Last Saturday David was taking a walk in the park near his home when he noticed a woman with a boy of about eight years old. When David passed them, he heard the woman yelling: “How stupid you are! You’re good at nothing.” David stopped and looked at the little boy. The boy said nothing. He just stood there, looking upset.

David was reminded of his English teacher Mrs. Brown in middle school. After he entered middle school, David lacked self-confidence because he was often made fun of by others. He was often told that he was good at nothing, which David believed.

But one day it all changed. That day, in an English writing class, Mrs. Brown asked them to read a novel. They were asked to write a new chapter of the novel after they finished reading it. A few days later, David handed in his story. He didn’t give it much thought. But the next day to his surprise, the comment “well done” from Brown came into view the moment he turned to the page where the story was written. When David read that, he almost burst into tears. He had never expected to be praised. He suddenly gained some self-confidence.

That day after he returned home, he wrote another short story and gave it to Mrs. Brown the next morning. And again he was praised. David became very interested in writing. He often wrote short dories and asked Mrs. Brown to read them and correct them for him. Mrs. Brown always gave him good advice to improve them. One year later, David joined the school newspaper and became an editor of it. He gained his confidence and was hopeful about his future.

He succeeded in entering college and kept writing. Several years after graduating from college, he had his first book published, becoming famous as a writer in his country. And he owed his success to Mrs. Brown’s encouragement. Without her encouragement, his life might be very different now.

Inspired by his own life story, David decided to do something for that boy.

The mother was ashamed when she heard that.

2 . My daughter Kelly is a cautious person. She needs to warm up to situations, and is________ to try new things. When with close friends, she becomes a________who laughs loudly and chants, “Girls rule, boys drool.” But when that comfort zone is not around her, she is shy and________.

This has been challenging for me________. “Shy” is not a word that I think has ever been used to describe me. But this has been a year of________for my girl that has filled her with a new sense of ________. This year she moved to lap lane in swimming where she was preparing for a swim team. This year she learned to ride a bike without training wheels. And this year she________her first kids’ triathlon (铁人三项运动).

On Saturday, with a thunderstorm coming soon and my son’s birthday party later in the day, we all went out in the dark of the morning for Kelly to________her first triathlon. We practiced transitions from swim to bike and to run with her. We got all the equipment she’d need and we kept talking about the________. But as we waited the two hours for the older kids to finish before her turn, she________my leg a little harder and told me she loved me too many times. She was nervous but trying to keep calm.

And then it was time for her to go. From the second she jumped into the water, my heart________quickly. My daughter ________ into the most confident human being I had ever seen. She dominated that swim, crushed that bike ride and ran to the ________with the biggest smile on her face.

I can honestly say that I never felt so________ of someone in my entire life. It wasn’t because she did a sport or anything like that. It was because she was afraid of something and ________that fear with confidence and a fire I hadn’t seen before.

Last weekend we go mountain climbing. Even the heavy rain in the morning could not prevent us going. Set off very early，we went along an extreme narrow road，all in high spirits. On every side of the road was green fields and some farm houses. We could hear the sound of the rain and our footsteps mixing with our laughter. At noon we reached the top of the mountain. That surprised us most there was the beauty of scenes. After having short rest there and sharing with the food we had brought，we started going down. It rained even harder. We were wet to the skin，and we still sang and laughed happily.

Yours,

Li Hua

7 . As French author Andre Maurois once said, “Without a family, man, alone in the world, shakes with the cold.” Indeed, families who give us love and _______are an important part of our lives. But even in a loving family,_______can’t be avoided.

One day, I was doing my homework and my sister_______.Busy with homework, I didn’t talk to her and just kept working: But when I took a_______, I turned my head to the place where my sister was sitting._______, I found my notebook had a lot of messy drawings on it.

At that time, I was full of _______and walked out of my room, shouting at my sister. “You are really a_______and I hate you.” Hearing the words, my sister_______out crying and tried to explain her behavior. But I_________ since I didn’t want to hear a word from her. The ________afterward lasted for a long time________us. To solve the problem, my father brought me to the living room and asked: “Have you noticed what the drawing is on your notebook?”

I shook my head. Then, under the ________of my father, I looked at it carefully, it________,“Happy birthday”. At that moment, I knew how ________I was. Though drawing on my notebook wasn’t right, my sister’s love and __________ were sincere. Feeling guilty, I said sorry to my sister. Instead of staying angry, she smiled back at me.

8 . Swimming in the water of Hawaii’s Big Island is a fun experience. But it can be more exciting if there are dolphins swimming around and jumping out of the sea too. For many people, it would be a wonderful dream to swim with these lovely animals! However, this may not be good for dolphins. They may get hurt because of human interaction (互动).

Dolphins are active and usually look for food at night. In the day, they like to rest in shallow bays (浅湾). Many people think the dolphins are awake during the day as they swim. But when they sleep they rest half of their brain and keep the other half awake to breathe, so they may be sleeping even when they’re swimming in the water.

From 2010 to 2013, spinner dolphins (飞旋海豚) of Hawaii’s Big Island were exposed to human activities more than 82 percent of the time, according to Julian Tyne, a researcher at Australia’s Murdoch University.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says disturbing the animals in their near-shore habitat could force them to swim to less favourable places, putting them at risk of being attacked by sharks and other animals.

Besides, when people are around, dolphins become more active. Thus, they can’t get enough sleep. “Disturbing their resting behaviours can actually affect their long-term health and the health of the dolphin population,” Ann Garrett of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service told the Associated Press.

As a result, the NOAA wants to make rules to help protect the dolphins. For example, the agency (机构) may ban swimming with the Hawaii spinner dolphins. Or they may stop people from swimming in shallow bays when the dolphins are resting. Tour operators must also be taught to watch for signs to know when the dolphins are in their resting state.

9 . The Huaqing Palace Heritage Site

It was built in 644 AD for Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty (朝代). It is said that at first there was no cover for the pool so that he could enjoy the shining stars of the night while taking a bath.

They were named "The First Hot Springs in the World" in the Tang dynasty by Emperor Xuanzong. The water temperature stays at 43°C all year round. It was first used as an imperial pool during the Zhou dynasty (1046 BC-256 BC)

It has a long history of over 1,300 years and measures 1.9 metres long, 1.26 metres wide and 8. 3 metres deep. It was used just by Yang Yuhuan for drinking water.

It was built in 747 AD for the famous beauty Yang Yuhuan. It takes the shape of a Chinese crab apple (海棠) flower, and is where Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Yuhuan took baths every winter.

10 . The following four famous paintings—from Jan van Eyck’s portrait to Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece—have stood the test of time.

The Arnolfini Portrait

The Arnolfini Portrait of Jan van Eyck, an oil painting on wood produced in 1434, in which a man and a woman hold hands with a window behind him and a bed behind her, is undoubtedly one of the masterpieces in the National Gallery, London. This painting is as visually interesting as it is famed. It is also an informative document on fifteenth-century society, through Jan van Eyck’s heavy use of symbolism—while husbands went out to engage in business, wives concerned themselves with domestic duties.

The Starry Night

During his 12—month stay at the mental hospital near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France between 1889 and 1890, Vincent Willem van Gogh painted The Starry Night, an oil on canvas(帆布), a moderately abstract landscape painting of an expressive night sky over a small hillside village. When the Museum of Modern Art in New York City purchased the painting from a private collector in 1941, it was not well known, but it has since become one of Van Gogh’s most famous works.

The Harvesters

The Harvesters is an oil painting on wood completed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1565. It depicted the harvest time which most commonly occurred within the months of August and September. Nicolaes Jonghelinck, a merchant banker and art collector from Antwerp, commissioned this painting. The painting has been at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City since 1919.

Guernica

Guernica, a large black-and-white oil painting, was painted by the Cubist Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso in 1937. The title “Guernica” refers to the city that was bombed by Nazi planes during the Spanish Civil War. The painting depicted the horrors of war and as a result, has come to be an anti-war symbol and a reminder of the tragedies of war. Today, the painting is housed at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid.