—It is much more beautiful than         .

—I'm not sure. It          be a present from your uncle.

—Yeah. Most of them          in the 1960s.

—I have no idea.

—We were expecting thirty people to come, but half of them never         .

—It is Never Had a Dream Come True.

—        ! I believe you will win.

A: Can I help you, sir?

B: Yes. 

A: There's a store on Center Street. You can buy one there.

B: Thanks. Your English is quite good.

A: By the way, are you working here in Beijing?

B: No. I'm not. I've come for the football game this weekend.

A: Oh, so you are a player. Welcome to Beijing

B: Oh, no, no. I'm not a player. I'm just a football fan.

A: Me too.

B: Two weeks. I've visited some places of interest.

A: What do you think of Beijing?

B:Friendly people, delicious food and. Oh, I just love the city.

A: I'm so glad you love my city.

B: Thanks. Nice to talk to you. Goodbye!

A: Me, too. Goodbye.

My parents always told me that I couldn't dance, because it was a girl's sport. But I never gave up my dream of becoming a dancing star. I practiced secretly, learning from books, movies, and shows. However, without my parents' support, that 1 seemed all but impossible to reach.

One summer, my little sister Maggie was going to dance lessons. I immediately asked 2 parents for permission(允许)to take her to the lessons. What a 3 chance to learn dancing!

One afternoon, I was practicing a new dance in my room, when Maggie walked 4.

"What's the matter, Maggie?" I stopped 5.

"Denis, you are a great dancer! Can you help me？"

"What is it?" I wondered.

"There'll be a dancing performance in my school, 6 the boys think I'm slow, and none of them wants to be my partner. 7 you dance with me for it?" she looked at me anxiously.

"You can be a good dancer!" I encouraged her. "Let's show those people that they have been 8 all along."

In the following months, we 9 every evening, hiding from my parents. I was having a fantastic time and 10 Maggie improved a lot.

Finally came the big day. I became 11 when I heard my parents would come to watch the performance. As the 12 began, I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. We moved perfectly, shining with pride. From the cheering of the crowd, I was sure we had 13.

My heart was beating wildly when I saw my 14 coming towards me. He put his hand on my shoulder. "Well done, Son. Though it is hard for me to admit it, you really looked like you 15 this stage(舞台). Go for it and make us proud."

I'd been waiting for this moment for so long. I knew that the road ahead wasn't going to be easy, but I wouldn't give up. I wanted nothing more in life than a dance.

Old Dawson had the best apples in town, but kids knew they mustn't go into his yard to pick a delicious apple, even off the ground, because Dawson, a bad­tempered (坏脾气的) man, they said, would come after you with his gun.

One Friday, 12­-year-­old Janet was going to stay all night with her friend Amy. They had to walk by Dawson's house on the way to Amy's house. Like most of the children, Janet was scared of the old man because of the stories she'd heard about him.

Amy said that Mr. Dawson wouldn't hurt anyone. Still, Janet was growing more nervous with each step closer to the old man's house. When they got close enough, Dawson looked up with his usual frown (皱眉), but when he saw it was Amy, a big smile changed his whole face as he said, "Hello, Miss Amy. I see you've got a little friend with you today."

Amy smiled back and told him Janet was staying overnight and they were going to listen to music and play games. Dawson told them that sounded fun, and offered them each a fresh picked apple off his tree.

As they walked on, Janet asked Amy, "Everyone says he's the meanest man in town. Why was he so nice to us?"

Amy explained that when she first started walking past his house, he wasn't very friendly and she was afraid of him, but she always smiled at him. It took a while, but one day he half­ smiled back at her.

After some more time, he started smiling real smiles and then started talking to her. Just a "Hello" at first, then more. She said he always offers her an apple now, and is always very kind.

We're always trying to achieve so much, and it's so easy to get caught up in (被卷入；陷入) everyday life that we forget we can bring cheer to ourselves and others simply. Giving a smile takes so little effort; let's smile to others.

The novel coronavirus (新冠病毒) made this year's Spring Festival holiday very different for most of us.

Many places in China began a first- level emergency (突发事件) response to the virus in mid-January, calling for people to stay at home. Following these rules, most people gave up family gatherings during the Spring Festival and canceled any festive celebrations.

It's the quietest Chinese New Year I've ever had,” Xin Jingrong, a 14-year-old student from Nanning, Guangxi said. For the first time in years, Xin's grandmother had to cancel her trip to Nanning and stay alone in her hometown.

The control measures not only separate many families, but also make daily life inconvenient. Many shops are closed, delivery services are slow, and wearing masks in public has become a must. Although it is inconvenient, people are still showing their understanding and cooperation (合作).

Tong Zexi, a 15-year-old student from Harbin, has not gone out in more than 20 days. "I know I need to protect myself and cause no trouble. In this critical (关键的) tit in time, when one gets sick, many others could be affected."

Apart from simply following the rules, some people have done amazing things to help fight the outbreak.

On Feb 3, Zhao Junyan, a Junior 2 student from Shanghai, brought 15,000 masks from Indonesia back to China. People's Daily reported. Zhao, while traveling in Jakarta, collected the masks with his uncle, who works in the city. The 15-year-old donated (捐赠) all of the masks to Cangnan, Zhejiang, his hometown.

"When a country is in trouble, everyone is responsible to help," Zhao said to the media. "What I have done is what an ordinary Chinese person can possibly do."

Riding a Mobike on the street, you might hear some people speaking Chinese aloud. Tuning to the right, you see a Sichuan-style restaurant. After walking into a store, you see that Huawei smartphones are on sale.

But you are not in China-you're in Manchester in Britain. You might see similar things in many other cities, Chinese products have been going global(世界性的).

Chinese food has been enjoyed in Western countries for a long time. To meet local people's tastes, Chinese restaurants have made some changes to the dishes. For example, Chinese people like to eat meat with the bone in, but Western people don't So Chinese restaurants provide big pieces of meat without bones, even for fish.

Some Chinese brands are also becoming more popular. In many cities in Europe, stores sell TCL televisions, Haier fridges and Lenovo computers

More than half of the US-owned drones (无人机)are Chinese models. They're not only made in China, but also designed and developed in the country

In the past, most Western people thought Chinese products were cheap and unreliable (不可靠的). But now, things have changed greatly. "Made in China" becomes cool.

What is life's greatest gift? It is choice. Choice is the ability to choose some actions from a set of things to achieve a goal.  The reason is that it turns us from dumb animals into artists. Choice becomes the tool we use to sculpt (雕刻) our life. The tool doesn't come free, however, for the price of choice is responsibility.  It is enjoyment.

Choice is power. Choice is at the heart of life. It's the creative power of life. Life is always changing and we have to make lots of choices.  We often need to check where we are on our journey. We need to ask questions: Am I moving closer to my goals? If not, what action will I take now to make myself realize my goals?

 And our life becomes more convenient or comfortable because of them. Foe example, you decide which stores to shop at and which bus station to go to. But the decisions that we make to sculpt our lives are much more important than deciding where to shop. The more we understand the difference between small and big decisions, the more pleasure we will get.

Life is like a chess game.  All chess lovers realize that it isn't necessary to win to enjoy the game. Make the best moves you can under the conditions. Then you can enjoy your life.

One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without Wrap (包装).

On September 11, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, "I promised you a gift and here it is." What an honor! I was four years old a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories, told it over and over how much I loved it!

One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum was sad and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard mum and Dad whispering such words as "hopeless", "pitiful", and "dying", which sounded unlucky.

Christmas was coming. "Sally, don't expect any presents this year." Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. I'd never seen him cry before.

The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, "What? he's all right?" He hung up and shouted upstairs. "The hospital said we can bring Richard home!"

"Thank god!" I heard Mum cry.

From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there. But I knew they were not empty: They were filled with love!