One morning, a blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held a sign which said, “I am blind. Please help me.” There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took out a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign and turned it over, and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by could see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. More and more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Are you the one who changed my sign in the morning? What did you write?” The man said, “ I only wrote the truth. I said what you said, but in a different way.” What he had written was, “Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.”

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.

We’re very lucky because we can not only see the beautiful world but also help others. So, enjoy what you have owned today!

As a student, I was most afraid to answer questions in class, and I found that the students around were just like me. At the beginning of each class, when the teacher asked a question, I always lowered my head because I was afraid that the teacher saw me.

One day, in a foreign language class, Mr. Black gave us a lesson. He wanted us to be active in class, so he asked us some questions, but no one answered. “Let me tell you a story first,” he said.

“When I came to the United States to study, the university often invited famous people to make speeches. Before the beginning of every speech, I found an interesting thing. The students around me always took a cardboard folded (折叠的) in half, wrote their names in bold with the most eye-catching color, and then placed the cardboard on the seat. So when the speaker needed the answers from the students, he could see and call a listener’s name directly.”

“I couldn’t understand that. My classmate told me the speakers were all top people, who meant chances. When your answer was to his surprise, it meant he might give you more chances. In fact, I really saw a few students got great chances because of that.”

After listening to the story, I understood that the chance will not find yourself. You must show yourself all the time so that you can find a chance on the card.

Soccer is the world’s favorite sport. It has around 3 billion fans-nearly half the world’s population! And about 300 million people play this game. That’s 4 percent of the world’s population!

It’s hard to say where soccer’s birthplace is. Many people in old days played early forms (形式) of this modern game. Cu ju (蹴鞠), a ball-kicking game in China, was reported as early as 2500 B.C.

Around the same time in Greece. People were also playing a similar ball game without using their hands.

But modern soccer didn’t become official (官方的) until 1863. An Englishman called Cobb Morley introduced the idea of a soccer association (联盟). He also wrote the sport’s official rules. From then on, other associations in the countries were set up. They came together to make up the FIFA, which organizes the World Cup.

It’s not easy to tell what makes soccer so popular. But one reason is how simple the sport is.

Soccer needs only two feet and a ball. This makes it a sport that developing countries can easily play. Some of the sport’s best players come from these poor nations.

Soccer performances are pleasing to the eyes. The sport’s no-hands rule makes beautiful dance-like movements on the field. What’s more, this sport excites the heart. Teams might score only a few times each match, so matches can turn around suddenly.

No one knows who will win at the next World Cup. But one thing is certain: The world will be watching.

    21     It’s a city with a long history. Kunming has a population of more than 7,000,000. Though the weather in Yunnan changes from place to place.     22     It’s neither too hot in summer nor too cold in winter. That’s why more and more people like to travel and even to live there.

At weekends or on holidays,     23     In winter, people, especially old people, would like to climb the Western Hills. From the top of the hills, you can have a good look at the beautiful scenery of Kunming. Far from the hills, you can enjoy the Sleeping Beauty among the hills. After dinner, families take a walk along the bank of Dianchi Lake. The Golden Temple and EXPO Garden are two famous places of interest in the north of the city. EXPO Garden is known to people both at home and abroad.     24     A little farther away from the southeast of the city, a special forest welcomes you. It is not a tree forest, but a stone forest. So it is called the Stone Forest.

    25     They often invite their friends home to try delicious food, like rice noodles. If you want to know more about Kunming and taste her food, please visit her yourself.

Most people drink tea in the world. But tea does not mean the same thing to different people. In different countries, people have different ideas about drinking tea.

In China, for example, tea is often served when people get together. Chinese people drink it at home or in tea houses at any time of the day. They often use hot water to boil tea leaves.

Tea is also important in other Asian countries. People in these countries have a special way of serving tea. They hold a tea ceremony in their houses when important guests come. It is very old and full of meaning. Everything must be done in a special way in the ceremony. There is even a special room for it in their houses.

In the United States, people usually drink tea at breakfast or they drink it after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make tea. This way is faster and easier than the way of making tea in teapots. In summer, most Americans drink iced tea. They like to put some ice in their tea.

Many Western countries celebrate Easter. 1. This holiday is always on a Sunday between March 22^nd and April 25^th. It celebrates the beginning of new life. Hens lay eggs, giving birth to life, 2. 因此一个鸡蛋就是新生命的象征。A popular activity during Easter is to hide eggs around your home or garden for friends or relatives to find. 3. These can be real eggs, but they are more often chocolate eggs. Not only do people spread them around in different hiding places for an egg hunt, but they also give out these treats as gifts. So just like Christmas, 4. 复活节给超市和巧克力店创造了好的生意。

55. 张明在学校参加了一个英语俱乐部，从那以后，他改变了很多。请你结合下面表格所给的提示，写一篇英语短文。

Joining a club sometimes changes a person greatly.

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People sure change all the time, right? What we should do is to learn from Zhang Ming. Change ourselves and choose to be the best of ourselves.