Yours,

Li Hua

It was in the afternoon before the end of the Second World War that Antonio Black, who was twelve, caught sight of a beautiful brooch (胸针) in a shop window. The brooch is so beautiful that he was unwilling to leave the store until he had purchased it. But it was too expensive — $5. His family was very poor and his parents struggled to make ends meet. Five dollars would buy almost a week’s food for his family.

Antonio couldn’t ask his father for the money. Everything his father made through fishing went to his mother, Susan. Slim and beautiful, his mother was the center of the home and the glue that held it together. The housework was never-ending, and she struggled to feed and clothe their five children, but she was happy as her family and their well-being were all she cared about.

Nevertheless, he opened the shop’s door and went inside. Standing proudly and straight in his flour-sack (面粉袋改做的) shirt and washed-out trousers, he told the shopkeeper what he wanted, adding, “But I don’t have the money right now. Can you please hold it for me for some time?”

“I’ll try,” the shopkeeper smiled. “People around here don’t usually have that kind of money to spend on things. It should keep for a while.”

Antonio respectfully touched his worn cap and walked out. He would raise the money and not tell anybody, for he thought Mum would be surprised when she saw that brooch. On hearing the sound of hammering (锤打) from a side street, Antonio suddenly had an idea that he could raise money by selling the used nail bags. People built their own homes in Bay Roberts, using nails bought in bags from a local factory. Sometimes the used bags were thrown away at the construction site, and Antonio knew he could sell them back to the factory for five cents a piece. That day he sold two nail bags and hid the money in a rusty soda tin.

Every day after school, Antonio started his plan.

The day finally came!

Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also gain special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were reminded that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off” said the teacher to her class.

An extra day off unsuited Kayla just fine. She loved breaks. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Kayla off, she ran into the house happily.

“How was school, Kayla?” asked her mom.

“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday.”

“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Kayla’s mom with a laugh.

Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. I trained most of the day, so Kayla enjoyed playing videogames inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketball for several hours.

Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Kayla was so looking forward to. But Kayla was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday. A day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Kayla wiped here yes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.

“Kayla, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Kayla’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents，

“Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”

“Yes, Kayla. It is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place.”

At first Kayla felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.

But things began to change as she was doing the chores.

5 . Human and their inventions, such as cars or plastic, have caused most environmental pollution on Earth. Today car emissions (排放物) are a major source of air pollution leading to climate change. In the meanwhile, plastics fill our ocean, creating a significant health issue to marine (海洋的) animals.

And what about the electric light, which is thought to be one of the greatest human inventions of all time? Electric light can be a beautiful thing, guiding us home when the sun goes down, keeping us safe and making our homes bright. However, like CO₂ emissions and plastic, too much of a good thing has started to influence the environment. Light pollution, the wrong use of outdoor light, is affecting human health, wildlife behavior and our ability to observe stars.

Light pollution is a global issue. This became obvious when the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, a computer-created map based on thousands of satellite photos, was published in 2016, which can be viewed online. The map shows how and where our globe is lit up at night. Vast areas of North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia are glowing (发光) with light, while only the most distant regions on Earth (Greenland, Central African Republic and Niue) are in total darkness. Some of the most light-polluted countries in the world are Singapore, Qatar, and Kuwait.

Sky glow is the brightening of the night sky, mostly over cities, due to the electric lights of cars, streetlamps, offices, factories, outdoor advertising, and buildings, turning night into day for people who work and play long after sunset.

People living in cities with high levels of sky glow have a hard time seeing more than a handful of stars at night. Astronomers (宇航员) are particularly concerned with sky glow pollution as it reduces their ability to view stars.

Mostly over 80 percent of the world's population, and 99 percent of Americans and Europeans live under sky glow.

7 . When I was in primary school, I was actually a little shy. One thing that absolutely frightened me was speaking in front of many people, whether strangers or acquaintances. It was my sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Bamick, who helped me overcome that. That year we had to present four oral book reports in front of the class. Some of the kids were even glad to do it, but I was frightened to death. Mr. Bamick recognized my fear, so he told me to do a report on a book that was about something that really interested me. So I did the first report on baseball.

When it came time for me to present it to the class, Mr. Bamick cut me some slack and let me read the report rather than present it from memory. Some of my classmates laughed at me for the presentation, but Mr. Bamick encouraged me. By the end of the year I had completed all four of the oral book reports. It wasn’t easy or comfortable for me, but I did it.

Years later I realized that Mr. Bamick had a great effect on me in sixth grade. One of the opportunities I get when I win a tennis tournament (锦标赛) is to make comments to the fans who attend the match. Some of these are carried live on television and all of them are before thousands of people. It’s still not one of my favorite things to do, but, with Mr. Bamick’s help, I get through it from time to time. Before long, I was asked to bring my favorite childhood teacher to a national event in Dallas. I was excited when Mr. Bamick joined me for the event. It meant a lot to me that he was there.

We all need heroes in our lives. They can be role models or they can be important persons in our world. Mr. Bamick believed in me and helped me to believe in myself. It was he who helped me build the person I became.

8 . “I just think, a year ago, at 54 years of age, I couldn’t swim. I was terrified at the thought of going into the water. Now, I have just _________ my 200 meters. It is all thanks to Everyday Swim.”

It’s never too late to learn swimming. Angela King, 55, is a perfect _________ of it. In August 2020, the family went to an attraction they hadn’t _________ for 15 years. Angela thought, “All this time, I still can’t swim. When I get back home tomorrow, I’m going to find out more about swimming _________.”

In the cold light of day, she felt a little _________, but her husband David searched the Internet for swimming classes. He found Everyday Swim at the local Hadleigh pool and _________ Angela to sign up. When she turned up for her first training, she said, “I felt a bit sick and _________, but this soon passed. The instructor really put me at ease; so did the other people in the class.”

As the lessons _________, she learned to become more _________ in the water. At first, it was a simple __________ of learning she wasn’t going to sink. Then during the third lesson, the Olympic gold medal winner Duncan Goodhew turned up to offer __________ “I couldn’t believe it. He held my hand and we all held hands in a circle and splashed under the water. What he did made me believe that I could __________.”

When the 10 lessons for £ 100 offer finished at the pool, she __________ to sign up for lessons. In fact, from originally being __________ of the water, Angela is now becoming a regular swimmer and __________ some certificates (证书) along the way

A recent survey has found that many people suffer from sleep problems. Some are     1     (able) to fall asleep, some wake up in the middle of the night, and others     2    (simple) do not get enough sleep. One of the reasons why people fail to get a good night’s sleep     3     (be) pressure from school or work. Noise pollution and light pollution in big cities may also contribute     4     sleep problems. In     5     short term, people with sleep problems often feel tired and have trouble concentrating. In the long term, they may be at increased risk of having a poor memory, being overweight and     6     (suffer) a heart attack. Sleep problems are especially dangerous for     7     (teenager). They are still growing and night is the time when     8     (they) bodies grow faster. Teenagers     9     do not sleep well may experience situations where body development slows down, and their health suffers.

So, if you have trouble getting a good night’s sleep, it might be time     10     (make) some changes in your lifestyle.