It was the final part of the 2016 World Triathlon Series in Mexico. W    1     just 700 metres to go, Alistair Brownlee was in the third place and his younger brother, Johnny, was in the l    2     . Alistair pushed himself towards the finish line in the burning heat, but as he came round the corner, he saw his brother a    3     to fall onto the t    4    . Alistair had to choose—brotherly love, or a chance to win the race?

For Alistair, the choice was clear. His brother was in trouble. He had to help. Alistair ran towards Johnny, caught him and started pulling him towards the finish line. Alistair then p    5     his brother over the line. The move put Johnny in second place and Alistair himself in third. It was an u    6     end to the race, but Alistair did not want to discuss it with the m    7     . He just wanted to see his younger brother, who had been rushed to the m    8     area.

The Brownlee brothers have been doing triathlons since they were children. “O    9     , when your older brother is doing it, you think it's a cool thing to do," says Johnny. Alistair says that they encourage each other as much as they can when they train. D    10     arguments over “stupid things" now and then, Alistair agrees that having a brother is an a    11    . “Throughout my e    12     life, I've had my brother trying to beat me at everything I do. It has been an e    13    . positive force."

Watched by millions, the ending to the race has d    14     opinions: should the brothers have been disqualified or highly praised for their actions? But for Alistair, this decision was easy to explain: “Mum wouldn't have been happy if I'd left Johnny behind.” At that moment, he was no longer an athlete a    15     for a medal—he was just a brother.

The father and grandfather are playing chess    1    （坐) at the table,     2    the boy comes in. The boy     3    (走进)the table     4     (nervous) and asks his father to     5    （谈一谈）with him about his future    6    （职业、事业）. He decides not     7     (go) to university and he wants to     8    (关注) his band. The father feels     9     (surprise) because he always expects the boy to be a     10     (law). Hearing their conversation, the grandfather     11     (advice) the boy to think carefully before    12    (jump) in with both feet. In the grandfather’s view, if the boy attends university and plays music     13    , he will have two     14    (选择). Perhaps the boy will find a job that suits his    15    (天赋).

At one time, experts were against raising children in a bilingual home. They thought their brains would become confused, which would result in their development delays and poor p     1       in studies. But we now understand that the exact o     2       is true.

Children can easily learn extra languages because of the higher ability of their brain to form new neural(神经的) connections and new brain cells throughout life. W     3       some studies suggest that learning two languages can l     4     to delays, these delays are short-lived. In addition, the brain of the children who learn two languages can benefit unexpectedly early. B     5     using a fun game with a disappearing puppet, researchers found that babies as young as 7 months old who are raised in bilingual homes got cognitive benefits! A study used a memory game and found that bilingual 5-year-olds answered questions faster and were more exact than their partners only learning one language.

According to a report given by the National Education Association, children who study a second language receive a r     6     in general development, do better in tests, are more creative, and have a better sense of achievement in school. Second language studies help kids do better in other areas of study, including i     7     their reading skills and social studies. Research shows that students who are a     8     to speak a second language have better listening skills and sharper memories, and are better at solving difficult problems. From primary school to college, they score higher in tests than those who c     9    . And results from the Scholastic Aptitude Test(SAT) also show that students who have studied another language for four or more years did better in both the spoken and maths problems of the test

In a word, learning more than one language contributes to the brain development in babies and the excellent school performance of students of all ages. Therefore, it is clear that it’s n     10     too early to learn a second language for children.

4 . A few years ago, I was working in a small office. I noticed that even though the size of the organization was not huge, we often worked in our different teams.

One particular week, I decided I wanted to make people smile but I wanted to do it     1     (secret). So one evening I wrote up some quotes that had inspired me over the years. The next morning, I went to work early and     2     (张贴) them up by the sinks and mirrors in the office restrooms. Maybe someone else would enjoy the quotes     3     (如同我一样) I had. And perhaps it     4     (may) just freshen their day.

For the next few months, some of the quotes     5     (take) down. But I noticed that a couple remained. Eventually, I finished out my contact     6     that organization, but I’d still often get emails from my former boss and teammates.

A few months ago, I was invited to reunion with my     7    (同事) .     8     I no longer worked in this office, I had really enjoyed     9     (work) with my team and was happy to see them again. Towards the end of the event, I went to the bathroom and found a quote that I     10     (write) two and half years earlier was still up in the same spot by the mirror. It reads: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but seeing with new eyes” ——Marcle Proust.