Before I went to high school, I was eager to start my new life. I wanted to get into the ___________ of popular students at school, so I bought a new outfit (套装) to present a good image for myself.

On the first day of school, I didn’t know ___________ to have my first class. I was standing in the hall, looking confused, when a short girl wearing glasses ___________ and asked. “Hi, my name is Judy. Are you ___________? Do you want me to help you find your class?” ___________ she seemed not the kind of girl I wanted to make friends with, I told her my name and ___________ her, making polite conversation the whole way.

When we reached classroom, she said, “It was nice ___________ you, I hope your day goes all right.” I said ___________ and waved good-bye.

In the classroom, I saw a big group of students around a girl wearing blue jeans with holes. She was talking about her adventures in summer. I thought this girl was ___________.When the teacher came and told us to have a rest, I managed to get a ____________ next to her, and said, “Hi, my name is April and I’m new here.” She said, “Hi, I’m Ella.”

Once the class was over, I turned to her and asked, “My next class is art. Could you help me find it?” She said “No” ____________ and walked to her friends, Molly and Cindy. I heard her say, “Did you see that new girl trying to get into our group? Her outfit is so strange.” They all looked at me and ____________.

When I was ready to go home, someone came up and said, “Hi, again. How was your first day?” It was ____________. I told her my day was not good. She said she was ____________ and offered to walk me outside.

Walking with Judy made me realize how ____________ it was to try to only make friends with popular people, and how nice it would be to have a friend like her.

A magazine did a survey in a community about different ways of life before and after the epidemic (疫情). 200 persons were asked about food, health, most people pay less attention to whether the food tastes delicious or not after the epidemic, but they prefer to choose healthier food. If possible,online shopping will still be popular. But it will move away from big retailer (零售店) websites to social media (媒体), both young and old spend more time taking care of their health.

My friend Richard went far to work, so he asked me to take care of his yard in the mountains. He worked hard and often kept the yard clean without any grass. But I was too lazy to sweep the fallen leaves, and I never pluck（拔）, allowing it to grow rapidly. In the early spring, in March, when the leaves spread quickly, I discovered they were like wild orchids（兰花）.

As the summer came, the “grass” really flowered. The flowers looked like those forest orchids, but they were yellow, unlike those purple or brown red forest orchids. I picked one flower, then went to find a friend who studied plants. As soon as my friend saw it, he asked me where I picked it. “It’s amazing!” He excitedly explained. “This kind of orchid is hard to find. Now it is worth at least 10,000 dollars each.”

I told the good news to Richard. He was surprised. After a while he said gently, he saw the orchid in the yard every year, but he thought it was common grass, so he always plucked it. He said, “If I could wait, it would flower a few years before.” Yes, all of us might miss some rare（稀有的）orchids in our own lives. We don’t give them the time to flower to prove their value.

Give the “grass” time to flower and give everybody a chance to prove his value. Don’t pluck leave of any “grass” or negate（否定）a person rudely and how many “rare orchids” we will get in our lives!

Many people believe hot pot can really tell how much Chinese like to get together to enjoy happiness. A new documentary, Pot of Fire allows Internet users to “enjoy” hot pot together online. If you want to look for a nutritious meal to share with your family, you should choose hot pot. Hot pot has a history of more than 1,700 years in China. To keep out the cold, people pull lamb chops in the boiling pot and ate them. Ingredients in Hot pot should be selected carefully. Only five parts of a lamb should be used and cut into sheets for cooking. The sauce is composed of more than ten seasonings. The ingredients of the sauce are the commercial secret of hot pot. There are various styles of it. Vegetables and meat can be boiled in hot pot. Sharing hot pot meals of meat and vegetables boiled in savoury both with your family is a great experience in the depth of winter.

Some people think hot pot can bring warmth to our body in winter and help cool the body in summer. But eating hot pot is much more than enjoyment for our mouth and health. It’s also a connection of life and friendship. For most Chinese people, eating hot pot is usually a social event. A survey showed that 40.2 percent of Chinese usually eat hot pot with friends, while 17.6 percent with family.

When a group of people sit around a table to eat, chat and drink, it’s a good time. So if you feel hungry or lonely, why not cook hot pot to fill your stomach and heart as well? Or at least you can watch Pot of Fire. (Update (更新) at 21:00 every Friday from February 14th on Tencent (腾讯)).

Millions of people are using phones today. In many places it is actually considered unusual not to use one.     51    They find that the phones are more than a means of communication—having a mobile phone shows that they are cool and connected.

The explosions around the world in mobile phone use make some health professionals worried. Some doctors are concerned that in the future many people may have health problems from the use of mobile phones. Mobile phone companies are worried about the negative publicity (负面报道) of such ideas.     52    

On the other hand, signs of change in the issues of the brain and head can be detected with modern scanning equipment. In one case, a traveling salesman had to give up at a young age because of serious memory loss.     53     This man used to talk on his mobile phone for about six hours a day, every day of his working week, for a couple of years.

    54     The answer is radiation. High-tech machines can detect very small amounts of radiation from mobile phones. Mobile phone companies agree that there is some radiation,but they say the amount is too small to worry about.

As the discussion about the safety continues, it appears that it’s best to use mobile phones less often.     55     Use your mobile phone only when you really need it. In the future, mobile phones may have a warning label (标签) that says they are bad for your health. So for now.

One day, an 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa with his highly educated son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) rested on their window.

The old man asked his son. “What is this?” The son replied. “It is a crow.” After a few minutes the father asked his son the second time, “What is this?” The son said, “I have just told you a crow. It’s a crow.” After a little while, “What is this?” This time the son said to his father impatiently. “It’s a crow, a crow.” A little later, “What is this?” The son shouted at his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again I have told you so many times. IT IS A CROW. Can you get it?”

A week later, the father was sent to hospital because of his heart problem. While the son was cleaning up the old man’s desk, he noticed an old diary. On the first page, it read, “For My Beloved Son”.

Being curious, the son sat down by the desk and read through the diary. On one page, it wrote, “Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa. When a crow was sitting on the window, my son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. And each time I hugged him lovingly, I didn’t feel troubled at all. I just simply wish all his questions answered, and all his dreams achieved.”

Reading all of this, the son felt something so wrong with himself. The other day, he talked to himself “How can I be so silly, paying no attention to all his love shown on me? I promised I will say all good and kind word to my dear father, no matter how he behaves.”

Peter was a sensitive (敏感的) boy. He was so sensitive that even his hair was ticklish (怕痒的). You only had to touch his hair a little bit and he would start     61     (laugh). When he started laughing, no one could make him     62     (stop).

Peter tried everything     63     control his ticklishness, but nothing worked. So he began to feel sad for being     64     (different). One day in the street, he met a special clown (小丑), but when he     65     (see) Peter was sad, he went to cheer     66     (he) up. It didn’t take long to make Peter laugh. Later Peter told him about his problem, and he asked the clown why such an old man could keep on being a clown.

“No one will take my place,” said the clown. “but I have a very serious job to do.” Peter looked at him, surprised. “Come,” said the clown. So the clown took Peter to many hospitals full     67     children who were sick. As soon as they saw the clown, their faces changed     68     (complete) and lit up with a smile. The short time spent with the clown changed everything for them. That day was even more special, because in every show Peter’s laughter made the children even     69     (happy).

When the visit came to an end, the old clown said to Peter, “Now do you see why I can’t retire (退休).”

That was how Peter became a clown and took the old man’s place. From that day on the fact that Peter was different actually made him happy, thanks     70     his special talent.