The king was known for his kindness. His people _________ him and were proud of him. Once, the king decided to build a palace on the river bank. In a few days the palace was ready. And _________ bringing the king to the palace, the minister decided to take a final look.

“Great!” the minister said, looking at the palace. Then _________ his eyes fell on a hut (茅屋) just a few steps away from the palace gate. “What is this hut doing here?” shouted the minister. “Sir, it _________ to an old woman. She has been living here for a long time,” replied a soldier.

The minister walked up to the _________ and spoke to the old lady. “I want to buy your hut. Ask for anything,” he said. “I am sorry. Sir. I can not _________ your offer. My hut is dearer to me than my life,” the old lady said.

The minister tried to tell the old lady that _________ hut would spoil (破坏) the charm of the new palace. But the old lady refused to sell her hut to the minister. The _________ was then taken to the king.

The king thought for a while, and then said, “Let the old lady have her hut _________ it is. It will only add to the beauty of the new palace.” Then turning to the minister, the king said, “Let us not forget that what seems __________ to us may be beautiful to someone else.

“What’s the matter, Bob?” asks Mrs. White, “Why do you look so sad?”

“Mum, I wish we can stay in New York. I have many friends there .We are new here, and I have no friend now.” Bob says.

“You will soon make friends here,” says Mrs. White, “Wait and see!” At this time, someone is knocking at the door. Mrs. White opens it .A woman with a nice smile stands there.

“Hello,” she says, “I’m Mrs. Green, I live next door.” “Come in, please,” says Mrs. White, “Bob and I are so glad to see you. Do you want any help?” “Yes, I come here to ask for two eggs,” says Mrs. Green, “I want to make a cake.”   “You may have the eggs,” says Mrs. White, “but please sit down. Let’s have coffee and talk a little, OK?”

In the afternoon, someone knocks at the door again. Mrs. White opens it. There stands a boy with a nice smile.

“My name is Tom,” he says, “Mother gives you this cake and these two eggs.”

“Well, thank you, Tom.” Says Mrs. White, “Come in and meet my son, Bob.” The two boys are about the same age.

“Let’s play football, OK?” says Bob, “I have a little dog. It will play with us. ” Tom finds it fun to play football. Soon they have great fun playing football.

“I’m glad you live next door,” says Bob, “Now I have someone to play together.” “I’m glad your mother wants two eggs,” says Bob.

“She doesn’t really want the eggs,” Tom laughs, “She just wants to make friends with your mother!”

Then Bob laughs, too. “That’s a funny way to make friends,” he says, “but it’s a nice way.”

A boy got into a fight at school. Most schools would have sent him to the principal’s office. Instead, he was sent to a quiet room. It was a safe place where he could cool down.

The boy is in third grade. He goes to Robert W. Coleman Elementary, a school in Baltimore, Maryland. The school is trying something new. It is not putting as many kids in time-out (计时隔离). Instead, the school is helping kids practice mindfulness.

Mindfulness is a way of thinking. A mindful person only thinks about what he is doing at the moment. He does not let bad feelings get in the way.

When students at Coleman need to cool down, they go to the Mindful Moment Room. It is a peaceful space. The room is decorated (装饰) with bright curtains and beanbags. Teachers there ask the students to explain what happened. They help them talk about their feelings. They tell the students to take deep breaths. These are all mindfulness exercises. They are part of a new program at Coleman.

The school principal is Carlillian Thompson. She said the exercises help her students clear their minds. Then they are more ready to learn.

Carlillian has seen many signs of success. She says the students think more about how they behave. They pay more attention to their feelings.

Each school day starts with a message over the loudspeaker. It guides the students through breathing exercises. They take 15 minutes to practice mindfulness. Then they go to class. At the end of the day, they do another 15 minutes.

Many students go to the Mindful Moment Room. On one day in November 12 kids visited. One was the boy who had been in a fight.

By the time he left, another boy had walked in. Soon there were four boys in the room. There were two teachers there to help them.

One started the breathing exercises. “Inhaling deep,” he said aloud. “Lock your chin to your chest. Exhale and out.”

There are no time-outs at this school, but deep breathing instead.

For a long time, scientists have said that teenagers should not start school before 8 in the morning. They said it is bad for teens’ health and their grades. More schools around the country are starting to listen. Some of those schools are in Seattle. They will start school at 8:45 in the morning.

Last year, a big group of doctors which is made up of pediatricians (儿科医师) said starting later is a good idea. They said it can improve students’ lives in many ways. Teenagers often fall asleep later than their parents would like. Scientists say that if they start school later, they will get more sleep. They may also do better in school and feel better. “We’re going to look back on this time period and wonder why it took so long,” said Phyllis Payne who works with a group called Start School Later.

Some schools in St Paul cannot change start times because they do not have enough money. If they did, the city would have to provide more buses and drivers. This would cost millions of dollars. In Seattle, school leaders decided to let teenagers start school later. At first, they also said younger kids had to start earlier. Neither the parents of younger kids nor those of older kids like that school would start later. They were afraid this would get in the way of after-school activities. Seattle finally carried out a plan to start time later for teens. It happened because school leaders listened to what parents had to say. The final plan was more expensive but also more popular, said Cindy Jatul.

In the city of Chicago, the school district tried to make start times later for teens. The plan failed because school leaders did not listen to parents. “It backfired (事与愿违) terribly,” Jatul said. Seattle was more successful because the city listened to parents.

Bridget Shelton is a freshman at Seattle’s Roosevelt High School. She thinks the change in start times will help her get more sleep. Katie Benmar is a sophomore (二年级学生). She is not happy about the later start time. She thinks her life will just move around.

Mike is a 17-year-old boy. He doesn’t do well in school. His parents are       66    about him. They think Mike should     67    an engineer in the future, but he isn’t sure     68    that. For teenagers, not everyone can tell what their dream    69    are.

In fact, he loves painting very much. His teacher advises       70     to take art lessons. Now Mike has made a resolution to be an artist. His parents also support him very much and hope he will have a bright future.

One day, I took my daughter to the park. As soon as we got there, my daughter ran to the swing (秋千) and asked for a push. When I was helping my daughter, I noticed another girl trying to make her own swing     71     high by herself. Her old grandma     72     on the chair nearby and smiling at us. Then I walked towards the little girl and asked if she want to    73    . She smiled and said “yes”. For the next hour, I pushed the swings and played with them. When I got home, I was tired but very happy.

One day two years later, after a day’s work, I went to pick up my daughter before going home. While I was waiting outside the gate, a little girl smiled sweetly at me and gave me a big hug. So far, I     74    her sweet smile and the warm hug she gave me. In fact, if we give love to others, love     75    its way back to us.

    86     They are giant. Each pumpkin weighs more than 765 kilograms. Glen puts them in his yard. He wants it to look nice for fall. People drive by and stare.

Glen runs a club called Wisconsin Giant Pumpkin Growers. It started 20 years ago. There were 14 members. They all said they could grow the biggest pumpkin. Now the club has 120 members. The club has big pumpkin contests. They also teach people how to grow big pumpkins. They give them seeds. They answer their questions about growing pumpkins.

Giant pumpkins start with a seed (种子).    87    Regular pumpkin seeds will not work. Pumpkin growers like to trade seeds. They want seeds from the biggest pumpkins.

The growers plant the seeds in small pots. They start in April. The pumpkins will be ready in the fall. The plants stay indoors for two weeks. Then the plants can go in the ground.

    88    The vine (藤) can grow 15 cm in one day. The pumpkin can grow about 1 kilogram in just one hour.

Wisconsin is in the northern part of the United States. It is a good place to grow pumpkins. It has many lakes. The weather is very wet.

Giant pumpkins are grown all over the world.     89    Switzerland is in Europe. The pumpkin weighed 944 kilograms. Growing the biggest pumpkin can be a big deal. Some growers win prize money. Some sell their seeds.

    90    They just like to see the looks on people’s faces. Everyone thinks their giant pumpkins are amazing.