When I was about 12, a girl in my class liked to point out my problems. I was too thin; I wasn’t a good student; I talked too much, I was too _______ , and so on. At last, I became very angry and ran to my father. He listened to me _______. Then he asked, “Are these things true or not? Do you know what you are really like? Go and make a _______ of what she said and find the _______ that are true.”

I did as he told me. To my great _______ , I discovered that about half of the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin). But there were things I could and wanted to change. For the _______ time, I got a clear _______ of myself.

I brought the list back to Dad. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you.” he said, “You know the truth about _______ better than anyone else. When people say something that is true about you, you should find it helpful.”

Our world is full of people who think they know your business. Don’t _______ your ears and feel ________. Listen to them.

Lianyungang is a beautiful city. It is a great new city and it has a long history. It is near the sea. There is less pollution in Lianyungang than in any other city.

There are lots of beautiful places and sights in our city. Do you know the famous Monkey King and the Huaguo Mountain? The Monkey King is very clever and he was the strongest monkey in the world. And the Huaguo Mountain is one of the most beautiful mountains in China, even in the world.

There are many tall modern buildings in the east of the city. They usually have 16 to 28 floors. Many of us live in such buildings. There are big shops near the buildings. The things in them are cheap. Many good restaurants are open day and night. In the city you can look at the wonderful sea and eat delicious seafood. And you can eat Western food if you don’t like Chinese food. You can enjoy yourself if you come to the city. If the weather is fine and hot enough, you can also swim or play with fish in the sea. It is really interesting.

Welcome to Lianyungang! I hope you will come and visit it soon.

Why does a pigeon(鸽子) with an olive branch(橄榄枝) in its mouth mean peace(和平)?

The Great Flood(洪水) lasted(持续) for 150 days. Noah’s family and all the animals were in a big ship. One day, the rain stopped. Noah sent a crow(乌鸦) out of the big ship, but it didn’t come back. Then Noah sent a pigeon and the pigeon came back after seven days. Noah knew the land was far away. Another seven days passed, Noah sent the pigeon out of the big ship again. In the evening the pigeon came back with a green olive branch in its mouth. This time Noah knew the land was near. He was very happy. Noah and his family and all the animals got out of the big ship when they reached the land. They built houses and started to farm. Noah had many sons and daughters. The animals and trees all grew up, and the land was colourful again.

People think both the pigeon and the olive branch mean a peaceful land and a peaceful life. So they draw a picture of a pigeon with an olive branch in its mouth to show their love for peace.

Mr Clarke lives at the foot of a mountain. He keeps the forests for a rich farmer there. The only road to the forest is just in front of his house. He can easily see the people who want to go into the forest. Sometimes, he has to be on duty at night. When he hears some sound he has to get up to see if someone cuts the trees.

One day, he bought something in the town. He found a strange dog and bought it. He loves it very much and often gives some meat and bread to it. And when a strange man walks close to his house, it barks loudly. So he can soon know about it and go out to find out who it is.

But last week something was wrong with Mr Clarke. He didn’t feel well and couldn’t fall asleep in the evening. He had to go to a hospital in the town. The doctor looked him over and then asked, “Have you got a dog, sir?”

“Yes, I have got one.”

“You have got a skin disease (皮肤病),” said the doctor. “I am sure your dog infected (传染) it to you. You can’t come in touch with it any longer.”

When he came out of the hospital, he met a friend and told him about it. The man asked, “What are you going to do, to sell your dog or to give it to another man?”

“Neither,” answered Mr Clarke. “I decide to see another doctor. It is much easier to find a doctor than to buy a good dog.”

My friend Peter was kind and lovely. But as a student, he was bad at Maths, English and Science, because he didn’t have an aptitude(资质) for that kind of study.

One day we were playing football and the ball got stuck(卡住) in a tree. Peter climbed the tree to get it, and one of the teachers, John Marston, who was looking out of the window, noticed that he was a talented(有天赋的) climber. Mr Marston was an expert(专家) in climbing. He had climbed many mountains.

One weekend Mr Marston invited Peter to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Peter really enjoyed the climbing. Mr Marston told Peter he was a very talented climber for his age.

Peter left school three years later with no qualifications(学历), but he kept climbing regularly until he became very good at it. In his early twenties, he became a professional(职业的) climber. He said, “I’m always thankful to Mr Marston because he showed me I had an ability which no one else, including me, knew about.”

64. 请根据以下提示，以“My favourite outdoor activity”为题，写一篇60词左右的英语短文。

My favourite outdoor activity