In a small village, there was a wise old man named Ryan. One day his young nephew (侄子) Keith came to visit him. During their talk, Keith said he was sad and worried about his little progress in learning the guitar. However hard he tried, he just couldn’t improve much.

Keith asked his uncle for advice. “Follow me.” said Ryan, and he led Keith up to the high hills around the village. This road was long and difficult, but Keith followed the old man. As they got higher. Ryan said that he needed to go to the top of the highest hill where he had never been to. Keith was surprised but decided to help his uncle.

With great difficulty, Keith helped his uncle climb the hill. Sometimes he even carried the old man on his back. At the top, sweating(流汗), he put his uncle back on the ground and laughed with joy.

“Do you remember the times when you were a little boy? Sometimes you returned home with tears in your eyes,” said Ryan. “The other children teased (嘲笑) you. Do you remember why?”

Keith looked around and nodded. He remembered that as a child he often played on the hills with other children. They called this hill Mount Impossible, because small children couldn’t reach its top. “At that time I was unable to get here,” said Keith. “The bigger kids had no problem.”

“And today,” said Ryan. “you not only climbed here, but also dragged me up.”

“I became bigger and stronger.”

“Instead of climbing Mount Impossible every day, you played on the smaller hills and became better at climbing. You became stronger.” said Ryan. “Mount Impossible became possible for you to climb while you weren’t even thinking about it.”

①Otters (水獭) are cute water animals. Recently, there has been a trend (趋势) of keeping them as pets. In Japan, some “otter cafes” are open for business. People can pay to play with the otters there and to take photos with them. In Indonesia, people go swimming with their pet otters and take “funny” videos. These photos and videos posted online have attracted more people to buy otters as pets.

②However, these photos and videos mask the fact that the online trade is doing harm to otters. In the wild, baby otters usually stay with their mothers during their first year of life. According to a report, 70 percent of otters sold online are under a year old. These baby otters have been stolen from their mothers. When they’re kept as pets by humans, they do not live full, natural lives.

③Otters are very social (群居的). They live in family groups of up to fifteen in the wild. Keeping an otter as a pet can make it very sad and lonely. These animals also need enough space to swim. Their owners’ bathtubs (浴缸) or pools are much smaller than the bodies of water in the wild.

④On the other hand, it is not wise to keep otters as pets at home. They have a very special fishy smell. If they’re kept indoors, they will leave a lot of droppings around the house. This would make the smell even more unpleasant. Besides, when otters are upset, they will make loud noises and even attack (攻击) people. If a person is bitten by an otter, he or she needs to go to the hospital immediately.

⑤So, what can we do to stop the otter pet trade? Well, one of the main ways is to let more people know that otters should not be kept as pets. We should also keep an eye on online posts about these animals. When photos and videos show baby otters being kept or sold as pets, don’t share them.

Chinese paper cutting is an art of cutting out pictures from paper with a pair of scissors. It has been around for over 1,500 years.

The most common pictures of paper cutting are flowers, animals and things about Chinese history. The paper cuttings are so vivid (生动的) that they look like real ones.     34     During the Spring Festival, people usually put the Chinese character “Fu” on windows, walls and doors for good luck and a happy new year.

    35     Fang Jianguo has made paper cutting for over 30 years. “This art was invented for decoration (装饰) from the very beginning,” said Fang. “Before doing it, you have to learn how to draw well. Without good drawing skills, you can’t make good paper cuttings.”

Paper cutting also has new development. Li Baofeng is a 55-year-old artist. “Traditional paper cuttings are often made with red paper.     36     So I want to make something new,” said Li. She has made works in different colors.

Now paper cutting has changed from decoration to a kind of art. More and more people love paper cuttings.     37     The next time you see a paper cutting, take a moment to enjoy it.

Patrick never did homework. “Too boring,” he said. He played baseball and basketball instead. His teachers told him, “Patrick! Do your homework, or you can’t     49     a thing.” And it’s true. Sometimes he did feel like a fool. But what could he do? He hated homework.

One day, Patrick’s cat was playing with a little “doll”. He found it wasn’t a doll at all, but a man of the smallest size. The man called, “Save me! Don’t give me back to that cat. I have     50    . I will help you if you save me!”

Patrick couldn’t believe how     51     he was! Here was the answer to all of his problems. So he said, “Only if you do all my homework till the end of the term. If you do a good enough job, I can even get A’s.”

The little elf (精灵) kicked his legs and rubbed (搓) his hands. “All right. I’ll do it.”

And true to his words, that little elf began to do Patrick’s homework. Sometimes he     52     what to do and he needed help. “Help me! Help me!” he’d say. And Patrick would have to help — in whatever way.

“What does this word mean?” the elf cried while he was reading Patrick’s homework. “Get me a dictionary. No, what’s even better,     53     the word and explain it to me.”

Seeing changes in China

①It was a warm spring day in 2021. Chen Beier, a reporter and TV presenter from Hong Kong, was on her way to a small village called Atule’er. The small village sits at the top of an 800-meter-high cliff (悬崖). People can only get up to it by climbing a 2.556-step steel ladder (钢梯). It is very dangerous.

②So, was Chen looking for adventure there? The answer is no. The famous presenter was, instead, making a documentary.

③In February 2021, China reached an important goal. It got rid of poverty (摆脱贫困). Many people couldn’t believe this. After all, China has a large number of poor villages. In order to show the truth to people, Chen set out to make No Poverty Land.

④The trip turned out to be hard. When she was halfway up the ladder to Atule’er. For example. Chen felt so tired that she could hardly go any further. She was also afraid of heights. The villagers advised her to stop the climb, but the woman continued her climb.

⑤This steel ladder, in fact, is only six years old. Before it was built, the villagers had to face even bigger danger and use a rattan (藤条制成的) ladder. The government has also built houses for the villagers at the foot of the mountain. Through No Poverty Land, people can easily see how life in poor areas of China has been improved.

⑥China has changed a lot, but some people just find it hard to believe. Now, Chen has shown us what we can do about that: Don’t just tell people about the great changes; show them when you can.

70. 适合自己的才是最好的。一个适合你的方法会更有助于解决你的问题。最近，某英文网站正在开展以“A suitable (适合的) way for me”为主题的征文活动。请你用英语写一篇短文投稿，分享你在学习、锻炼……过程中发现的一个适合自己的方法，并结合经历和感受谈谈它对你的帮助。