Have you heard about "Survival(生存) Holidays"? "Survival Holidays" is for children to go into the lonely place for exciting activities. Now about 1,100 companies are allowed to take children into the great outdoors without their parents.

    The reason why people like "Survival Holidays" is that they think being close to nature is good for children. Many children in big cities spend all time watching TV and playing computer games. "Survival Holidays" gives them an important change.

    Is "Survival Holidays" a wonderful idea? Maybe it is. Children need more free time to play. They need to be left on their own, without adults disturbing(打扰) them. Parents care too much about their children. They like to see the children being busy with activities that are controlled by adults, but children don't know what to do when they are in danger. Even something like crossing a small river seems to be a hard challenge. Children are not comfortable with danger. Even small danger like getting their feet wet or falling down seems very terrible to them.

    Many people think the survival activities are good for children. Even years later, they will still remember what they have learned. Some have learned to stay calm in different times. Some have learned how to keep safe. Others have learned how to work in a team. All these skills will help them a lot in their lives.

    Whenever there's a terrible storm, there are plenty of sad stories. Many people lost their houses, their cars and their pets. But sometimes these stories have happy endings too.

    A family in New Jersey, US, had a cat named Vivien. She is very smart. She could even draw with her wet paws on the floor. They all love her very much. When hurricane (飓风) Sandy hit America in October, they moved to a safer place-13km away from home. Sadly Vivien went missing. The whole family were worried about her. They put up posters on the Internet to look for her. All the nine family members searched wherever they thought she could stay, but they didn't find it. The family thought Vivien was gone forever.

    But six months later, Vivien showed up at their house, according to Yahoo News. They considered her return as a wonder. No one can be sure where Vivien was for all that time.

    Many animals are good at finding their way home. People usually say that dogs and cats find their way home through using their sense of smell.

    But that doesn't explain how Vivien found her way back. Hurricane Sandy blew away the normal smells of home.

    "I wish she could talk," said her owner.

DISCUSSION

    John likes chocolates(巧克力) very much, but his mother doesn't give him. They're bad for his teeth(牙齿), she thinks. But John has a very nice grandfather. The old man loves his grandson very much and sometimes he buys John some chocolates. Then his mother lets him eat them, because she wants to make the old man happy.

    On Sunday evening, it is John's seventh birthday. He says,” Please, God, make them give me a big box of chocolates for my birthday.” His mother says,” God can't hear you. Don't shout(喊叫).” “I know,” says the clever boy with a smile. “But grandfather is in the next room, and he can.”

    Last year my parents and I lived in an old house in the forest for a long time. No other kids stayed there. I didn't even have the choice of playing with a brother or a sister. I didn't know why my parents lived in the old house. My aunt lived with us. She was a cook, but I thought the food she cooked was awful.

    One day, when I was walking around the garden behind the house. I noticed a wooden house that was abandoned(被抛弃的). As I walked towards it, I heard a noise. Then I saw a man with a long beard(胡须)standing at the door. I was surprised.

    "Please don't tell them you saw me," he said, "They never use this place, and there's nowhere else for me to live." "Don't worry." I said. "I won't tell anyone. But do you have enough food to eat?" The old man shook his head.

    In the evening, I went into the kitchen and got some food. I got out of the back door and gave the food to the old man. I never saw anything else as lovely as the smile of satisfaction on this old man's face when he ate the food. From then on, I enjoyed every minute of the rest of my stay.

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

    It was coming up on Marty's birthday. His mom had asked him what he wanted as a gift this year. He thought maybe a new bicycle, or maybe a new camera, a new basketball, or a telescope (望远镜)."Any of those gifts would be great," he said. Secretly, he hoped for the telescope. Marty loved space, stars, and learning about the planets.

    Marty's mom and dad talked about the gifts one night after Marty went to sleep." I think we should get Marty the telescope," said dad." He's so interested in space and the planets, he would like that the best." "Sounds good," said mom. Dad told her he would pick out a telescope for Marty the next day after work.

    Marty's dad had the telescope in his car. He waited until Marty was asleep and brought it into the house. "Wow!" said Marty's mom after dad put it together. "This is wonderful." " Now where are we going to hide it until Sunday？" "How about in the attic(阁楼)?" "Marty won't find it there."

    Sunday morning came and Marty ran down the stairs into the kitchen. His gift was usually near his chair at the table, but this year he didn't see anything. "Happy Birthday!" shouted mom and dad from the next room. They came into the kitchen and saw Marty was looking around for a gift. "I guess you think we forgot to get you a gift," said mom. Marty looked confused. "Well, you usually put my gift in the kitchen," Marty said. Dad told Marty to follow him outside the house in the yard. "This is fantastic!" shouted Marty. "I don't take many pictures, and I probably wouldn't use the basketball much, and my bike is okay for now. But I will use the telescope! Thanks so much." "You're welcome," said mom and dad. All that night, Marty saw many beautiful stars and even the planet Mars. Marty would remember his tenth birthday for the rest of his life!