It was yearbook day and we were given an hour to sign each other’s yearbooks. I was president of the class. When I sat down, people started to come over to get their yearbooks signed and to sign     1     (me).

Among them, a weak boy with ugly     2     (tooth) and thick glasses kept shaking. He     3     (laugh) at all the time. He came up and asked me     4     (nervous), “Can you sign this?” I took his yearbook but I didn’t know     5     to write. Then I saw the name “Ricky Sanders”, so I wrote:

After that I saw Ricky sitting down with my yearbook. “What are you doing?” I asked him. He looked up calmly and just said “Sign!”

My friends     6     (break) into a loud laugh and I saw that he was carefully frying to put a signature in my yearbook. He hadn’t even finished the “R” yet. I thought for a while     7     decided to let him sign.

It took him nearly five minutes to sign and when I got my yearbook back, there was a very     8     (shake) “RICKY”. He hugged his yearbook and smile. I couldn’t help but smile back at him.

In that moment, my attitude changed completely.

I gave him a high five and suddenly everyone at my table wanted his signature. He was asked politely     9     (sign) and soon his yearbook was filled up. He     10     (smile) so big that it lit up the whole room.

Hello, I am Joseph. I’m 11 years old. I am in No.7 Middle school. It is a very good school. I like my teachers. They are very     1    . I have three good     2     at school. They are Mike, John and Sarah. We are all in Class 9. Our     3     is tidy. We clean it every day. I always     4     into the classroom at 7:00 in the morning. Look! My desk and chair are in the middle     5     the classroom.     6     schoolbag is on the desk. An English-Chinese     7     is on my desk, too. I often look up new words in it. I like English     8     much. I want to be     9     English teacher when I grow up. But my younger sister Jane doesn’t like English. She thinks it is boring. She likes Chinese     10     she likes singing Chinese songs.

When I was in high school I met my lifelong teacher Margaret. She was a great teacher, she was always     1    （幽默的）and kind to us, and we didn’t feel     2    （紧张的）when we stayed with her.

One day, Marguerite asked us about our     3    （梦想）. And I never thought about that question at that time. I really like painting, but I didn’t paint very well and I always told myself it was     4    （不可能的）to be a painter. So I told Margaret that I want to be an artist. I believed painting could bring me a lot of     5    （快乐）although my poor painting never     6    （满足）me. Maybe I would never have my success in the future. After all, I had never won a prize before.

The next day Margaret     7    （邀请）me to her house after school. I was surprised to see many famous paintings there. she said to me: “Mike, I know you love painting, if you really love it, you should be     8    （积极的）to learn more about it, don’t give up.” In the later days, I spent much of my free time     9    （创造）art works in our school club. And finally I went into a top university. I thanked Margaret a lot and I always couldn’t help     10    （想）of her.

There are often many problems when I go a    1     and stay there alone. Recently I am in a foreign country, the Czech Republic (捷克共和国), whose official language is not English. So the first big problem is language. Many Czech people can’t speak English. So I have to learn Czech. It’s very challenging because there are many rules for grammar. At the b    2    , I didn’t know them at all. But little by little, I remembered the rules and learned how to speak Czech. I think you need to like a language first, and then you can make p    3     quickly if you study hard.

If you live with a host family like me, there may be a    4     problem. You might argue with them, or you might not u    5     their rules at home. For example, my host family didn’t think it good for me to get up late on weekends. So I tried to get up as e    6     as possible. The best way to get along with the host family is to talk with them more. You can tell them what h    7     to you at school every day. Also, if you offer to help them with some h    8     like cleaning or cooking, they will be very happy.

The last problem is making friends. At school, I was often ignored (忽略) w    9     many of my classmates got together and chatted with each other. Sometimes, I felt really l    10    . But I tried to talk to everyone I met and went out with them on weekends. Now, I have many good friends.

【推荐2】Sophia likes English very much. It takes her a lot of time     1     (study) it every day. She usually goes to the school library and reads English newspapers. After school, she goes to the city library behind     2     (she) school. She needs to use the computer there to surf the Internet because she does not have a computer at home. She tries hard to chat with her     3     (America) e-friends in English.

In fact, Sophia did not like English at     4     (one). At that time, studying English was very hard for her. She did not know the good ways of learning English. But one day, her new English teacher told her the     5     (important) of English and taught her how     6     (learn) English well. From then on, she     7     (begin) to try to listen to English songs, read English newspapers, and write down good English sentences in the notebooks. Now, she loves English very much. She hopes to become an English teacher some day and help more students learn English well.

A student wrote to me the other day. She said she is having a growing i    1     in listening to music, especially Taylor Swift. But she is often w    2     about spending so much time listening to music that she will have a hard time p    3     attention to her schoolwork.

Listening to music is a great way to use only half o    4     your brain. I enjoy music while washing my dishes or walking to the store. I love singing a    5     the road while I drive as well. In some ways, our brains can sing and drive safely at the s    6     time.

Reading is different. It r    7     all of your brain’s attention. Have you ever noticed that people don’t read books while driving? Reading while driving is like asking to die quickly.

So, you’re trying to study. That needs reading. You’re also listening to nice music. Taylor Swift’s songs don’t ask for your attention—they grab(抢走) it.

I think you can find the a    8     to your problem: Don’t listen to music while studying, if you must listen to music, choose something w    9     words, like piano or jazz. Play it softly in the background.

My favorite background “music” is white noise. Get yourself a white noise app and enjoy the s    10     of rainfall while you read your books. Then, when you’ve finished studying, reward yourself with Taylor Swift.

Many students like     1     games on the phone very much. But     2     Monday to Friday, they must go to school. Soon Saturday and Sunday they     3     at home and play games all day. They don’t know it’s bad for     4     eyes. Usually children like to eat fish, meat and chicken. They don’t like vegetables     5     fruit. They don’t know eating more vegetables and fruit is better (更好) than eating meat. At school, children only do a few minutes of sports or     6     do any sports. The teachers must know it’s not good for their health. We always think of ways to keep healthy. First, we must eat     7     of vegetables and fruit. Then, we must do sports for an hour every day. In the end, we must go to bed and get up     8     .

【推荐2】Where has the Time gone? is the hottest song that has moved thousands of Chinese. Chinese parents give their children endless love and ask nothing in return. However, sometimes, daughters and sons are too busy growing up and forget that their parents are getting older and older. What should we do? Let’s have a look at a l    1     of a father’s.

One day if you see me old and I am not myself, have patience and try to understand me. If I get dirty when eating…, if I cannot dress…, have patience. Remember the hours I spent t    2     it to you.

If, when I speak to you, I say the same things one thousand and one times, do not stop me and l    3     to me. When you were small, I had to read to you one thousand and one times the same story until you got to sleep.

When I do not want to have a shower, neither shame（羞辱） me nor scold（责备） me. Remember when I had to chase you with a thousand excuses I invented, in order that you wanted to bath.

When you see me meet something n    4    , give me the necessary time and don’t laugh at me. I taught you how to do so many things… to eat well, to dress well… to face life.

If I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know well when I need to and when not. When my legs do not allow me to walk, give me your h    5     the same way I did when you gave your first steps.

When sometimes I lose the memory during our conversation, let me have the necessary time to remember. And if I cannot do it, do not become nervous b    6     the most important thing is not my conversation but to be with you and to have you listen to me.

Yours,

Father

【推荐3】When you were young, who rode you around on the back of his back? Who played football and flew kites with you in the park? Who helped you with your f    1     difficult maths question? Who taught you the d    2     between right and wrong?

Your dad. Now it is your turn to do something for him. Last Sunday, June 20, it was Father's Day. Did you do something special to thank your dad for all his encouragement (鼓励) and support (支持)?

The i    3     of Father’s Day came from an American lady called Sonora Smart Dodd in 1909. She wanted a special day to honor (纪念) her father. He r    4     six children by himself after his wife died during the birth of their sixth child. Dodd hold the first Father’s Day celebration on his birthday in 1910. In 1924, President of the USA, Calvin Coolidge liked the thought of a national Father’s Day. Finally, in 1966, the third Sunday in June was declared (宣布) Father’s Day.

Children do a lot for fathers on Father’s Day.

Send him a greeting card. Usually fathers p    5     cards that are not too emotional (感动人的). So, perhaps choose one that will make him laugh.

A small present, such as a photo of your family or a special wallet can make him feel l    6     a king.

Send him flowers: the red rose is the official Father’s Day flower.

These are the ways to show your love and thanks to your father.