【推荐1】Last summer holiday, Aunt Emily took us to a safari park (野生动物园),not far from Liverpool.

I was very happy to go as I had never been to a safari park before. It’s a very interesting park, full of wild animals running freely.

When we got there, we bought our tickets and drove into the park. We were very excited at the thought of going to see the lions. But to get to the lions’ place we had to go through the monkeys’ land first. And that was an unforgettable experience because they climbed all over the car, ate apples and bananas, and threw all kinds of things at us. They seemed very unfriendly.

Anyway, we went on our way to the lions’ place where we had to lock ourselves in the car as we knew lions could be dangerous. A lion came up very close to us. Then it was on the bonnet (车盖). It looked calm but we felt terrified. Aunt Emily, who isn’t very brave, started to call for help. The kids started crying. Only my brother, George, stayed calm. I sounded the horn (喇叭) but nobody heard us.

In the end a guard arrived in his car, and the lion just got off our car and started smelling the guard’s hand as if nothing was the matter.

【推荐2】“A bird with a broken wing will never fly as high.” I’m sure T. J. Ware was made to feel this way almost every day at school. By high school, T. J. was the most widely known troublemaker in his town. Even some teachers literally cringed (感到局促不安) when they saw his name posted on their lists of students.

I met T. J. for the first time when all the students at school were attending ACE training. At first, he showed no interest in it. But slowly, the interactive games drew him in. T. J. had some brilliant thoughts, which were welcomed by his group. The other students on the team were impressed with his ideas and elected T. J. co-chairman of the team.

When T. J. showed up at school on Monday morning, a group of teachers were expressing their disagreement with his, being elected co-chairman to the school principal. The principal reminded them that the purpose of the program was to uncover any positive thought and strengthen its practice until true change can take place. The teachers left, firmly convinced that failure was unavoidable.

Two weeks later, T. J. and his friends led a group of 70 students to collect food. They collected 2,854 cans of food in just two hours, which was a new school record. The local newspaper covered the event with a full-page article the next day. That newspaper story was posted on the main bulletin board at school, where everyone could see it. T.J.’s picture was there. T. J. started showing up at school every day and answering questions from teachers.

T. J. reminds us that a bird with a broken wing only needs mending. Once its wing has healed, it can fly higher than the rest. He is flying quite nicely these days.

【推荐3】Something Fun

A person is on trial for murder in a court room in Oklahoma. There is strong evidence indicating that he is guilty（有罪的）. However, the body is not found.

In the defense’s (辩护方) closing speech, the lawyer, knowing that his client (委托人) is guilty and that it looks like he’ll probably be seriously punished, decided to play a clever trick.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury (陪审团), I have a surprise for you all,” the lawyer says as he looks at his watch. “Within one minute, the person assumed dead in this case will walk into this court room,” he says and he looks towards the court-room door. The jury, somewhat surprised, looks at the door eagerly. A minute passes. Nothing happens.

Finally the lawyer says, “Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all waited with expectation. I, therefore, put it to you that there is a reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you pass a judgment of not guilty.”

The jury, clearly confused, back off to discuss.

A very few minutes later, the jury returned and one of them pronounces a verdict (裁决) of guilty.

“But how?” asks the lawyer in surprise. “You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door.”

Answers the jury member, “Oh, we did look. But your client didn’t.”

【推荐1】A year back I received a full scholarship (奖学金) to attend the University of San Francisco. All of my hard work paid off. My mom had spent a lot on my attending a private high school, so I made sure to push myself: I volunteered, took part in various clubs, and graduated with honors. I was so excited to start a new part of my life.

Soon enough, the big day came, but it wasn't like what I had thought. The first two weeks were the most difficult days of my entire life. Every night I would cry myself to sleep. I was missing my family, my home and everything in my hometown so much and I didn't know how to deal with my broken heart.

To_distract_myself,_I threw myself into my studies. I also found a ton of jobs. In any free time, I started forcing myself to go to the gym. I wanted to keep every part of my day busy so I wouldn't think about how lonely I felt. Soon after, I began to control my eating, considering it another solution to my homesickness(想家). But soon there was something wrong with me.

Finally, I went to see a doctor. When the doctor told me I had no choice but to take time away from school, I started to fear. How could I stop? School was what I was best at. “I'm not so bad，” I thought in my head. But the result was that I was taken to hospital again a month later and my mother came heartbrokenly. I had to take a semester off from school, and go to the treatment center near my home.

If there are girls who are suffering similarly, I hope you know that there is hope and that you should have a positive attitude towards life. Though you may feel alone, there are so many people who can understand your struggle. That's why I want to share my story.

A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn’t do either well. He later informed me that I was “not athletic”.

The idea that I was “not athletic” stuck with me for years.   When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind.A test of wills!

The night before my marathon, I dreamed that I couldn’t even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces (鞋带) became untied.So I stopped to readjust.Not the start I wanted!

At mile 3, I passed a sign:   “GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!”

By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly.Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

By mile 21, I was starving!

As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign.She is my biggest fan.She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m.or questioned my expenses on running.

I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished!And I got a medal.In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels (标签), I can now call myself a “marathon winner”.

【推荐3】I went to the Chinatown market in London last Sunday. The first thing I did was to go to one of the Chinese green grocers’ shops. As soon as I entered the shop. I smelt mixtures of Chinese spices and saw the new season’s fruits. My son wanted a bag of sweets, so we walked into the shop next door which sells many kinds of candy.

There is a lot of noise in the Chinatown market and you will see many tourists, too. There are a lot of cars and trucks that never stop beeping (按喇叭). While people are loading and unloading their goods, most of them have their cars and trucks parked in the middle of the road. This causes great trouble for other drivers. Can you imagine that?

After we had done all our shopping, my son and I went to a restaurant for lunch. We enjoyed our meal very much. But the shopping made us both very tired in the end. We headed down the road to catch our bus home. My son and I enjoyed riding in the bus. We also enjoyed looking at different buildings and people walking by dressed in fancy outfits (服装). Although Chinatown can be a busy place to shop in, I do enjoy going there now and then. I can buy some of my necessities, and I can also look and browse(浏览)around the other shops and department stores where I can indulge (使沉迷) myself with some nice things. Chinatown is located in the heart of central London, where you can find tons of shop and other places to amuse you. And for me, I certainly don’t mind going back there again soon.