My brother was four years older than me. By the time I turned four, I was upset that my brother could read but I couldn't. With a ______ to read a book like my brother, I begged, "Teach me to read, Mom! Please, please?!" Finally Mom found some time after lunch ______ reading lessons, and soon after my fifth birthday, I was reading.

My father was a great storyteller, ______ he didn't have the time in the evening to read to me because he had to work three jobs to feed _______ family. So my brother and I longed for every Sunday morning when my father told stories about his ______ at his early age. He told us that he always volunteered to help with ______, because he liked to taste the food that was made by his mom. I seemed to ______ the soup made by my grandma and see the funny picture of my father making salad, putting a piece into his mouth ______ when no one was looking. "I was always ______ at that time as I needed food to grow taller." he explained humorously. Hearing my father's stories made me closer to the books and the stories they told.

One Saturday afternoon, we walked two blocks to the small ______ in our neighborhood where I met Mrs. Schwartz, the librarian. My dad ______ forms about my information for a card then he said, "You are seven now. You're ______ enough to walk to the library yourself." So I did almost every afternoon. Some days, Mrs. Schwartz read books aloud to a group of children, and sometimes she taught us ______ to choose books properly from the shelves. Books became my companies who were my comfort when I felt lonely.

Yes, reading ______ my life a lot. It helped me study better, so I could become a teacher and share my love of reading with my ______ in the school. And inside my head, I can still hear the voices of my mother, father, and Mrs. Schwartz, which are with me every time I open the first page of a new book.

The world's greatest businessmen all share one habit: reading. If you want to learn more about how to succeed in business, all of the information you need can be found in the following books. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey believes that you should always begin competition to find a job, having with the end in mind. In other words, a wide network of relationship is a great way to make sure that now what you want, you will always be able to get a job work hard to get your goal. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen. But no one is become a leader. How can you become a successful leader? Arrived right now? Read the books and find out!

I'm a volunteer at our local animal rescue center . Recently, I've been wanting to adopt a dog that I really like, but my parents won't allow me to. They think keeping a pet is a waste of time . How can I make my parents agree with me ?

Kate

It's great that you're volunteering at an animal rescue center! You're already showing your love and responsibility for animals. However, I can understand why your parents don't agree to bring a dog into their home . I'm sure they've already told you that caring for a pet is a huge responsibility.

One of your first jobs as a new dog owner would be to potty train it . It will take time and patience to teach your dog to do its business outside. You can research this topic and prepare a plan to show to your parents that you've given it a lot of thought and are ready .

You're a student, which means that you're going to be in school most of the time. Who will take care of your dog then ? Will your parents have to take on that responsibility ? What's more , A ? It will need dog food , toys —and most expensive of all —visits to the hospital for checkups and medicine. For example, my mom's dog has seizures so he needs to take medicine and eat a special type of food. Neither of these is cheap.

Most dogs need to be walked frequently. This is very time-consuming, but you must do it for your dog's physical and mental health. Another thing to think about: Dogs love to bite things. My mom's dog will gladly make a meal out of any books, paper or even wooden furniture in the house. As long as you understand the never-ending responsibilities of being a dog owner and communicate this with your parents, you might have a chance! Good luck.

Matt

"My 10-year-old dog can't even walk up two steps to get into the house,"Alicia told her new friend,Nick."I have to carry Prince up those two steps. Late one night I saw an ad' on TV for Young Again Dog Beverage. They showed an old dog trying to get into an armchair. It got only halfway into the chair before it slid back down to the floor. They showed another dog trying to catch a Frisbee. The poor dog couldn't even jump off the ground. They showed mother dog going for a walk;. But instead of actually walking, the dog was sitting in a baby arrive that its owner was pushing . These were all the " before ' pictures . "Then they showed the 'after' pictures-after the animals had drunk the Young Again Dog Beverage for one week. It was a miracle! I couldn't believe my eyes! The first dog easily jumped in into the armchair. The second dog jumped almost four feet into the air to catch the Frisbee!And the third dog stood on its hind" legs and pushed the family cat in the baby carriage!""Well, of course, I was sold! So, I sent in my $19.95 to the address on the TV screen. After it arrived, I put 10 drops into Prince's water dish each day for a week. Nothing happened. So I doubled the dosage for another two weeks, but Prince was still tired and weak."

"I called the company. They asked me what kind of dog I had. I told them that Prince was a nixed breed". They said the TV ad I saw was for purebreds' only. They told me to order Young Again Mutt Beverage for S11.95. That was four days ago. I can't wait till it gets here, so I can watch Prince run up and down those steps and start running after cats again, just like the good old days!"A few weeks later, Nick met Alicia again in the street, who passed by without looking at him . Nick called out , " Hey , Alicia . Would you like to come and play ?   " No time for it . I am going to get Young Again Very Old Dog Beverage ! "

小词典Ad   n.广告 adopt   v. 领养 cable   n.电绕 elevator   n.电梯hind   adj.后部的 material   n.材料negotiate   v.谈判 potty   n. 便壶purebred   n.纯种的动物 relationship   n. 关系 satellite   n. 卫星 mixed breed 混血的动物

I can’t forget that day. It was a cold snowy morning after the winter     45     (假期). I got up early and went to a new school, which is the most famous     46     (在……中) things of this. It was the first time for me to stay     47     (在国外). It was so early that there weren't many people on the     48     (空的) road.

Suddenly a girl who was riding her bike got into trouble. She fell down and tried hard to get up but she     49     (失败). Without thinking, I went over and helped her. She said “thank you” with a smile and then rode away. Her words warmed me a lot.

Finally I went to school and the teacher introduced me to the     50     (全部) class . Then he     51     (响铃) for the first class. I     52     (考虑) asking the teacher for help, an English book appeared in front of me. "Let's share. " the friendly girl next to me said. “Hi, I'm Carrie.” To my surprise, it was the girl I helped that morning. Later on, we became good friends. From that I learned: To help others is actually to help     53     (我们自己). What life teaches us is not only     54     (知识) but also experience. So I hope you can always help others in your life.

55. 假设你是Daming，以下是你的美国笔友Betty发给你的一封电子邮件，请你根据该邮件内容给Betty回一封邮件。

How was your holiday?

Hi Daming.

Is everything going well? I heard that this year the National Day in China and Mid-Autumn Festival both fell on October. How did you celebrate the special holiday? Where did you go and what did you do there? Could you tell me more about your holiday? I'm looking forward to your reply.

Betty

要求：①文中不能出现真实的人名、校名等相关信息：②文本长度：110词左右（开头、结尾已给出，不计入词数）

Dear Betty,

I'm glad to hear from you.

Yours,

Daming