Juan Pablo never knows what the world is like. He was blind when he was born. However, it didn’t stop him from becoming an excellent birdwatcher. Juan doesn’t think of his blindness as a problem. Instead, he tries to understand the world with his ears. Now, at the age of 35, he is a leading expert on the birds of South America. He can find and identify (辨别) each bird by its song.

Juan’s interest in nature started when his father took him to the natural museum, where he could touch bird specimens (标本) and feel their feathers (羽毛). When Juan was 12 years old, he started recording bird sounds. At 16, someone taught him how to use a sound recorder. This marked the beginning of Juan’s lifelong love for nature.

Walking through the rainforests of eastern South America is difficult for normal people, especially someone who can’t see. However, Juan made it. He listened carefully to find the birds, then put on his headphones (耳机) to guide his microphone (话筒) in the right direction to get the best recording. He created a music CD with sounds of birds from Brazil. When you listen to it, you can imagine being in the Brazilian forest and experiencing a whole day there.

Juan makes use of his special skills to improve himself. He believes we all have the ability to enjoy life like he does, but we’re not using it.

What is adolescence (青春期)? When does it start? It starts when you are aged between about ten and thirteen. Here are some changes about you during adolescence. You may not want to spend as much time with your parents as you used to. You want to do more things on your own. In the past, your parents made decisions for you. However, now you want to decide things for yourself and don’t want to be told what to do.

All these changes are completely normal, but they will influence your relationship with your parents. So what can you do to make it better?

Firstly, your parents will feel much better if you let them know that you still love them. Remember that they don’t have the small child you used to be. They may not say so, but they probably feel like something is missing. So try to show your love to them from time to time.

Secondly, try to agree to rules. You may feel these rules are not necessary, but your parents just want to make sure you stay safe. Once you agree with the rules, try to follow them.

Thirdly, try to understand why they feel upset about your behaviour (行为). Do your parents get cross if you spend three hours talking with friends and leave your homework till the last minute? That’s probably because they want you to do well at school.

Finally, it’s all about communication! Keep talking to your parents, tell them about what you did today, let them know where you are going, and ask for advice if you need.

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Each of us has dreams and goals for our future. What makes us study and make progress each day is closely connected with our personal dream and goal.

But why do you have dreams and goals, you still end up with nothing? What differs successful people from the dreamers is their persistent (锲而不舍的) action. When you often find some of your lessons very hard, try and keep trying and you’ll be sure to successfully solve any difficulty you meet with.

This is the famous formula (公式) for success: Dream > Believe > Achieve

Most people have what they want (Dream) and think they can realize their dreams (Believe). And then they do nothing. They just imagine their dreams can come true. When they get tired waiting and lose a lot, they get bored. They say angrily how terrible their life is.

I personally believe that if you really want to achieve your dreams and goals in life, you have to add one thing to your success formula: Dream > Believe> Act > Achieve

For me, act is the most important thing for success and that’s to Take Persistent Action (Act). If you say, “I can’t do it” and give up, you can never do anything valuable. However, “I’ll try” creates wonders. Let’s remember that there will always be challenges in our lives. We must face them bravely and solve them. Success is not something that fells down from the sky. Most successful people made their dreams come true because of their persistent action.

Please remember persistent action is the bridge that connects our dreams and goals to reality.

John was born in 1838. When he turned 11 years old, his family moved to the United States from Scotland. They     36     (begin) a new life. John showed his love of nature in his early years. He liked playing outdoors. He also loved working outdoors on his     37     (father) farm.

When he was 29, John had     38     accident at work. The accident hurt his eyes. As a result, he missed looking at nature for months. After some treatment,     39     (final), he could see again. Later that year, John decided     40     (spend) all his time learning about nature. He would travel in order to make his dream come true.

First, John hiked 1,000 miles. He studied plants     41     wild animals. He then took a trip by ship. It was to learn     42     (many) about the world around him than before. In 1869, John went to the Sieira Nevada Mountains. He climbed the mountains and wrote down     43     he saw. And he wrote about the animals and plants as well. By the time John turned 33, people were reading what he had written. They learned the importance of nature     44     John’s books. Many people understood and accepted his thoughts.

John is famous for his love of nature. His books     45     (love) by many people.