At the age of 16, Einstein always played with a group of crazy kids. Because he was so busy _______, he didn’t study _______ and failed his final exam.

One morning, when Einstein was holding a fishing tool and was about to go fishing with his friends, his father stopped _______ and said seriously, “Einstein, you were _______ crazy about playing that you failed your exam. I’m worried about your future.”

“What are you worrying about? Jack and Robert also failed, but they still went fishing.”

“My boy, there is a story that people tell in our hometown. Listen to it now.”

“There were two cats playing on the top of a house. One cat was careless and _______ down the chimney （烟囱）while holding the other cat. When the two cats climbed out _______ the chimney, one of the cats had soot（烟灰）on his face, while the other cat’s face was clean. Seeing the soot-faced cat, the clean cat thought its face _______ be dirty, so it quickly ran to the riverside and washed its face. The soot-faced cat saw the clean-faced cat _______ thought its face was also clean, so it just walked down the street happily.”

“Einstein, no one can be your ‘mirror’. You have to think for yourself. _______ you follow others, you will never learn.”

Hearing this, Einstein laid down his fishing tool and returned to his room. He studied hard and didn’t follow others from them on. This helped him __________ successful.

One of my favorite high school teachers was Mrs. Ide. She was my ________ teacher and the leader of our choir (合唱团), in which I was a member during high school in France. It was Mrs. Ide who asked me to join the school choir. Mrs. Ide was a great teacher, ________ she didn’t play favorites, believed in all of us and was a musical genius.

Mrs. Ide always had ________ topics for her music class. She had ________ to make them fun every time. We ________ in groups in class. We studied for musicals (like Cats, My Fair Lady), and every one of us had a part to act and sing. When we ________ studying our parts, our friends and teachers came and watched our _______.

Mrs. Ide ________ our musical talents. She taught us to be self-confident(自信的) with our voices and how to use different skills to ________ our singing. She told us every week that we all have great talents, and it felt really good that she had such confidence in our musical abilities.

I can say that Mrs. Ide was the best teacher and she ________ cared about us. She helped everyone in her class to sing better and become more and more self-confident. She was the person who encouraged me to study singing and the one who are an inspiration (鼓舞人的人) for students and their future.

On June 9th 1870, Charles Dickens died at the age of 58. The next day, a headline in The New York Times read: “Death of the Great Novelist … Will Be Remembered by the People …”

The headline was not overstating（夸大）the popularity of Dickens. Even today, the British novelist is loved by readers all over the world. Dickens created some unforgettable characters. You must have heard of or even read some of his novels: Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities. A Tale of Two Cities has sold more than 200 million copies. Since 1897, there have been more than 300 films and TV adaptations（改编版本）of   Dickens’ works.

Natalie Mcknight is a literature professor who studies Dickens and his works. She explains why the novelist has remained so popular. One important reason, she says, is that Dickens wrote from his heart. He tried hard to produce emotional effects（情感效果）among his readers. In his works, he paid special attention to the “little man” at the bottom of society in the UK, which deeply mirrored the social reality at that time. A Christmas Carol, for example, was written to make every reader think about how they could make a difference to their society. People always enjoy works that make them laugh, cry and think. Many other 19th-century novelists wrote entertaining（娱乐的）works. However, few of them worked as hard as Dickens to touch the readers deeply.

Dickens wrote about situations and emotions that still interest people today. He used his pen to fight social inequality and gave voice to the poor. His works led to many important social changes. Readers always enjoy seeing poor people rise and succeed.

Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.

After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn’t wash her window. It really looks terrible.”

One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside. Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean! Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.

That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings? Since then, when I wanted to judge someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my dirty window?” Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.

How to fight against COVID-19? We choose some books to help you. The books were translated into 13 languages, including Japanese, French and Russian. They are convenient for readers to enjoy.

	Virus, Virus, You Cannot Scare Me! by Mu Xiangzhen The book makes parents and children be able to learn – in a fun way – about how viruses spread and what people can do to protect themselves. It tells children not to fear about viruses. Besides, it also introduces the idea of getting along well with nature, and hopes children can protect wild life and the natural environment.
	A Special Spring Festival by Gao Jing This book pictures children’s special Spring Festival in China during the outbreak of COVID-19. It tells a story of a common family in China. It tries to answer the child’s question “Why can’t I be allowed to play outside?” It tells the child what COVID -19 is, how it spreads, and how we can protect ourselves from it. The pictures show love between family members, friends and everyone.
	Ten Tips to Fight Monsters by Dong Ruihan Dad leaves 10 tips to help us fight the virus. Who will win the war? The story will gently teach children how to prevent the disease in a language that they can easily understand. It will help kids remain calm in the hard time, and encourage them to help family members to prevent the disease.
	A Brief History of Viruses for Children by Changsha White-flag Dolphin Children’s Book Workshop This story book tells the beginning of the virus, so the readers can understand the history of the virus easily. The book sets up a “Ten Questions about COVID-19” section, which explains the knowledge of COVID-19 (including how it spreads), helping children readers to understand the virus basing on reason and science.

Chinese New Year is right around the corner! This is the time of year when we “sweep away the dust”.     46     We do this in order to make a clean, fresh start in the new year.

Another great way to start fresh is to get rid of all the clutter (杂物). Over a year ago, I did just that. In preparation for a move, I gave away around 75 percent of my clothes.     47     At first, I was afraid I would miss those things. However, I soon realized what a burden on my life that excess(过量) had become. I found that caring for fewer things means more time to spend with friends and family.

These days it seems that many people are trying to live with less. They’re discovering the joy of spending their time and resources on the things that matter most. The benefits of living simply are as follows:

More free time

    48     Keep only the items you need, use or enjoy. You’ll be surprised at how much time you’ll have to do what you actually want to do.

More money

As you stop buying things you don’t need, your finances will improve. You can save the extra money and take a special trip or an interesting class instead.     49    

Changed values

Once you break the habit of collecting things, your values shift. You come to realize that things don’t bring lasting happiness. True joy comes from making memories with loved ones.

Living simply lowers your stress level, improves your health and allows you to focus on what’s important. The good news is you don’t have to wait for a holiday to start living simply.     50