Lily is 9 years old. She is a cheerful girl. She always has a big smile ________ her face. She is willing to help others any time. Everyone around ________ likes to make friends with her.

One day, she ________ an old man named Grumble sitting beside a river. The old man looked sad. Lily wanted to make him ________, so she walked up to him with a friendly greeting. “Good morning, Mr. Grumble! Why the ________ face?” she asked.

Grumble said, “What’s there to be happy about, young one? Life is full of ________.” Lily laughed and replied, “They are like big and scary thunderclouds (雷雨云), Mr. Grumble. But just like clouds, they pass, making way for the sun to shine again. You ________ try looking on the bright side!”

Lily made a bet with Grumble, saying, “I bet I can make you happy by the end of the ________.” Grumble challenged her, “You’re welcome to try, but it won’t be easy.” “I believe I can make it. Trust me! ”Lily smiled and said confidently.

For the rest of the day, Lily did all kinds of funny and silly things to make Grumble cheerful. She told jokes, sang like ______ was watching, and even made faces. ________, Grumble was still unhappy. As the sun began to set, Lily decided to give it one ________ try. She took a deep breath and broke into a joyous dance.

________, Grumble couldn’t help it. He let out a chuckle (咯咯笑声), and then another. Before he knew it, he was laughing heartily, his sadness giving way to happiness. Lily had won the contest, but more importantly, she showed Grumble that becoming cheerful was not ________.

Happiness is a choice, and we can find ________ when we choose to see the brighter side of life. So, always ________ smiling. Everything will be OK if we smile at it.

① This spring, the most eye-catching movie might be YOLO (《热辣滚烫》). By Feb 26, it had made over 3.3 billion yuan at the box office, reported The Paper.

② Directed (执导) by 41-year-old Jia Ling, the movie tells the story of a woman tired of the world, finding herself and learning to love life through boxing. The name YOLO is short for the movie’s main idea—you only live once.

③ Jia has tried many different roles in her life, including crosstalk (相声) and sketch (小品) performer, variety show guest and actress. It was in 2019 that she became a director for the first time, making her movie Hi, Mom.

④ Before making YOLO, Jia was often seen as an overweight comedian (喜剧演员). She often made jokes about herself to make people laugh. For this movie, Jia lost 50 kg and looked very different. Some people online said even her voice became softer, and they call this a “rebirth” for Jia.

⑤ In Jia’s eyes, her change in identity (身份) and look is her way of staying true to herself. “It’s hard to predict (预言) one’s life. I’m just following my heart. Movies are now the best way to show myself, so I put all my energy into them,” Jia told Xinhua.

⑥ “Jia didn’t change at all. She’s just being more herself,” said talk show host Chen Luyu in her program A Date with Luyu.

A singer once went to a master. He wanted to be the best singer. He sat in front of the master and started telling him why he visited.     41    

The master then told the singer to go to the garden behind his house. There, a rose plant and a tall tree were growing side by side. He told the singer, “    42     They can teach you what you want to learn.”

The singer went into the garden, and saw the two plants.     43     He had to go back to the master and asked, “What do you mean, master? I am not able to understand what and how these plants will teach me.”

The master himself took the singer to the plants and said, “This tree has been next to the rose plant for ten years. It has never wanted to become a rose plant.     44     If man were the tree, he would compare (比较) himself with the rose and feel jealous (嫉妒的) at its beauty. Or, if man were the rose plant, he would feel jealous at its height! Both of the plants grew very well because they grew with all their energy (精力),     45    ”

Grain Rain (谷雨) is the sixth solar term of the 24 solar terms (节气) in China. It is the last term in spring. It is always in late April. This year, it is on 19, April.

Grain Rain means the end of spring. It always rains a lot at this time. It is important for crops to get enough rain, because rainwater can help them grow faster and stronger.

There are some traditions (传统) during Grain Rain. Drinking tea is one of them. People in southern China like to drink tea on this day. Spring tea during Grain Rain is rich in vitamins, so drinking tea can help them remove heat from the body and is good for their eyes. It is also said that drinking tea on this day would prevent bad luck.

Eating Chinese toon (香椿) is also a tradition during Grain Rain. Chinese toon is delicious and healthy to eat. People can eat it with eggs or tofu. It is really very popular.

Another tradition is the Grain Rain Festival. Fishing villagers in the coastal areas of China celebrate it. Grain Rain marks the start of the fishermen’s first voyage (航行) of the year. The tradition dates back more than 2,000 years ago. At that time, people believed gods protected them from the stormy seas, so they could have a good harvest. On this day, people would worship (祭拜) the sea, wishing for a good harvest and a safe voyage for their loved ones.

Grain Rain makes our human culture combine with nature in harmony, which shows the traditional Chinese theory that man is an integral part of nature.

71. “书是人类进步的阶梯”，“腹有诗书气自华”。你所在学校目前正在开展“Reading makes me happy!”为主题的英语演讲比赛。假设你是阳光中学的学生 Tom，请你根据下面的要点，写一篇演讲稿，谈一谈你的阅读习惯及阅读的感受，并号召同学们一起来读书。

Good afternoon! I’m very happy to stand here and make a speech on “Reading makes me happy”. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________