I used to be an active girl. But two years ago, an English speaking competition held in my school changed me a lot.

      I stood on the stage(讲台) for the first time. I was so nervous that my brain(大脑) suddenly became empty. Not long after I began my speech, the hall turned noisy. It seemed that they were laughing at me. I knew I failed.

      From then on, I became quiet and always stayed alone. I didn't want to express my ideas in public, even in class. Every time I wanted to say something, I thought people would laugh at me. My friends couldn't understand me, and they left me, one by one.

One day, my science teacher asked us why trees in forests were much taller than those in the wild. "Ha, what a silly question!" I thought.

"There's not enough space in the woods for trees to expand their branches. Of course they have to grow taller than others. The trees in the wild needn't do that since there's enough space. " I said in a low voice.

To my surprise, the teacher said, "Yes, you're right. It is a competition. " My face turned red right now. I hadn't spoken for a long time, especially in public.

Then the teacher explained how tree s in forests had to grow taller to receive more sunlight. If not, they would die. This also happened in our society.

      What's more, the tree that doesn't live in a crowd is just like a person who has no friends in life.

      I raised my head slowly and found the teacher was looking at me. His eyes were as warm as sunshine. I realized that I must stand up and face the truth.

    One day, three turtles decided to have a party. So they went into a cafe and ordered three cups of coffee. However, the lovely weather suddenly turned into heavy rain. The oldest turtle said to the youngest one, “Go home and get the umbrella.”

    “I will, if you don't drink my coffee.” the youngest answered.

    “Of course! We won't drink your coffee!” the other two turtles said. The youngest turtle then went to the door to leave. Time flew by quickly and two years passed. The two turtles were still at the table waiting. The oldest turtle said to the other one, “Well, I guess he isn't coming back, so we can drink his coffee.”

    At that moment, a voice came from outside the door. It was from the youngest turtle. “Oh, no! If you drink my coffee, I won't go.” he said.

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    Jenny works in school and teaches us music. She likes shopping. She loves her family very much. It's Sunday, January 1st. She wants to buy a new skirt for her mother, because it's her mother's sixtieth birthday next Sunday. Now many clothes are on sale at Renming Clothes Store. There they have skirts in all colors and sports shoes in different sizes. They are very cheap. Jenny comes to the store with her mother, Mrs. Green. Jenny has a look at a red skirt and asks her mother to try it on (试穿)in the dressing room. After Mrs. Green comes out of it, a salesgirl says to her "You look five years younger in this red skirt. After hearing that, Mrs. Green says, "I will not take this skirt, because I don't want to look five years older after I take off the skirt.''

    One day an old man is on his way home. Just then a stranger(陌生人)stops him and asks, "Excuse me, how long will it take to walk to the next village?"

    The old man looks at the stranger but he doesn't answer. The stranger says to himself. "This old man can't hear me clearly. I will ask him again." Then he asks the old man loudly. The old man thinks for a while, but he still doesn't answer.

    At this time, this stranger is very angry and shouts at the old man." How long will it take me to walk to the next village? ''But the old man doesn't give him any answer. So the stranger begins to walk quickly to the village.

    The old man calls after him, "My friend, it will take you only fifteen minutes." The stranger says, "Well, why do you tell me now?" The old man says, "How could I tell you just now? I don't know how fast you can walk."

    People say that George Washington, the first president of the United States, never told a lie. But it seems that the president was not without faults.

    A New York library recently found that Washington borrowed two books from the library in 1789. He would have to pay the library 300,000 dollars for being 220 years late.

    On October 5, 1789, when the first president borrowed the books form the New York Society Library, he didn't sign his name in the borrower's book. He just wrote "president" to show who had taken them out.

    The two books should have been brought back a month later but were never returned. Workers at the library realized the books were missing.

    The New York Society Library doesn't expect anyone to pay the fine. But it hopes that someone will return the books.

    Hello, everyone! I'd like to tell you something about a famous scientist named Qian Xuesen. He was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province on December 11, 1911. After he graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1934, he got a chance to study in USA. After he graduated, he became a teacher as well as a researcher who studied rockets and missile theories.

    When he was 44, he returned to his motherland and the country's space research was almost a blank. In 1956, he set up the first research institute of rockets and missiles. He made such important contributions to the missile and space programs that he was honored as "The Father of China's Missiles". The Chinese people are proud of him.

    He passed away on October 31, 2009 at the age of 98, but all the Chinese will remember him forever. His devotion to his country was expressed in his saying, "My career is in China, my success is in China and my destination is in China!" When someone said he could make much more money if he stayed in the United States, he laughed and said," My family name is Qian, but I don't like qian." His spirit encourages us to love our country and devote ourselves to science.