My name is James. My family was ________ so I had no home. Sometimes I even couldn’t have enough food and I was hungry. I played the ________ to make a living in London.

________ a rainy evening in March, I met a cat. It looked hungry so I ________ some food to it. ________, after finishing the food, it didn’t leave. My poor life didn’t ________ me to have a cat. I sent it to the street but it returned and followed me back home.

My hope was enlightened(点亮) at that moment. ________ could I give up myself easily if a cat wouldn’t do that? I practised playing the guitar harder to get money and ________ the cat. Many people began to know us and came to visit us. I had a new life.

I know that life is very ________ for everyone. We have to face ________ here and there. But if the cat and I are together, hopes will still be there. After all, everyone can have a second chance if we don’t give up ourselves.

Congratulations! I’m so excited to hear that you have been chosen to study in Chengdu. Thanks to your hard work, you’ve realized your dream!

I remember clearly that you went to Chengdu for the first time when you were eight. Ever since you came back to America, you’ve lost yourself in Sichuan culture and been active to learn Chinese. When you first began to learn Chinese, I thought you would drop it on the way. Surprisingly, no matter how many difficulties you met, you finally stuck to it and did well in the Chinese exams. Now you finally got what you had wanted for a long time. You got the chance to experience life in Sichuan University for two years. You should have it, my daughter, because chances only come to those who are prepared.

When you are in China, you will have to face difficulties or challenges in daily life that you have never met before, but after two years in Chengdu, you’ll have a new look at life and at yourself.

Both your father and I are proud of you. Keep it up, my daughter!

Love,

Mom

The famous poem, with four couplets, was written by Du Fu (712-770, Tang Dynasty) when he was living and farming in Chengdu. His farming experience taught him to be thankful to nature.

The very first word, “good”, shows the poet’s joy and love for the spring rain. The rain is good because it “knows” the proper time to come. Here are the poem uses personification, as rain was smart enough to come in time for the farmer’s busy season.

In the second couplet, when the rain comes, it appears during the night without making any noise. Unlike the summer storms, the spring rain finishes its task without being known.

In the third couplet, the poet describes a peaceful scene to us. In the night sky, the clothes look dark and heavy. It’s a sign that there will be enough rain during the night.

Lastly, the poet starts to imagine. Tomorrow morning, he thinks, the city of Chengdu will become beautiful when all of the flowers bloom(盛开)after the rain.

Do you ever wish you had more time? Everyone gets the same amount of time each day. But here are some ways to use those hours better. As a popular saying says, “Work smarter, not harder. ”

The most important way to manage your time is to set priorities（优先权）.    41    Also, consider whether or not they are urgent—if they need to be done right away. It can be easy to forget important tasks that aren't urgent, so make time for them.

Decide ahead of time what you're going to do at certain times each day. Schedule times not only to meet people but also to do things alone. Then you can make sure everything gets done.

    42    Are you smarter in the morning, afternoon or evening? Schedule difficult tasks for times you feel good, saving easy ones for when you're tired.

Write down what you need to do and when. I keep two to-do lists: one for the present tasks and one for larger projects I'm working on.    43     And I don't get discouraged by looking at a long list of items I can't finish. I focus on the shorter list of each day's tasks.

    44    When someone wants to give you a task, think carefully. Is it really important enough to spend your precious（宝贵的）time on? Could someone else do it instead?

    45    If you're in charge of running a meeting, keep it short. Reading articles or talking to friends online can also use up much of your time. Don't allow it.

In the end, using time well is about making a good plan and sticking to it.

One morning, a blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat near his feet. He put up a sign which said, “I am blind, please     66     me.”

There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was     67     by. He took out a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the     68    . He then took the sign, turned it around, and     69     some words on it. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by could     70     the words.

Soon the hat began to fill up with coins. A lot of people were giving     71     to the blind boy. The afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see     72     things were. The boy recognized (听出) his footsteps and asked, “Are you the man     73     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     74     way.” What he had written was, “Today is a beautiful day,     75     I cannot see it.”

76. 青少年是祖国的未来，民族的希望。目前，你校正在创建文明校园，举办了“美德少年”评选活动。请你根据表格内容提示，以“Be Virtue Teenager”为题，用英语写一篇倡议书，号召大家积极争做“美德少年”。

Be a Virtue Teenager

Teenagers are the future of our motherland, they are the hope of our nation. What should we do to be a virtue teenager?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________