Brian sat on his front doorstep. He really wanted a new bike. Joe had just gotten one for his birthday, and Tyler’s was only about a year old. Brian had had his for five years. The seat was up as high as it could go, and his legs were still too long for his bike. Brian wanted a bike just like Joe’s and Tyler’s. Their bikes were perfect for popping wheels and cruising over bumps. If only he had 110 dollars. All he could come up with was 33.67 dollars. Where could he get the rest of the money he needed?

Brian thought and thought. His birthday was still five months away, and he was too young to mow lawns. What could he do to get the money? Maybe his dad would advance his allowance for the next few months. He got three dollars every Friday if he did all of his chores. His dad had agreed to do this once before, when Brian needed an extra six dollars. Maybe his sister would loan him the money. She had a lot of money saved up from baby-sitting. Baby-sitting! That was it! Brian could baby-sit. Oops! Wait a minute. No one would hi re Brian to baby-sit. He still was not allowed to stay home by himself yet. What could he do to get the money? Brian sat and thought.

Just then, the phone rang.

After chasing Fifi through three different yards, Brian finally got Mrs. Timmons’ dog.

2 . Mount Everest (珠穆朗玛峰), located in Asia, is the highest mountain in the world. Many climbers have tried to climb to the top of Mount Everest’s about 29,028-foot peak and about 900 people have _________ the climb to Mount Everest’s summit. One of the most successful climbers is Erik Weihenmayer because of his _________.

Erik Weihenmayer was _________ an eye disorder. As a child his eyesight became _________ and then he lost his sight eventually. However, he did not lose his _________ to lead a full and active life. Erik began climbing when he was 16. Having climbed the tallest mountains on five continents, Erik became the first blind person to reach the peak of Mount Everest.

_________ the age of 32, Erik began his climb as part of a team. His team wore bells that he could follow during his climb, and fellow climbers could quickly warn him of such things as a big drop on the right or a big stone to the left. Erik _________ his own method for climbing mountains. He also carries two long climbing poles to feel his way _________ him. Erik is a good team member. He does his _________ of the job, such as setting up tents and building snow walls.

During his climb, Erik faced many dangers. He __________ through 100 m.p.h winds and sliding masses of snow, ice and rock. Because the air became thinner the higher Erik climbed, he wore an oxygen __________ that helped him breathe as he climbed higher. It took Erik about two-and a-half months to reach the top of the mountain.

Although he couldn’t __________ the view, Erik felt the __________ of being on the summit of Everest. He hopes that his success will change __________ people think about the blind. “When people think about a blind person, now they will think about a person standing on top of the __________.”

6 . Born on March 21, 1958, in Louisiana, Grant Cardone is not a typical celebrity. He didn’t come from a wealthy family. He’s not a Hollywood superstar, nor does he have some amazing talents, like script-writing, politics or athleticism. However, what he has is something that is available to us all, and that is a determination to succeed.

At the age of 25, Cardone took the first job that he could find. That job was as a car salesman. It was a title and a position that Grant was not very fond of. However, the economy was slow, which meant he didn’t have many options, so he made it work.

Cardone was committed to becoming the best salesperson he could be. So, he invested (投资) heavily in his own self-improvement by reading books and studying his craft and his industry. After committing himself to becoming his very best, his income quickly doubled. And soon thereafter, he became one of the best car salesmen in the country. He eventually moved on to running his own business, and was extremely smart and disciplined (自律的) with his money. Cardone only spent money on what was absolutely necessary for food and housing. He would place anything left over into an investment fund just for the property market.

Cardone’s focus on learning more so that he could earn more, along with having the discipline to invest his extra money, instead of wasting it on useless things, helped him become a self-made millionaire just five years later by the age of 30.

Cardone has since gone on to become a well-known international businessman, speaker and the owner of Cardone Capital, a $ 1.5 billion investment firm. He’s authored the New York Times bestselling books If You’re Not First, You’re Last, and other famous books like The 10X Rule, and Axiom Award winning Sell or Be Sold. In addition to this, he also founded Cardone University, a popular sales training platform that has over 50,000,000 and growing users.

It took Cardone only five years to completely change his entire life. With the right mindset and sufficient willpower, just imagine what five years could do for you.

Denia Escutia, born in Pajaro, dreamed of moving to Southern California to learn how to care for sick kids in University of California at Los Angeles(UCLA). But when a river swallowed her town and destroyed her home, she delayed those dreams to take care of her family instead.

Escutia, who is 18, is a recent high school graduate. In the predawn hours of March 11, Escutia woke up to find flood water in her room, which was ankle-deep in just a few minutes.

Ecutia’s family, scared and panicked, unplugged appliances and threw anything they could onto tables, counters and beds. But Escutia’s family didn’t feel like they needed to leave.

Her mom was shocked by electrical currents in the water. That’s when her family decided to flee, escaping in waist-deep water to an apartment building across the street. A few hours later, they caught a ride out of the town in military rescue vehicles. On the way to her grandmother’s, Escutia wondered if she would ever call Pajaro home again.

When she returned to Pajaro in late March, she found her house was filled with mud. A photo of her in a blue and black dress still hung on the living room wall. But the house was not fit to live in.

Leaving the house she grew up in, Escutia locked the door. Officials hung a yellow and black sign from the house that read: “Lawful only to enter for permitted cleanup purposes. ”

Escutia had just been admitted to UCLA. She had not yet shared the good news with her family. After the flood, her happy secret quickly transformed into a burden. She couldn’t decide between pursuing her dream in Southern California and staying to help her family.

“I haven’t told my parents yet, but I was planning on telling them,” she said to her teacher. “All I can think about is how I’ m going to be able to help my parents through this, especially financially.”

Escutia’s mother searched all over the area to find a new home to rent but she didn’t find any in her price range. The family were in a seemingly endless search for affordable housing.

At last, one of Escutia’s teachers invited her family to live in her house.

Escutia finally told her parents that she had been admitted to UCLA.

I can count a dozen friends, all in the 1950s, who adopted a puppy. Actually, I did, too. Last year, I was suddenly consumed by the urgent desire to acquire a seven-week-old Australian shepherd. For one thing, this breed is one of the most energetic on the planet, whereas I am bookish, lazy, and middle-aged.

My trouble with dogs is that I never have the remotest clue what they want, and they never seem to have the slightest idea of what I’m saying to them. He was highly alert, yet unable to grasp a single thing. Kevin’s entire communicative gestures — whether he wanted food, exercise, permission to jump on the sofa, a toy, or, who knows, a conversation about the electric bill — consisted of walking up to me and staring. He did this about 50 times a day, just staring brightly without moving a muscle, and after years of living together, I still didn’t know what he wanted. We coexisted in a state of profound mutual (相互的) incomprehension.

“Sometimes I think,” I wrote in my journal, “it doesn’t matter that I don’t know what he wants, because we have nothing in common. Whatever he wants will be something I don’t want. He probably wants me to go outside and chase squirrels. I don’t want to.”

But one afternoon, there was only Kevin and I at home. My husband was on business abroad for several days and my son was also abroad attending college. I enjoyed my favorite book leisurely while Kevin had a rest or stared at me as usual. It suddenly began to thunder aloud and soon rained cats and dogs. I dashed out of the front-door to fetch the vegetables in my parking lot. The wind was so strong that the front-door just slammed loudly, closed, after I made my way out. Worse still, when I came back with the rescued vegetables, I found the keys were not with me. There was also no backup (备份) of the keys outside my house.

Sometimes, making a decision is hard for adults while easy for kids. The Jackson family had been meaning to buy some new furniture (家具) for ages, but somehow they never got round to it. There were always so many other things to do. Then one day there was a big shout from the room of Jason, 12. The rest of the family ran to see what happened.

Jason’s desk had broken. There were bits of wood and pens and papers all over the floor. And in the middle was Jason! “I was just doing my homework.” he said, “and then -bang! The desk broke. Everything fell over. I was so surprised that I fell over too!” Laughed Jane, 5. “That decides it.” said Mum. “We need to buy some new furniture before anything else breaks. Jane needs a new bed. And Jason needs a desk, so that he can do his homework. ”

So that weekend, the family got up early, and set off for the big furniture store outside town. It was huge. There was so much furniture, some of it was arranged like in a real house.

“Look, I’m playing houses (过家家),” said Jane, crawling ( 爬 ) under a table. Jane loved playing houses. “That’s enough,” Mum said, taking tight hold of Jane’s hand. Jane didn’t like it, but she had to stay close. The family chose a new bed for Jane, who was bored now, and tired. She didn’t say much, while the rest of the family discussed which desk to get. Jason had found one he liked but Mum and Dad couldn’t agree.

“It’s too big.” said Mum. “There’s not enough space in his room.”

“It’s too small,” said Dad. “There’s not enough space for his homework. ”

“I think it’s just right!” said Jason.

“Let’s get a cup of tea while we try and decide,” said Mum.“There’s a cafe in the store.” Dad thought this was a good idea. He needed a sit down, he said, and Jason really wanted a milkshake (奶昔). “What do you think, Jane?” asked Mum. Then she looked round. “Where is she? I think she’s jumping on the sofa!”

But there was no sign of Jane on the sofa. Then Jason wondered if she could be lying on her new bed!

But there was no Jane on the bed. Mum and Dad were really worried now.          

When Jason pushed Jane softly, she woke up and came crawling out. “What were you doing?” Jason asked.