Fifteen hours is a long time to be on a plane, but you know, Africa is a long way from America. Finally, we're in Namibia, a country in southwest Africa. Namibia is about one size of California. However, it is home to just over two million people. And the country's main airport is 45 kilometers east of its capital, Windhoek.

    Now we are in a wildlife park. We will spend five days finding ways to protect this area's wildlife. At the moment, my wife and our two kids are enjoying some local dishes. I'm talking with workers in this park. I'm so much looking forward to the following days!

—Thomas

    Yesterday morning, I had nothing to do. So I went to visit the Eiffel Tower, a symbol of Paris. It was my first time there, so I took a lot of photos.

    Finally, the big moment came! A lot of artists came to watch my show. It was a great success. After the show, I attended a big party. It was great, but I felt so sleepy after it.

    When I got back to my hotel, it was already1:15 am. I went to bed without washing. I just needed a good rest before my two—hour journey home by plane.

—Jessica

    Linda was a sixteen-year-old girl in Canada. She was feeling bad for several days. Her mother took her to a hospital and the doctors found out that she had cancer(癌症). Linda's life changed. She began to go to the hospital often for treatment(治疗), and she also became depressed.

    The hospitals and the doctors were good, but Linda did not have hope herself. Linda's mother called a flower shop close to the hospital. "I want some beautiful flowers for my daughter. She is a teen girl with cancer. "She told the shop owner.

    Later, the flowers arrived. Then Linda saw something unusual. It was a card. It read, "Linda, I own(拥有)this flower shop. I had cancer when I was fifteen years old. I am 24 years old now. Good luck. My heart goes out to you.

Yours,

Alice

    Linda smiled. She finally felt some real hope. She found the will(意志)to live. Little things make a big difference. All of us can give little things like kindness encouragement and hope to others.

    "You have saved my horse." Queen Olivia told the young boy standing before her. "Now you shall get a gift for what you did." Peter nervously ran his fingers through his brown hair. That day when he was working in the field，the shocked horse ran past him. Without thinking，he rushed out and controlled it. He didn't know it was the Queen's horse and never expected to get a gift. But he still felt happy for getting one.

    Two of the queen's men appeared. One carried a mirror. Red jewels(珠宝)shone on top of the mirror's silver frame(框架). The other carried a wooden cage with a chicken inside it.

    "Only one gift call be yours," the queen said. "Choose wisely." "That's easy," Peter said. "I'll take the chicken." Some of the queen's men laughed. It was clear that they thought he had made a foolish choice.

    "And why did you choose the chicken?" the queen asked. "Well, I don't know much about jewels," Peter answered. "But I do know about chickens. The chicken will provide eggs for my family for a long while."

    Queen Olivia smiled. "Then you did make a wise choice," she said. "That minor may look beautiful. But the jewels you see are only colored glass, and the frame is painted silver. The chicken is much more valuable." Peter took the chicken and bowed. "Thank you, your majesty."

    "You are a smart child." the queen added. "I could use a smart boy to help take care of my horses. Would you like to take the job?" Peter smiled. "Thank you very much!" he said excitedly. A job at the castle paid well. Now his family wouldn't worry about their food any more--all because he was kind to help others and smart enough to make the right choice!

    What was discovered by accident? The answer is penicillin(青霉素). It kills germs. By killing germs, it saves lives. Suppose you are sick. You go to a doctor. She examines you. She says you have a "staph" infection(葡萄球菌感染). She gives you some medicine. You take it. The medicine knocks out the staph. Soon you are well. Before penicillin, this would not happen. Staph was almost sure death.

    Everyone wanted a medicine. Laboratories worked day and night. They grew the staph in small dishes. Then they tried to kill it. Nothing worked.

    The laboratory dishes had covers on them. They kept things from falling into dishes. Molds(霉菌)were a big worry. They are always in the air. You can't see them. They're too small .There are thousands of different molds. Molds can make an experiment (实验)fail. That's why dishes are covered.

    Dr. Alexander Fleming was working to kill the staph germ. He worked for years. One day he took a cover off a dish. He looked inside. There was a thick growth of staph germ. There was also some mold. Then he saw something strange. Where the mold was, there was no growth of staph. This is what Fleming probably thought. "By accident, I found a mold to kill the dreaded staph."

    This is how penicillin was found. But here's the real miracle(奇迹). There are thousands of kinds of molds. But only one kind can kill staph. The mold must have fallen into the dish a few days before. The cover was probably off only a few seconds(秒). In those few seconds the right mold fell into the right dish. Another mall might have thrown the dish away. But Fleming was very careful and smart. He understood what the mold did. How lucky the humans were!

    In 1834，the clock tower in London was burned down. People (plan)to build a new clock which would be the(big)and best in the world. So the clock had to be big and keep very good time. The big clock (make)in two years. Five more years later the tower was finished. Then people put the big clock in the tower, and made it ring out for the first time July 11, 1859.

    In order to give the big clock a good name, people held a meeting. Someone wanted to call it the Queen of Bells, and someone thought Victoria was good. At last, a man named Benjamin Hall stood up. He was a big man. Before he started to speak, someone shouted, "Why not call it Big Ben?" Everybody laughed and agreed with him. From then on, Big Ben became (it)name. And it also became it famous building of London. People all over the world write to Big Ben. They even send birthday presents-bottles of oil to help keep Big Ben running. Big Ben is not only a clock but also a dear friend of people.

    (learn)how to play the piano is not the only way for children to have a bright future. Children can choose what they like in many ways. Many children are good at sports, maybe they will be great playersthey grow up.

    Here is another example: the schools have paid much attention to story-telling recently. Story-telling can make students become better at talking. They hold many story-telling contests every year. And children (show)great interest and taken an active part in them. Some students who were too shy to speak in public have been now very good speakers.

    Now many parents send their children to learn how to play the piano or the violin. But the money and energy they spend cannot  (make)sure that their children will learn a lot on a short period of time. However, training children to tell a story is quite different.

    Although it  (cost)little, it's a good and an easy way for children to develop.

    Several years ago, a television reporter was talking to three of the most important people in America. One was a very rich banker, owned(拥有)one of the largest companies in the world, and the third owned many buildings in the center of New York.

    The reporter was to them about being important.

    "How do we know if someone is really important?" the reporter asked the banker.

    The banker thought a few minutes and then said, "I think anybody who is invited to the White House to meet the President(总统)of the United States is important."

    The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. "Do you with that?" she asked.

    The manhis head, "No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You'd only be important if while you were visiting the President, there was a telephone call from the president of another country, and the President of the US said he was too busy to answer it. "

    The reporter turned to the man. "Do you think so?"

    "No, I don't." he said. "I don't think that makes the visitor important. That makes the President important. "

    "Then what would make the visitor important?" the reporter and the other two men asked.

    "Oh, I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang, and the President picked up the receiver, listened and then said, "it's for you."

    Confidence(自信)is very important in daily life. It can help you to develop a healthy attitude(态度). A study shows that the people who are more confident are much happier. They can have more chances to make themselves successful. But how to be more confident? Here are some suggestions:

●Speak loud

    When you are not confident，you can't do well what you want to do. You speak in a voice so low that other people can hardly hear you. Try to speak loudly enough so that people can hear you clearly. The. high voice can help you become more confident.

●Play sports

    Physical exercise makes you tired but completely relaxed. A strong body helps you be full of confidence.

●Encourage yourself

    Write down a list of things you did during the day to see how many things you have done well. Did you finish your homework? Did you tell a joke that made everybody laugh? Give yourself praise for the good things you've done.

●Get rid of(消除)fear

    Fear comes along with failure(失败). But it's easy to overcome(克服)if you know that failure is part of your life. Don't hide your head just because you said something stupid last time. Try to start again and believe you can do better.

●Pick up a hobby

    If you like singing, sing as much as you can. In some ways, a hobby can make you outstanding. And it will make you happy and confident.

提示：less free time，much homework，

more pressure，get into a good high school

more exercise，lose weight

join the English Comer，improve English a lot

colorful and meaningful，learn more knowledge

注意：1）词数80左右，开头和结尾已经写好，不计入总词数；

2）回复须包括所有药店，可适当发挥，使全文连贯、通顺；

3）文中不得提及真实的人名、校名等相关信息。

Dear David，

    Thank you so much for your mail. I'm happy to tell you about how my life has changed recently.