I didn’t get on well with my parents. I hardly talked to my parents because they liked to compare me     1     my sister. And that made me unhappy and sad. However, I wanted to show them that I could do things as well as my sister. Then I began to spend most of my free time     2     in my bedroom. My art teacher, Miss Green, offered to help me a lot. She taught me some drawing     3    . She was the only person I would like to talk with. One day, I told Miss Green about my problem. She asked me to take part in painting competition. She said the     4     way to communicate with my parents was to prove (证明) myself to them. I took her advice. After a few weeks’ waiting, the result finally came out. I got the     5     prize! When I took the prize home, my parents were very surprised and happy! Now, relations between my parents and me have become very good. And I think it’s very important to have someone to talk to.

There was once a couple named Sue and John. Both of them were _________.

 In the late autumn, John was badly ill and became bedridden (长期卧床的). After the doctor visited John several times, he told Sue, “His condition is quite _________. John seems to have lost all will to live. If he doesn’t want to live, medicines will not help him.”

Sue tried her best to _________ John. She sang and danced, she painted their favorite pictures, she told jokes, but John did not respond (回应).

“ Five ,” he said in a (n) _________ voice one day, as he looked out of the window.

When Sue asked what John meant, he explained slowly. “There are…only _________ leaves left on the tree now. When the last leaf falls, I…shall go with _________” Upon hearing this, Sue couldn’t help crying. She went to their neighbor, Mr. Smith, who was also an artist.

Mr. Smith was sorry about John’s poor health. He_________ his friend to get better, so he painted a leaf.

Over the next few days, it rained heavily, but the last leaf on the tree held on firmly (坚固地). Every day, John would look _________ and see the same lone leaf on the tree.

Then, one day, the doctor came in and said John’s _________ was improving. John said to Sue, “I’ve realized that life is hard, but I shouldn’t give up. That leaf has stayed on that tree for so long. It has taught me to _________!”

The doctor smiled, so did Sue.

Teenagers will finally grow up some day, leaving their parents and facing the challenges in life alone, so they should learn basic life skills and develop good working habits.

The government has been trying to pay attention to the importance of hardworking spirit education (劳动教育). But this has been overlooked these years. Many teenagers do not take the importance of working hard seriously. There is a teenager girl named Nancy. She never helps out around the house. Once her mother was on vacation for a week, leaving her alone at home. When her mother came home from vacation, she could not find a clean dish or a clean shirt.

Schools play an important role in teaching students about the value of working hard. Primary and middle schools should provide students with hardworking spirit courses every week. To our joy, some schools have provided each class with a piece of field to plant their favorite vegetables.

Parents should also encourage (鼓励) children to learn how to do chores at home. Teenagers should learn one or two life skills every year. These skills can include cooking, washing their own clothes and tiding their rooms. The basic skills may help teenagers to solve the problems they will meet in the future.

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The dragon, a powerful and mystical creature (生物), plays an important role in Chinese culture. People think it is a symbol of strength and wisdom. And they believe it has the ability to control the wind and rain, helping to balance (平衡) the nature.

According to Chinese traditions, every year on the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon wakes up from its winter slumber (冬眠) and raises it head. That stands for a fresh start and the arrival of spring. This day is celebrated as the “Dragon Head-raising Day” or “Longtaitou”, which falls on March 11 this year.

Old people believed that after Longtaitou, there would be more rain. And rain is very important to farming. So Longtaitou was the start of spring and farming.

People have many ways to celebrate the Longtaitou festival. The most popular one is to have a haircut. Many believe that a haircut during the first lunar month may bring misfortune to your uncles—mainly your mother’s brothers. They hope to get a haircut on Longtaitou to get rid of bad luck.

Among Chinese people’s there is always a place for food. During the Longtaitou festival, people eat food named after dragon. Noodles are called dragon’s bread (longxu). Dumplings are dragon’s ears (鳞片) (longlin).

People also come together to have some activities like dragon dancing on the day. In some places, people make dragon lanterns (灯笼), too. Small reed (芦苇) boats go down the rivers and carry the lanterns, which shows people’s best wishes and good luck.

In a word, the Longtaitou festival is not just a celebration (庆祝) of the dragon and the arrival of spring; it’s a celebration of life, hope and the rich cultural heritage of the Chinese people. As the dragon wakes up, it brings new beginning and possibilities. At the same time, the Chinese people also get together to celebrate the joy and hope that it represents.

Have you ever been so worried about something that you have a headache? If so, then you know what stress is. Stress is what you feel when you are worried about something.     28     You may feel angry, sad, scared or afraid—all of which give you a stomachache or a headache.

    29     Some kinds of stress are good and others are bad. Good stress might happen when you’re called to answer questions in class or when you have to give a speech.     30     For example, you may do a better job in your test. On the other hand, bad stress can happen if the stress lasts too long. If you’re having problems at school, or if anything else makes you unhappy every day. That kind of stress isn’t going to help.     31    

    32     Sleep, exercise, eat some food. If you get enough sleep and eat healthily, and if you exercise and leave time for fun, you’ll probably feel less stressed. So a good living habit is helpful to people.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who was out playing on the beach with his friends. While they were playing, the boy found a stone which looked strange. It wasn’t the same as other stones. It was a little bit shining. But it was quite dirty. The boy took the stone home because he wanted to polish it.

His friends felt surprised and they asked, “Why are you polishing that ugly stone?”, but the boy didn’t reply. From then on, when they went out to play, the boy would take the stone with him. He would polish it whenever he had a rest.

This went on for some time. Then one day, the boy played with his friends as usual. He had a surprise for them. When he showed the stone to them, they were amazed. It was, in fact, not a common stone at all—it was a beautiful diamond (钻石). The boy had been polishing it until it was completely clean and bright.

In our life, there will be times when people try to discourage us. The best thing we can do is to continue to work hard towards our goals. We can turn a rough stone into a diamond.