Tom is a confident (自信的) boy. ____ likes playing baseball. He practices a lot every day. He always ____ to be a great batter (击球手).

One day, Tom goes to practice ____ again.

“I’m the greatest baseball player ____ the world,” he says confidently before he starts. Then he throws the ball in the air, swings (挥舞) and ____.

But he doesn’t give up (放弃). He picks up the ball, says to ____, “I’m the greatest player!” and throws it into the ____ once more. He swings at the ball, but once ____ he misses.

He ____ for a short time to rest and think. Then once again, he ____ the ball into the air and says, “I’m the ____ baseball player.” He swings the bat as hard as he could, ____ he misses the ball again.

“Wow!” he ____. “What an amazing pitcher (投手) I am!”

We will often face something ____ in life. But if we can have a sense of humor (幽默感) about it, like Tom does, our life will become ______.

John is from New York. His home is near the school. So he often goes to school by bike. Every day it takes him about fifteen minutes to get there. He always gets to school on time.

Mary is a student of a middle school in Tokyo. The school is far from her home. Every day she has to go to school by subway. It takes her about forty minutes. She often gets up very early because she doesn’t want to be late for school. She is a good student.

Jenny’s home is in London. It is far from her school. She usually takes the bus for an hour to school every day. She must get up at 6:20 in the morning. She often gets there early.

Tom is a student of a middle school in Iceland (冰岛). There is snow all year round. So he usually goes to school by sledge (雪橇). The ride takes about twenty minutes. He is sometimes late for school.

Dark blue jackets. Stripped ties (条纹领带). Gray trousers. Blue dresses. These things are all too usual to students at Australia’s Kingswood College-they are part of the school uniform. But the 130-year-old middle school has something different now.

From the beginning of 2021, its students started to wear polo shirts, shorts and tights (紧身裤) to school.

Elisabeth Lenders is the headmaster of the school. She said the difference started about three years ago. By replacing (取代) its old uniform with active wear, the school wants to help students to exercise more.

According to the World Health Organization, 90% of young Australians are not getting enough (足够的) physical activity. Fewer activities and longer phone time are making young people unhappy and unhealthy. It’s found at Kingswood College that having to wear a uniform is difficult to do sports.

Lender said that a uniform was about making students look tidy. In the 21st century, it’s more important for students to be comfortable and healthy. With the new “uniform”, students can exercise whenever they want to, not only in their P.E. class. They don’t need to get dressed in their sportswear and take off after P.E. class.

Most students and their parents welcome the new “uniform”. Kylie MacCorriston has four sons at the school. “I’ve watched them climbing on the monkey bars (攀爬架) with their ties getting in the way (妨碍). They also played football wearing a jacket. It looked very uncomfortable,” she said. The mother believes the new “uniform” will help her sons have happier and healthier school lives.

“    61     your vegetables!” Your mother always says this to you.

But Laleh Mohmedi has a way to let her children eat healthy food. She turns the food into kids’ favorite cartoon characters (人物). Her kids just can’t     62     “no” to the vegetables!

Look, Laleh     63     a cake of Kung Fu Panda for her three-year-old son, Jacob. The little boy     64     it. On weekends, they are often in the kitchen together and talk about different food. It usually takes Laleh about 20 to 35 minutes     65     one. Over the years, the mother has become better and better at food art. She is so cool!