1 . I experienced years of loneliness as a child. My older brother couldn't be bothered to play with me.

    1    Our interests were totally different. With no other kids of my age in the neighborhood, I had to spend hours by myself.

A bright spot for me turned out to be reading.    2    I loved the colorful photographs in the books. I started reading books on my own before age 5 and my mother took me to the public library once a week to borrow several books. I quickly graduated from typical children's books to ones with fewer pictures and longer chapters.     3     I wasn't alone any longer.

    4     I tried making toy cars with cardboard boxes and constructing buildings from leftover cardboard and bits of wood my father gave me. When my mother saw my creations, she told me how creative my designs were. Thus, I began my lifelong interest in making things. I Learned a lot about how to extend the life of objects and transform them into something new and useful. It was a trait（特 点）others found helpful, and I soon had friends who wanted to make things with me.

Another habit I formed early was being outdoors. My parents made it a point for their two kids to spend time outside, no matter the weather or season. My brother, of course, raced off to be with his friends, while I had plenty to do myself. There was making leaf houses in autumn, ice skating in winter, and so much more.     5    

2 . Every year in Australia, the strongest long-distance runners race more than 500 miles from Sydney to Melbourne. The race takes more than five days to complete. It attracts world-class athletes—the kind who become spokespeople for sports shoes and drinks.

In 1983, however, as the competitors lined up to race, they were joined by a 61-year-old farmer wearing overalls（工作服）.     1     The other runners thought he was a confused spectator（观众）.Cliff told them that he was there to race. He explained that on his family’s sheep farm，he often had to round up 2,000 or so animals by himself. Cliff said, “    2    ”

When the race began，the younger runners flew past Cliff. Instead of trying to catch them, Cliff shuffled（拖着脚走）along in an unusual way.     3     But something happened. When all the other runners took a break to sleep, Cliff kept running. The other runners caught up to him each morning. But finally Cliff was too far ahead to be passed.    4    

Cliff received $10,000 for winning the race. He said he did not realize there would be prize money, and he gave the money to his fellow runners. Doing this made him a hero in Australia. Since then, many runners have started to use his special way of running.    5     The farmer changed long-distance racing and proved that age and style aren’t everything.

3 . It had long been troubling a little boy that his desk mate could rank 1st in the class every time while he failed to: he only ranked 21st.

At home, he asked his Mom, “Mom, am I more stupid than others? I feel I am as hardworking as him, but how come I always fall behind?”     1    

In another test, the son ranked 15th, and his desk mate remained 1st. Back home, he raised the same question.     2     However, was this answer in her son’s best interest? Thank goodness she did not open her mouth.

There were times she wanted to tell him, “Your father and I used to be outstanding. Why aren’t you just as clever?” But she stopped because she felt it was cruel to blame him and that she needed a better answer.

    3     To reduce the burden on her son who was suffering from the pains of unsatisfied grades and rankings, Mom decided to take him to the sea. During the trip, she managed to give out an answer.

Now, the son no longer worries about his rankings, because, with the 1st ranking, he is admitted to a top university.     4     In the lecture, he mentioned a valuable experience, “…When my mother and I was lying on the beach, she pointed to the front and said, ‘Do you see the seabirds over there? When the waves come near, little birds can rise quickly while it would take longer for clumsy sea-gulls to complete the process. However, have you noticed birds that finally fly across the endless ocean are none other than clumsy sea-gulls?’     5    ” The moving speech affected many mothers present into tears, including his mother.

4 . Earlier this summer, after packing my rucksack for a wild-camping holiday, I gazed at my belongings, and made a final adjustment to the contents of my bag.    1    

I quickly emailed my travel companion, a photographer friend called Jacob to make sure I could have some pictures of our trip afterwards, so I could pop a few up on Instagram when I returned. And then I set off, feeling — for the first time in a number of trips — that I was genuinely escaping the stresses and strains of my everyday life.    2    Because the way stress locates us, these days, is via our phones.

    3    However, I've realized that for a holiday really to function as a holiday, I need an escape from social status anxiety , from caring about “likes”, and from having to photograph every tiny detail of life to prove our existence. When we overshare a glossy version of our trip online, we miss out on talking about our trips when we return, which is part of the joy of travel. Posting in the moment denies us this opportunity to relive (回味) our experience, and prolong that holiday feeling.    4    

During my three-day Insta-break, my stress levels decrease quickly within 24 hours.    5    I made mental notes of funny moments, cultural observations, tips and when I returned, I had interesting, detailed chats with friends about my time away.

5 . For over one hundred and fifty years, Americans of all social classes have worn blue jeans.    1     Whether they are worn for work or for fashion today.Strauss' invention continues to be popular not only among Americans but also among people around the world.

Levi Strauss was born in Germany in 1829.    2     He grew up in Kentucky before moving to New York in 1847.Before becoming an American citizen and moving to the West in 1853, Strauss worked in his brother's dry goods business.This gave him a chance to produce his famous invention.After the gold rush of 1949, Strauss decided to move to the West to seek his fortunes.

Strauss did not want to be a person who searched an area for minerals.Instead, he knew he could make a good living by selling supplies to the miners.At first, he planned to sell sewing supplies and cloth.    3    When he heard miners complaining that their clothes were easily broken or they usually tore their pockets during mining, he decided to use a special fabric to make pants for the miners.These pants proved so popular that he quickly ran out of materials to make more.

In 1873, Strauss received a letter from a Jewish tailor named Jacob Davis who had invented a process of connecting pockets with copper rivets (铆钉).This made the pants last a long time.Because Davis did not have the money to patent his idea, he offered to share it with Strauss if Strauss would agree to pay for the patent.    4    .

By the time Strauss died in 1902, he had made a great contribution to American fashion.

    5    The business has been growing ever since and Levi Strauss' company is now one of the largest clothing companies in the world.