In the village of Muntang in Indonesia (印度尼西亚) , many children all do one thing after school: They pick up rubbish in order to ________ books from the “Waste Library”.

Raden Roro Hendarti is the person who ________ this special library. Every weekday, she rides her tricycle (三轮车) with lots of books to the ________. Many children are already waiting for her. They pick out the books they want to read and “________” her with plastic cups, bags and other types of waste. After that, these little children usually sit together to enjoy reading their books.

Each week, Raden’s “Waste Library” collects about 100 kilograms of rubbish. The waste is then sent for ________ or sold. Raden will use the money to buy new books for her library. “Our children should read more and spend less ________ playing online games,” said Raden. “I want them to get offline (离线的) and start doing something good for the real world.”

The “Waste Library” has over 6, 000 books now. The number is still ________. Raden’s act of kindness is shining the hearts and minds of more children.

Britain has many kilometers of rivers and canals (运河) —and around 30, 000 people live on these waters in houseboats.

People started living in houseboats in the 1800s, when the country’s canals were built. People chose to live on the water in order to feel closer to nature and have a quieter way of life.

Living on the water sounds romantic (浪漫的) , but it is also hard work. There are many jobs to do every day, such as bringing in clean water and getting rid of dirty water from the toilet, sink (水槽) and shower. During winter, living on a boat can be very cold. Also, most boats are quite small inside. You don’t have much space, especially if you are a couple, family or group of friends.

Although it is not easy, the number of people living on houseboats has grown by around 50% over the past 10 years. More families and young people are choosing to live on houseboats because it is much cheaper to buy or rent (租) a boat than a flat or a house.

Another good thing about living on the water is the friendly neighbors. People who live on houseboats always help each other and usually become good friends. This is quite a different story from people who live in flats or houses and may hardly know the people next door at all.

Some students often complain (抱怨) about learning English. The subject, they say, takes up too much of their time. They have to read many passages, look up new words in the dictionary and do lots of exercises. Although they work hard, they still can’t get good scores on tests. “Why?” they ask. “How can I enjoy success?”

The story of Chinese astronaut Deng Qingming might help to answer their questions.

Deng was chosen as an astronaut trainee (接受培训者) in 1998. That was long ago—you readers hadn’t even been born yet. Since that day, he had spent almost all of his time training hard to become an astronaut. Over the years, Deng has seen other trainees with him go into space one after another. However, he was always a backup (后备人员) . He often felt sad. Sometimes, he even cried.

But Deng never gave up. Although he is now in his fifties, he keeps training hard. “I must be ready whenever the chance comes to me,” he once said. Finally, on the night of November 29, 2022, he and two other astronauts boarded the Shenzhou 15 spaceship and flew into space. Deng had waited 24 years for this very moment.

So, if you want to give up learning English (or something else), think about Deng’s story. Your efforts might not pay off immediately. Be patient, though. Try to improve your methods and keep going. One day, success will knock at your door. Being different from Deng, you probably won’t even have to wait 24 years for that moment!

World Wildlife Day

World Wildlife Day falls on March 3 every year. It’s a global (全球的) celebration of all the wonderful wild animals and plants on the planet.     46     Cheek out the suggestions below.

◆Learn more about the wildlife in your areas. You can visit your local wildlife saving center and botanical garden (植物园).     47    

◆If you find a wild animal or plant somewhere, don’t take it home.     48     Wild animals and plants need to stay in their home environment to live.

◆    49     Some animals can get sick from eating human food. Others may depend on your food little by little and forget how to search for food on their own.

◆    50     The rubbish may make wild animals dangerous.

◆If you can find a hurt wild animal, call your local wildlife saving center. The workers there will help care for the animals.

Once upon a time, there was a wise old man who had seven sons. But his sons     61     (are) always fighting. It made some bad people happy because they wanted to cheat（欺骗）the brothers out of their     62     (father) money.

One day, the father decided to help his sons stop     63     (fight), so he brought them together. He tied seven chopsticks together, and said, “I will give all of my money to     64     one who can break this bundle（捆）.”

The seven sons each tried     65     (break) the chopsticks, but it was too hard. They agreed that it was impossible.

“Yet, my sons,” said the father, “it’s actually easy to do.”

He untied the chopsticks and broke them one     66     one easily.

“Aha!” said his sons, “It’s easy to do that way. Anyone can do it.”

The father     67     (go) on, “As it is with these chopsticks, so it is with you, my sons. If you stick together and help each other, you will do well, and nobody can harm you. But if you fight, you will be like these chopsticks, broken     68     weak.”

The seven sons listened     69     (careful) and promised to stick together. They kept their promise and faced life’s     70     (difficulty) together, just as their wise father had taught them.