success, promise yourself that you will never give up.     33     Remember that it is never too late to do so.

    34     This is the opportunity that you should not let go of. Suppose you are on a football ground. You strike the ball for 9 times in a row and fail. But at the tenth attempt, you succeed. The tenth attempt proves that you have somehow learnt from your mistakes.

Never think that you've got only one plan. The worst thing you can do after failing in some project is thinking that it was the only plan you could ever think of.     35     If Plan A fails, turn to Plan B or Plan C. If you are into achieving something, no one or nothing in this world can stop you.

    36     This is the most important thing that you need to live a happy life. Always think positive. Never let yourself down. Positivity is all we need to grow and establish ourselves in this world.

Yours,

Li Hua