【推荐1】When I bought a jasmine plant, I was told it would bloom and the sweet smell would fill my office. I had the plant for two months, and every day I looked at it, but there weren’t any flowers or pleasant smell. I was not happy, so I gave the plant to my friend Linda.

One day, another friend Mary called and invited me to her office. When I walked in, her jasmine flowers surprised me. I reached out to touch the flowers. Mary cut some and gave them to me. I couldn’t help smelling them. Surrounded by the sweet smell of only a handful of these flowers, I suddenly understood something. Mary bought her plant the same time I did. It took a year for her jasmine to bloom. I was so impatient for mine to bloom; regretfully, I gave it away. In a way my life is like the jasmine plant. I need to be patient and let things happen.

Last Sunday Linda told me that she was going abroad the next week. Before she left, she returned the plant to me. This time I am going to wait. I have learned that when we want something in our life, we have to be patient. I am slowly learning to have that patience to wait for my jasmine to bloom.

【推荐2】A speaker was giving a speech to his student on what to do with stress(压力). He held up a glass of water and asked the students, “How heavy do you think this glass of water is?” The students’ answers were different, from 20g to 500g.

“It does not matter on the exact weight. It depends on(取决于) how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache(疼) in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will send me to hospital. It is the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

“If we carry our burdens(负担) all the time, we will not be able to carry on, because the burden is becoming heavier and heavier. What you have to do is to put the glass down, have a rest for a while and hold it up again.”

We have to put down the burden sometimes, so that we can cheer up and are able to carry on. So, before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can. Life is short. Enjoy it!

When Rita was in the seventh grade, she helped take care of the sick people at a hospital in her town. She spent most of time there with Mr. Green. He never had any visitors and nobody seemed to care about his health. Rita spent many days there holding his hand and talking to him. He became a close friend of Rita though he was in a coma (昏迷).

Rita left for a one-week holiday with her parents, and when she came back, Mr. Green was gone. She was afraid to ask any of the nurses where he was. Several years later, Rita was a student in high school. One day when she was at a bus station, she noticed a familiar (熟悉的) face. When she realized who it was, she couldn’t stop crying. She asked him if his name was Mr. Green and if he had been in a coma about five years ago. With an unsure look on his face, he replied “yes”. Rita told him how she knew him, and that she had spent many hours talking with him in the hospital. His eyes were also full of tears and he gave the girl the warmest hug. He began to tell Rita about his story. He said he could hear her talking to him and could feel her holding his hand the whole time. He thought it was an angel, not a person, who was here with him. Mr. Green believed that it was Rita’s voice and her touch that kept him alive.

Rita hasn’t seen him since, but he fills her heart with joy every day. She knows that she made a difference in his life. More importantly, he has made a big difference in Rita’s life.

It's common to play video games as a way to reduce stress. We play games for fun, relaxation and even to kill time. However, one student has found a much more creative way to use video games.

Wu Hele, 17, a Senior 3 student from Jinling High School, Nanjing, has been preparing a gift for his high school - a recreation(重建) of his own school in the game Minecraft《我的世界》.

It is a game that allows players to design landscapes and buildings in all different types of locations with different materials.

For Wu, recreating the school was not just a sudden idea. During Wu's first time visiting the school, he found that it was perfect for rebuilding. "The landscape of the school is regular, and buildings all had a symmetrical, aesthetic feeling, which is suitable for rebuilding with Minecraft," he told Modern Express《现代快报》.

After his first visit to the school, Wu decided to rebuild it. However, this was not an action that could be done in a day. During his three years in high school, Wu has effectively organized his time. After finishing his homework or exercises, he always walked around the school with a notebook. "I measured all the corners by eyeballing(目测) or counting footsteps. I also drew sketches(草图). When I played the game, I would build the school based on my sketches," he told the Bejing Evening News《北京晚报》.

Wu experienced several challenges as he recreated every detail of the school. One of the most difficult challenges was building the gym. At first, he didn't know how to rebuild the shape. Then, Wu learned the conic curve formula(圆锥曲线公式), which was used for the building.

His hard work has paid off. Almost all of the scenes of Jinling High School have been rebuilt in the game. The gate, the teaching buildings, the unique corridor with the wisteria(紫藤长廊)- every tree and flower has been exactly rebuilt. The player can visit the classrooms, gyms and office buildings and view the detailed decorations inside. In addition, their school's pet cat can be seen running downstairs in the teaching building just like in real life.

"I'm the first one who rebuilt our school in this way. I've cherished(珍惜) the three years I've spent here, and I have learned a lot during the whole process," Wu told Nanjing Daily《南京日报》.

回答下面5个问题,每题答案不超过7个词。

A duck is very sad because he is the ugliest among his brothers and sisters. But to his surprise, when he grows up, he finds that he has become a handsome young swan (天鹅)! This is the story of The Ugly Duckling (丑小鸭) by Danish (丹麦) writer Hans Christian Andersen.

In fact, Andersen was an “ugly duckling” himself. In 1805, he was born into a poor family in Odense, Denmark. As a young boy, Andersen was tall, ugly and had a very big nose. His friends always made jokes about his big nose. During his school life, young Andersen spent most days dreaming about the stories he imagined (想象) in class.

Later, because of his father’s death, Andersen had to make a living (谋生) by himself. He once worked as a tailor (裁缝) and made money in a theater. The difficulties helped him write his fairy tales (童话). Andersen began his writing by writing plays and poems for some small magazines. He talks about love and sacrifice (牺牲) in The Little Mermaid (美人鱼), and makes fun of authority (权威) in The Emperor’s New Clothes.

Andersen wrote for 43 years until the end of his life in 1875. He finished 168 works and we can read them in about 150 languages. They never stop bringing happiness to kids around the world.

【推荐3】Helen is a girl. One day, her parents can’t find her in the room.

“Where is Helen?” asks Mrs. Brown.

“Let’s go to the garden.” says Mr. Brown.

When they come to the garden, they see Helen sitting there.

“Hello, my name is Helen. How are you? Nice to meet you here. I’m three years old now. I don’t like yellow. I like pink. What color do you like?”

“Who are you talking to, Helen?” ask Mr. and Mrs. Brown.

“I’m talking to my friends,” Helen says.

Who is Helen talking to? Do you know? She is talking to some ants （蚂蚁） under the tree. What a lovely girl Helen is!

【推荐1】This is such a heart-warming piece of news in the cold winter. Some days ago, the temperature was only -6℃ in Kaifeng, Henan. Someone ordered 50 cups of warm porridge (粥) through Meituan App and noted “Please give the porridge to those cleaners who are clearing snow on the road nearby and those delivery (递送) men who are delivering food.” When the porridge shop owner received the order, he was moved by the note and provided 60 cups.

The story didn’t end here. As soon as the food delivery man got the big order, he shared it with his workmates so that they could also get paid. Finally, Meituan returned the money to the porridge buyer, Mr. Zhang and gave him a reward of ￥500. Although he had to raise his newborn baby and pay for his house every month, Mr. Zhang said he would surely continue delivering love.

The kind help also encouraged many other citizens in Kaifeng. This summer, volunteers are sending cool drinks every day.

Similar stories have happened in many other places in China. Outdoor workers in different cities are able to enjoy free and caring help. Lots of “love posts” are providing “coolness” in hot summer and “warmth” in cold winter. Just as a citizen of Kaifeng said, “I feel deeply moved and warm in my heart.”

In fact, we get love and give love every day. Love makes our life better and more beautiful.

Mr. Wang is a teacher. He is busy every day. He often forgets（忘记）his family’s birthday. But he doesn’t forget his wife’s（妻子）birthday today. He wants to buy her a present（礼物）.

A big store is near（在……附近）his school. It sells many things. From the store, you can buy some food, clothes and flowers（花）. So Mr. Wang goes to the store.

He wants to buy her a sweater. But the sweaters are red. His wife doesn’t like the color. At last, he buys some flowers.

He gets home and says, “Happy birthday, dear! It’s October 26th today. I don’t forget your birthday.”

Mrs. Wang is very happy and says, “Thank you but my birthday is yesterday（昨天）.”

Fight with flood

Dayu (大禹) was a leader of a tribe (部落). He loves his people and always tries his best to protect (保护) them.

One day, a flood came and broke a dam (大坝). Dayu went to fight the flood. Different from his father, Dayu didn’t build new dams. He widened the river courses (加宽河道). He also built new river courses. In this way, more water could go through and flow into the sea. There was no more flood problem.

This is not easy work at all. It took 13 years and 20, 000 workers to do it. Dayu worked very hard every day. During the years, Dayu passed by his house three times. But he never went inside. He didn’t want his family to take his time and mind (心思) away from the work.

Dayu then became the hero of people. He also helped homeless people build new houses. People admired (敬仰) Dayu very much and made him the new king. After that, Dayu built Xia. It was the first dynasty (朝代) in Chinese history.

【推荐1】How do people find their inner talent (潜力)? British author Kenneth Robinson talked about this at TED. He told the story of Gillian Lynne, a dancer and a choreographer (编舞者) who has worked on many famous musicals (音乐剧).

Gillian Lynne never did well in school as a child. She couldn't sit for long and often found herself moving restlessly (不安地). Her mother was really worried about her. She took Lynne to a doctor and told the doctor the problems Lynne was having in school. Then, the doctor said to Lynne, "I need to speak to your mother first. Wait here."

As they left the room, the doctor turned on the radio. He then said to Lynne's mother, "Just stand and watch her." Later they found Lynne start dancing to the music on the radio.

The doctor then turned to Lynne's mother and said, "Mrs. Lynne, your daughter isn't sick. She's a dancer. Take her to a dance school."

So the mother did. Lynne found there were many people like her in the new dance school. They all had to move their bodies to think. Lynne later went to the Royal Ballet School (皇家芭蕾学校) one of the world's greatest dance schools, and became a great dancer, she worked on some of the most successful musicals in history, such as Cats and Phantom of the Opera (《歌剧魅影》). It is hard to believe that years ago, somebody else would just put her on medication (药物治疗) and tell her to calm down.

【推荐2】When 8-year-old Lilly Bice heard families in Texas lost everything because of a hurricane (飓风), she made a decision to help them with her parents.

Lilly’s parents experienced another hurricane years ago themselves, so they knew people in Texas had difficulty rebuilding their homes after the hurricane. One day, when they discussed how to serve food to the people, Lilly heard their talk. She wanted to play a part in helping those people, too. She decided to give away her toys to the children. “If they have toys to play with, they may feel much better,” she thought.

Then Lilly started to put her toys in a bag. One of them was her favorite doll. Lilly also wrote something on a piece of paper: “Dear little girl, are you excited about getting the doll? I hope you like her. She was a good friend to me and she will be a great friend to you.”

At last, the bag of toys went to Texas with the food.

“Though Lilly is a little girl, she always shows kindness to others. She tells us something important—Even little kids can make a difference. ______________,” Lilly’s mother said with a smile.