In a far-away place, there was a village. The village was1in potatoes than anywhere else in the country. At the end of every growing season,2 potatoes were dug out of the ground, and readied for market. In each home, men and women would 3 divide the potatoes into three groups, large, medium and small.

    One year, there was a young man4 received his share of the potatoes. As the other villagers 5 , he walked around the village laughing and talking. 6 villagers thought he was lazy, and they worried that this man would never get 7 potatoes ready in time. When it was time for the villagers 8 to market, they were greatly surprised to find that the man's potatoes 9 perfectly into three groups.

    After 10 the man how he did it, they understood he was not lazy,  11very clever. He had put all his potatoes in a cart and pulled it along the village's rough dirt road. As the cart moved up and down over the road, the potatoes moved 12. The small potatoes moved to the bottom, the larger potatoes rose to the top and the medium potatoes rested 13 the middle.

    Life 14 like this too. The rough roads we travel along can also 15 us.

    My name is Brad. I'm 1 Sichuan. I'm a(n) 2 monkey and I am only one year old. I like eating 3 and bananas are my favorites. I like forests(森林),but now I live in a 4 . I am in a big cage(笼子) 5 other monkeys. People like me and often give me some fruist to eat. 6 I'm not really happy. 7? Because I can't live with my parents and I can't climb trees(爬树) here. Every day, I get up in the cage. I eat food in the cage. I 8 and relax in the cage. I really want to 9 my parents and climb trees in the forests. Dear people, animals are your 10. We live in the same world. Please let us live in the forests, not in the cages.

    Yu Boya lived in the Spring and Autumn Period. He was 1 in playing the qin. One day 2 a boat trip, Yu Boya saw green mountains and clear water. 3 wonderful they were! Boya began to play with his qin. A young woodsman stood on the riverbank enjoying the 4. His name was Zhong Ziqi.

    Yu Boya 5 Zhong Ziqi to the boat and played the qin for him. He played music that described the mountains. Ziqi said, "How good it is! I seem to6the high Mount Tai." He played music that described the7. Ziqi said, "How good it is! I seem to see the running river. Boya was8. "You really understand my music!" he said to Ziqi9.So they became best friends. And they made 10to meet again in the same place the next year.

    The following year, Boya arrived on time. 11 he found that Ziqi had died of an illness. This 12Boya very sad. He said, "My best friend is dead.13can understand my music now." He 14the qin and played the music of High Mountains and Running water. Then he 15 the qin and never played it again. So we have Gao Shan and Liu Shui (High Mountains, Running Water).

    Boya and Ziqi shared the same interest and they understood each other well. How good it is to have a friend like this!

    Prana, our beautiful dog, isn't with us anymore. She died several years ago. But while sharing our home, she brought so much joy and love into our lives that we still 1 her.

    It was an autumn day in Minnesota, US. We were 2 by a big snowfall for which no one was prepared. We have two 3 trees in our backyard. Prana loved apples. When she went outside, she'd catch an apple and sneak (偷偷地放) it into the 4 . The apples had been on the ground and were often muddy (沾满泥的). So I wasn't always 5 that Prana had brought them into the house. Every time, she would turn her head so I wouldn't see her hidden 6. It was our little game.

    One year, it snowed earlier than usual. Prana went outside. I noticed that she was madly digging holes and bringing the apples to the 7so they could be seen above the snow. She seemed busy digging up as many apples as possible during her yard time. I wondered 8 she was doing this.

    When I called her back into the house  she had her usual one apple in her mouth. About five minutes later, I looked outside. The yard was full of birds. Prana had 9 all those apples for her bird and squirrel friends to eat. She knew that they didn't have enough food to 10 such an early winter!

    As I saw this beautiful act, tears filled my eyes. Prana taught us how to live life with love.

I used to hate scary films. I didn't understand 1 some people wanted to scare 2 on purpose. But now I love them. Sometimes I watch them by myself; sometimes I watch them with my sister. 3, I will have a cushion(靠垫) nearby to 4 my face especially for bad parts, but I still enjoy watching them. As a 5, I have to watch something "happy" afterwards to take my mind off them,

    Watching scary films is 6 going on a roller coaster(过山车). Many people ride it for the 7 that comes from being scared without actually being in 8. As I am truly scared of the roller coaster, watching scary films is my way of 9 this. And it is interesting, especially 10 it is a film you haven't seen before. You can try and 11 what's going to happen.

    12 I saw a film called The Strangers by myself. In the film, a group of people with scary masks(面具) attacked(攻击) a couple's house. 13 some reason I had to keep stopping the video and doing 14 else, like checking e mails or reading a bit of my book. It took me five hours to finish seeing the film. It's hard to believe, isn't it?

    Scary films make me 15 but excited, I know I will continue to scare myself.

    Mrs. Wilson is my neighbor(邻居). She1at a post office and she meets lots of people2. She is3to everyone and likes helping others. She is over fifty years old, 4she looks very young(年轻). She is of5height and thin. She has long curly brown6. She likes to wear a red T-shirt and jeans. She7like a movie star. She really likes8shopping on weekends and she always buys many beautiful clothes. She always9, "Old people still want10beautiful!" People all like her very much.