Last year, I worked in a middle school near my mother’s house, and I stayed with her for a month.     41     that time, I helped her do some housework and buy some food.

After the first week, I     42    that the food was eaten up very quickly. Then I began keeping an eye on my mum. To my     43    , I found that she would put some of the food into a paper bag and go out with it at about nine every morning. And finally, I decided to     44     her. I saw her taking the food to the street children. She would also     45     a lot of time talking and playing with them. How friendly my mum was! I was deeply moved. I should be a person like her.

Dear Richard,

We arrived in Hong Kong three days ago. We are having a wonderful time, but every day is very busy. We get up early and go to bed late. It’s very tiring.

Yesterday we took a bus to the park. It was a very clear day. From the top, we saw the whole of Hong Kong. We took lots of photos. Some of them will be really good. I will buy a video camera for you because I know you want one. I'll get it tomorrow because we are going shopping.

Your brother,

Alfred

Dear Mum and Dad.

We are having a lovely time in Hong Kong. Two days ago, we went to a place called Ocean Park. We saw lots of sharks and dolphins there. Robert enjoyed it very much. Today we are going to Lantau Island（大屿山）. We will see the huge statue of Buddha there. Tomorrow we are going shopping on Hong Kong Island.

Hong Kong is very different to our hometown in England. The streets are more crowded and there is more traffic on the roads. It is noisier than at home as well, and everything is more expensive here!

See you soon.

Lots of love,

Mary Hi Dan!

The sun was shining .Kevin met Mike at the old bench after school. They were good friends and were keen on ____. They didn’t have enough money to buy a real football, but Mike had a ball made of old socks . It wasn’t beautiful, _____ it worked well. The two friends didn’t stop kicking and running______very late.

The next afternoon, Mike and Kevin met again at the_____. Soon the home-made ball was spinning旋转 across the grass. Other boys laughed and shouted happily. The ball was stopped by a boy with a nice pair of sneakers运动鞋. Kevin was sad .

The next morning, Kevin’s mother gave him a big box. “Your uncle sent you a birthday present,” she smiled. Kevin’s eyes grew big when he saw a real football in it!

The next afternoon, Kevin invited Mike_____ play football on the playground. The boys played happily and they trained harder. When they grew up, they became successful football players.

From this story we learn a lot. Never_____ although our life is hard!

Last Summer, my wife and I went to visit Princeton. We both grow up there but we hadn’t been there s    72     we were married ten years ago.

First we went to the neighbourhood where my wife was born. It hadn’t c    73     much. The house was s    74     there, but it was now different color. The same neighbour still lived door. They were very glad to see Jane and i    75     us to come in and h    76     a cup of coffee.

A    77     that we went to the neighbourhood where I grew up. It was all changed. All the houses were new and I didn’t know a    78     of the people there.

Someone has said that you can’t go home again. Jane might not think so but I believe this is true.

Holidays in the United States usually take place at least once a month. Most months have a national holiday that has been arranged to be celebrated on a Monday. The holidays have all been decided to be celebrated on a Monday so that the workers may have 3-day weekends, that is, Saturday, Sunday and Monday in order to rest or travel or do things with their families. The most important holidays in the United States include New Year’s Day, Christmas Day and the day, when we remember the first settlers (移居者) of the United States that time, called Thanksgiving Day. In these holidays most businesses close and the workers stay at home and celebrate with their families.

Vacation can be from 2 weeks to 4 weeks a year. This usually depends on how long you’ve been working for a company, what type of position (职位) you have, whether you have a very high and important position and whether you can find someone to replace (替代) you. In this case, you might take a few days at a time rather than take one month all at once. Usually the more time you spend working for a company, the more time you may get for a vacation.