Tim was never happy with anything. His friends and parents loved him very much, but all Tim could think about was what he didn’t have, or things he was ______ with.

What changed Tim was Coco, the _____. One day, Coco heard all of Tim’s complaints (抱怨). When the cloud was right above Tim, she started ______ heavy black rain on him. Of course, this just made   _____ complain even more. Tim ______ get away from the cloud, so he got even angrier. This _____ for about a week.

Tim had a nice ______ called Rita. Rita was the only one that was willing to _____ Tim on those black, rainy days.

One day, Tim complained about the black, _____ days again. Rita said to him, “Cheer up! You are the only one of us that has this cloud, and even better, its rain is ______! We could play some fun games with a cloud like this.” Tim ______. Rita took him to the swimming pool, and stayed with him there _____   all the pool water was black. Then she went away and asked other kids to come. They came and played hide-and-seek with Tim in the_______. They also thought up other   _____ to play using the cloud. They had a lot of fun that day.

Tim didn’t complain any more. He _____ to look at the good side of things, rather than the bad side. Even when Coco left, there was a good side to it. He wasn’t wet all the time!

It’s in the stars

Captain(船长)Nemo invited me and my friends to go hunting with him in the forests of Crespo Island. I asked him why he was so interested in Crespo Island. “I thought you preferred the sea to being on land.”

“I do,” replied the captain. “But these forests are under the sea.”

After going through a door, we were about ten meters under the water. The light from the sun reached us. Everything looked very colourful. We were going deeper and deeper. At 100 meters deep, we could see quite well, and Captain Nemo stopped and pointed to some dark shapes. This was the forest. The “trees” in the forest were giant seaweed, and all their “branches” were vertical(垂直的).We could not stop looking at them. Fish swam around the branches like birds in a forest.

Suddenly, I saw a large sea spider about a meter tall. It was going to attack me. Captain Nemo’s man killed it with his gun, but it reminded me that the sea could be as dangerous as it was beautiful. When we reached 150 meters, it was dark. The sun’s light could not reach this depth(深度). We turned our lights. We could see about 20 meters around us. Finally, we found Crespo Island—where a steep rock wall rose in front of us.

We could go no further, so we walked back toward the Nautilus. Suddenly, Captain Nemo stopped and shot an animal with his gun, it was a beautiful and rare sea otter. At last, we could see the Nautilus. Several large sharks swam over us. Luckily they didn’t see us. We re-entered the Nautilus safely. I was tired but amazed by what I had seen.

Driving in the U.S. can be difficult to understand not just because of all the rules and laws that drivers must follow, but also because of driving customs. Many people in the U.S. really depend on their cars to get to work and school. In fact most American workers spend an hour driving to work each day. In order to drive in the U.S., you have to go to your local Department of Motor Vehicles first, and take a written test to get your learner’s permit. If you pass this test, you can practice driving so you can pass a road test and get your license. The Department of Motor Vehicles has free booklets you can get to study for your learner’s permit. You can also get the information online and even take a practice written exam. To prepare for the road test, you can have a friend teach you to drive or pay to take classes at a driving school. You cannot, however, practice driving by yourself. If you are caught driving with only a learner’s permit, you can get into trouble with the law.

Once you get your driver’s license in one state, you can use it to drive in all of the United States. Wherever you drive, you will see signs posted along the road showing the speed limit. These numbers are not a suggestion. Generally you can drive faster on a highway than on local streets. Local police use special equipment to discover your speed. If they discover you are speeding or driving over the speed limit, police can stop you and give you a ticket. You will have to pay a fine which may be more than $100. The lines painted on the road are not just to keep cars in their lanes. They send a message. For example, a double solid yellow line means that it is against the law to pass another car here.

PowerPoint Presentations(PPT)are taking the place of writing on the blackboard with chalk. Someday, will robots take the place of human teachers?

In Japan, a robot is going to enter classrooms to help teachers. Last week the Japanese company Honda Motor Co. showed the public its robot at a Tokyo museum. The robot’s name is Asimo. Students will see Asimo in science classes and learn the wonders of science.

Asimo is 130 centimeters tall with a round head. It can jog, walk up stairs and wave. It can also avoid things on its way and have simple talks with you. Asimo is an experienced worker for humans. It has worked as a guide in showrooms. But this will be the first time it works as a teaching assistant in classrooms and in formal teaching!

How will Asimo help in class? A teacher explained the way Asimo works to students in last week’s show. Asimo has sensors(感应器)inside its body to keep its balance.

The smart Asimo tilted(倾斜)its body when it stood on a shaking platform(平台). Asimo kept its balance. But a wooden person beside Asimo fell (See the above picture).

When you walk, you pass your weight from the heel to the toe. The Japanese teacher explained this with Asimo at the museum. He moved the robot in slow move. Asimo made learning science more interesting for students!

Asimo will soon help teach thousands of primary students and junior high schools in two Japanese cities. Hopefully, robot teachers will arrive in our classrooms in China one day.

Not every parent looks forward to the day when their child goes off to school. In fact, some parents are not sending their students to school at all. Instead they are choosing to teach their children at home. This is called homeschooling. Parents educate children individually at home instead of sending them off to be formally educated in public or private schools. In the U.S., only about three percent of children are homeschooled.

There are many reasons why some parents choose to homeschool. One reason is that some parents do not feel their children are safe in school because of bullying (恃强凌弱). Others parents want their child’s education to be based on their religion or moral beliefs. Yet other parents feel like the education in school is not good enough. Homeschooling is also seen as a choice for families that live in rural areas, and families that travel, like actors.

There are many different ways to homeschool, and homeschooling allows parents to customize (订制) lessons based on their children’s needs. Families can buy textbooks to use or write their own materials. Some parents who follow a philosophy (信条) called unschooling, which allows a child to decide when, and how they want to learn based on their natural curiosity (好奇心). Some worry that homeschooling means students won’t have chances to socialize. To answer this worry, some families have set up cooperatives, where a group of homeschooled students will learn and play together and take part in activities that would usually happen in school like field trips and dance parties.

Being homeschooled doesn’t mean a student cannot go to college. Most colleges accept homeschooled students. It is important, however, for parents and students to create a set of things to prove what has been learned.

Often, doctors tell some people to go on diets. The doctors hope the diets will make the people feel better. They hope the diets will make the people h    91    .

Alana was on a d    92    , but she didn’t like it at all. She was not a    93     to eat her favorite food by the doctor. Her brother Frank ate chocolate, w    94     she had to eat an apple. Alana was on the diet for two months. Her doctor was happy with her. “You have been very good,” he said, “You can eat some of the foods you like best. But o    95     a little. Don’t eat too many sweets. Don’t eat too much ice cream. If you do, you will get a lot of w    96     again.”

Then the doctor put Frank on the diet. It was a d    97     kind of diet. “You can’t eat chicken or eggs, Frank,” said the doctor. “These foods will make you in t    98    .”

“How long will I have to be on the diet?” asked Frank.

“For a long time,” said the doctor. “Maybe for the r    99     of your life.”

“But I really like chicken,” said Frank. “You said it is one of the best means to eat.”

“It is a very good food for most people,” said the doctor. “But when you eat it, it makes you sick. It is not a good food for you.”

“You’re right,” said Frank. “Well, I’ll eat more cake i    100    .”