Life is not easy, so I'd like to say “When anything happens, believe in yourself.”

    When I was a young boy, I was too shy to talk to anyone.My classmates often laughed at me.I was sad but could do nothing.Later, something happened, and it changed my life.It was an English speech contest.My mother asked me to take part in.What a terrible idea! It meant I had to speak before all the teachers and students of my school!

    “Come on, boy.Believe in yourself.You are sure to win.” Then my mother and I talked about many difficult topics.At last I chose the topic “Believe in yourself”.I tried my best to remember all the speech and practiced it over 100 times.With my mother's great love and encouragement(鼓励), I did well in the contest.I could hardly believe my ears when the news came that I had won the first place.I heard the cheers from the teachers and students.Those classmates who once looked down on (瞧不起) me now all said “Congratulations!” to me.My mother hugged me and cried excitedly.

    Since then, everything has changed for me.When I do anything, I try to tell myself to be confident and I will do a great job.This is true not only for a person but also for a country.

根据短文内容，回答下列问题。

SIMPLE WAYS TO HAPPINESS

    Have you been feeling like true happiness is impossible to obtain? Whatever difficult you are facing at this very moment will surly pass. Happiness is right before our eyes. Here are simple ways to seek out happiness in your everyday lives.

GET OUTSIDE

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Sit for a while and pay close attention to your surroundings; I'm sure you'll soon be reminded of the beauty of life.

FIND YOUR INTERESTS

    Whether it's writing, drawing, playing sports, or learning to play an instrument, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

WAKE UP EARLY

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} The earlier you wake up, the more you get done.

GET A GOOD NIGHT REST

    This is truly necessary to your health. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}if not more. If you find yourself sleeping less, make an effort to turn off all electronics an hour before bed so you have some time to relax.

MAKE IT A GOAL TO MAKE SOMEONE SMILE EVERY DAY

It doesn't have to be something very expensive. It truly is the little things that mean the most in life—- such as smiling at a passerby, complimenting someone on her clothes. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Reading is a good hobby for all kinds of reason.

    First, reading is fun. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. You will never feel bored or tired.

    Next, you can read a book anywhere—in a car, on a plane, or even in the bathroom.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. It is so easy to get a book.

    Another good reason for reading is that it is useful. If you read as a hobby, you will get better and better at it. And you will read faster and find it easier to understand what you read. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, you will probably find your schoolwork becomes much better.

    Some people say that reading is not in fashion. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. You can read on the Internet. The more you read, the more knowledge you will get. Good readers may become writers, too.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    Reading is a wonderful hobby. Why not start reading right now?

A different kind of alarm clock

    When Matty Sallin, 24, was studying art and technology at New York University, he got an interesting task for the final exam：Create something for the ordinary family. He decided to create an alarm clock.

    "To get up in time, many people have to use an alarm clock every morning. But the sound of the clock is extremely noisy and unpleasant." he says. So before he started to design the new clock, he asked different people what they'd like to wake up to in the morning. A lot of them said, "The smell of bacon(培根)."

    So Sallin and his two classmates invented a new kind of alarm clock: a wooden box with a pig face and a digital clock that uses the smell of cooking bacon to wake people up. He explains, "There's no danger of burning, because I built it carefully, It uses special light bulbs(灯泡) instead of a fire for cooking and turns off automatically after ten minutes. "Just a few easy steps are required to set the "alarm".

    "What you do is to put a few pieces of bacon meat inside the box the night before, then you set the alarm," says Sallin. "If you set the alarm for 8：00, it will turn on at 7:50 and slow cook for ten minutes under the bulbs. Then the bulbs turn off and a fan blows the smell out through the nose of the pig."

    "So the pleasant smell of bacon will wake you up. There will be no more noisy alarms," says Sallin. "Then you can open the door on the side and pull the bacon out and eat it."

    When Sallin was a kid, he spent a lot of time making drawings of inventions. "I wanted to make a lift in my back yard and a special tree house," he says. "But I never really thought I'd become an inventor！"

    Sallin got an A for his alarm clock and went on to invent other things-but people continue to email him every day asking where they can buy his alarm clack. If he decides to produce and sell his special alarm clock, maybe he can build a successful business out of it.

    I'm Sara. I'm a middle school student. At school, we have nine subjects — math, English, Chinese, science, geography, history, art, P.E. and music. My mother is a Chinese teacher and she says Chinese is beautiful and important (重要的). I like Chinese. I always read Chinese books before I go to bed. I also like history. It is my favorite subject. Mr. Brown is great fun. In his history class, I can learn many interesting stories.

    Mr. Green is my math teacher. He says math is useful and interesting, but I think it is boring. My science teacher, Mrs. Smith, is nice. I listen to (听) her carefully (认真的) in class. But I can't do well in the science exam(考试). I don't know why. Although it's difficult for me, I will try my best to solve it step by step.

    We always have art, P.E. or music in the afternoon. For me, the classes in the afternoon are fun and relaxing. In P.E. class, I like to play ping-pong with my P.E. teacher Mrs. Miller. She plays very well.