When I was about 12, a girl in my class liked to point out my problems. I was too thin; I wasn’t a good student; I talked too much; I was too ______, and so on. At last, I became very angry and ran to my father.

He listened to me ______. Then he asked, “Are these things true or not? Do you know what you are really like? Go and make a ______ of what she said and find the ______ that are true.”

I did as he told me. To my great ______, I found that about half of the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin). But there were things I could and wanted to change. For the ______ time, I got a clear ______ of myself.

I brought the list back to Dad. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you.” he said. “You know the truth about ______ better than anyone else. When people say something that is true about you, you should find it helpful. Don’t ______ your ears and feel ______. Listen to them.”

A good way to pass an exam is to work hard every day in a year. You may fail in an exam if you are lazy for most of the year and then work hard only a few days before the exam. If you want to be good at English, you have to read stories in English, and speak English as much as possible.

A few days before the exam you should go to bed early. Do not go to bed late at night. Before you start the exam, read carefully over the question paper, and try to understand the exact meaning of each question. When you have at last finished your exam, read over your answers. Correct the mistakes if there are any and be sure that you have not missed anything out.

Bike-sharing has swept across China, with a number of people choosing bike riding instead of driving. The bike has GPS on it and can be easily unlocked with a smart phone. Bike-sharing allows people to borrow a bike from one place and return it at another place easily.

In some cities, we can see more and more people riding this kind of sharing bikes. It’s very easy to use the bikes if you have a smart phone. First, you have to download such an APP on your smart phone. Then what you need to do is to find a nearest bike through the APP, scan the QR code (二维码) on the bike. You will find the bike can be unlocked itself.

Then you can enjoy your trip. What’s more, you can easily find one and never worry about where to park it. The cost of riding depends on the time that you spend. Normally, every hour you ride, you need to pay one yuan. It doesn’t cost so much, does it?

At (he same time, some people park the bikes in their own homes. Besides, some people don’t value the bikes. Now service companies are trying to solve the problem like being stolen.

Technology and science have changed our social lifestyles. And we also hope that people can not only enjoy it but also put it to good use.

Toothpaste (牙膏) does more than just keep our teeth bright and white. It can be used wisely in many other ways. Here are some useful tips that can save us time and money. If you follow them, you will have a fresh smell of using toothpaste!

“Volunteering makes you look at the world differently. You see how little things can change a person’s life for the better.” Mason, a volunteer said.

National Volunteer Week started in 1974 and it is a good chance to encourage people to take their first step to become a volunteer. Making the decision to take the first step can be the biggest problem, because they often wonder if they will be able to meet the organization’s expectations(期望). Some people fear not knowing anyone else in the group. Not having enough time also stops some people from becoming volunteers.

The following tips can help if you have some of these worries.

★ Start out slowly, don’t add too much pressure.

★ Choose an organization with the same interests.

★ Take part in a training meeting for new volunteers, even if it is not asked.

★ Work with a veteran volunteer. He volunteered a lot, he can help you be confident and completely understand the organization’s expectations.

★ Invite a friend or family member to serve. It is a good experience to volunteer with them.

★ Finally, it is most important to enjoy the volunteer experience and to remember that not all volunteer experiences are perfect.

Spend some time on volunteer work and you will see great changes in people’s lives.

A young man couldn’t fall asleep (入睡) at night. He was very worried. One day he went to see a doctor. The doctor checked him over carefully. But nothing was wrong with him. The doctor told him to count from one to ten again and again at night. “Keep doing this until you fall asleep,” the doctor said.

After a few days, the young man came to the doctor again. But he was surprised that the young man was even worse than before. “Didn’t you count as I told you?” the doctor asked. “Yes, I did,” the young man answered. “But every time when I reached eight, I couldn’t help jumping from the bed.” “But why?” the doctor asked. The young man said, “I am a boxer (拳击运动员).”

How to spend free time

As middle school students, how should we spend our free time?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________