I think the reason why she is such a wonderful person is that the Holy Spirit lives within her. She is very holy and has persuaded me to go to church with her every Sunday.

About six years ago my mom decided to pursue her lifelong goal of becoming a teacher. She knew it would be hard work raising three kids, doing housework and studying at the same time. However, she believed it would pay off. What my mother didn’t realize was that not all things pay off in this unfair world. After four hard years of school, she graduated on a warm spring day. It was unbelievable. My aunt drove up from Virginia to celebrate this fantastic day. It was the first time I had ever cried from being happy.

It’s strange how fast a life can change. Two months later, the unpredictable happened. My mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (多发性硬化症). I could not believe this could happen after all the good she had done for people. I was very confused and cried every day. My faith in God just disappeared and so did my mom’s dream of becoming a teacher.

Then, I decided I must move on with my life and accept the fact that she might never get better. Since my decision, I have become more mature, responsible and active in school and work. I have found a wonderful girlfriend with whom I plan to spend the rest of my life. Through the years I have always been able to change negative situations into positive ones. I’m happy with my life now.

4 . A quarter of today’s UK children are living in families which cause more than one risk to their educational development, a study says.

Institute of Education researchers analyzed 10 risk factors affecting more than 18,000 families. Risks included financial stress, teenage parenthood, depression, low skills and alcohol abuse. Previous research suggests families with multiple risk factors are the most damaging. According to the research, just over four in ten people experienced no risk factors in their early childhood, while a third faced only one. It would mean 192.000 UK children born 10 years ago have been growing up in families with multiple risks to their development.

The paper's authors found that those who had grown up with two or more risk factors had poorer behavioral development scores at ages three and five. They also did worse in standard vocabulary tests at these ages. The report, published by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies, said. “Children living in families with both multiple risks and low income faced the worst across most developmental outcomes.”

“These children achieved the lowest change in vocabulary test scores between ages three and five.” Professor Dex added. “The most reassuring thing is that if you come into contact with just one of these risk factors, there is a fairly modest effect on children. She suggested that health visitors could be aware of families where there were two or more of these indicators, and offer help. ”

The government has pledged to turn around the lives of England's 120.000 most troubled families by 2015. To qualify for help, the families need to meet five out of seven criteria including truanting (旷课的）children, parents with addiction and anti -social behavior.

6 . To personal trainer Sammy Callari, 13-year-old Parker Seward is more than a client(客户). He’s his “little brother”. Over the past year, the pair have bonded. They play basketball together, share meals and dance to hip-hop like no one’s watching.

The trainer was asked to work with the 13-year-oldboy, who has Down’s syndrome (唐氏综合征), because his coworker who dealt with the boy was out of town last spring. Callari had never worked with someone with a disability before. He was anxious the first day he met Parker. But Parker’s big smile and cheery introduction immediately put him at ease. He reminded Callari of himself when he was a teenager. Like Parker, Callari has also faced his fair share of challenges over the years.

As a high schooler, Callari described himself as being the weak kid. When it came to sports, he was always overlooked. His dream of playing baseball in college quickly faded away. When he went to college, Callari turned to a new sport. His younger brother trained him to become a boxer. Callari participated in five matches. Before these competitions he was the underdog, but he won three times. “I know how it feels,” Callari said. “People tell you that you can’t do this, and that you cant do that.” When it comes to Parker, Callari refuses to accept the word “can’t”.

The friends meet twice a week to train. They bike, box, run and work and do push-ups.

Parker has a short attention span, so it’s Callaris job to keep him focused. “If Parker can do it, hes having fun, even with his frustration. Then people will ask, ‘Why can’t I do that?’” Callari said. “That’s the whole task right now. ”

Callari recalls Parker’s mom once thanking him for taking a “chance” on her son. Callari told her he never viewed it that way. Parker may be the student, but Callari says he’s also the one who’s learning.

7 . English teachers love William Shakespeare for all his wonderful 16th century dialogue and prose (散文).     1     If you need or want to read a comedy or tragedy of Shakespeare’s and don’t know how to begin, here are some tips to get you started

Keep a Shakespeare lexicon handy. A lexicon is a reference guide similar to a dictionary, except that it defines and explains word usage from different periods or regions.    2    

Explore online study guides. Many sites offer free study guides to the works of William Shakespeare.     3     These websites will include a character analysis, plot timeline, major themes and chapter, as well as an explanation of unfamiliar terms.

    4     Charles and Mary Lamb have written beautiful story versions that are very readable for all ages. If you read it as a story without the dialogue or unfamiliar dialect and language, you will get a feel for the plot and characters. You will understand the story better.

Watch a theater or movie version of the play. You can access some versions of the plays on United streaming. com as a teacher. As a student, look on the Internet movie database for a comprehensive list of productions.     5    

Shakespeare’s works are fun and wonderful! Make friends with the rhythm of this most engaging reading! Use this handy guide and soon you’ll be another Shakespeare in no time!

8 . The Sydney Opera House has a very interesting history.     1     all started in the 1940s, when the Sydney Symphony Orchestra had nowhere to play. The orchestra’s conductor, Eugene Goossens, asked the Australian government to think about building a place and the government     2     (final) agreed to build an opera house in 1954.

The government held an     3     (nation) competition to find a design for the opera house. Many of the 233 designers from around the world     4     entered the competition were famous, but the design of an unknown Danish architect     5     (name) Jorn Utzom was chosen as the     6     (win).

While drawing up the plans, Utzon remembered the temples he     7     (see) in Mexico before and used them as his inspiration for the base     8     the opera house in Sydney. The building of the opera house began in 1958, but Utzon had still not finished his plans He did not like his first plan as the concrete roof shells did not work. His new idea was     9     (make) the shell shapes on the roof into the shape of a ball. That way, the same ball mould (模型) could be used for several roof     10     (part). In 1962, the government agreed to the new ball roof idea. The building was completed and in November 1973, the Sydney Opera Hope was opened by Queen Elizabeth II.