Roald Dahl was born in 1916 in Wales, Britain. His father was rich but he died when Roald was very young. Roald and his mother lived a hard life. He had to leave school and went to Africa where he worked for an oil company.

    In 1939 Roald became a pilot, but he had a bad accident. It made him limp(瘸的) for the rest of his life. After this, Roald went to America where he wrote a story about his experience as a pilot. It was so good that it was put in a magazine.

Roald married an American film star. They bought a house in England and had five children. From 1960 to 1965,    ▲   : Theo, one of his children, was hit by a taxi and was seriously hurt. Olivia, one of Roald's daughters, died of a strange illness. Soon after this, his wife also had a serious illness. It took her years to get completely better.

 Gradually Roald became more and more successful. He always did his writing in an old shed(棚) at the back of his house. He always sat in the same old armchair with a wooden board on his lap.

 “One of the nice things about being a writer,” he once said, “is that all you need is what you've got in your head and a pencil and a bit of paper.”

       In 1983 Roald wona big prize for his book The BFG. During his life, Roald wrote many famous books, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Fantastic Mr. Fox

       After he died in 1990, Roald left money to help people with serious illnesses and those with problems with reading and writing.           

    Once upon a time, there was an owl(猫头鹰) in the middle of a dark forest. All the animals knew that he was the wisest among 1 of them. So they often went to him and told him their problems. Then the owl always told them 2 to solve their problems.

    One day, a little bird came to the owl. She was 3.

  “What's wrong with you?” asked the owl.

  “I'm not happy at all, Mr. Owl. I don't want to be a bird any more.” the bird 4.

  “Why don't you want to be a(n) 5?” asked the owl.

  “Because I am so small and weak,” she cried. “I want to be as big and strong as the lion. He is important, but I am not. ”

    Then the owl said 6 in her ear. Then the bird dried her tears and 7 away. One week later, the bird came back. “Thank you very much, Mr. Owl. You are so 8,”she said to the owl. “I'm very happy now. Every day, I watch out for （监视）lions and tigers.  9 they come near, I shout as loudly as I can. Then they all run and hide. They often 10 me for that. I am useful and important now. ”

    The wise owl smiled and said: “Dear, no one in the world is useless.”

    I used to think that life in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, was filled with never-changing styles. I hated that everyone seemed to know everything about everyone else. Everyone seemed to enjoy talking about other people and their lives. I also didn't like the fact that people seemed very close-minded. I felt trapped. I felt like I was missing . It seemed to me that city life would be the opposite.

    Then I took my first trip to New York City. I couldn't wait to experience the city. However, when I arrived in the Big Apple, it wasn't at all what I had imagined. I knew it was home to thousands of people, but I hadn't had the least expectation to see so many people on the street at one time. All the streets were filled with people. I also felt a little surprised to see that everyone was in a hurry and everything moved at such a fast pace(步伐). When I took the subway for the first time, I said hello to the middle-aged woman next to me. She looked at me with dislike and didn't say a word.

    After just one day, I realized how important my small town is to me. Now I miss the familiar faces I see every day. I like the feeling of safety and belonging my town offers. Jim Thorpe gives me a sense of community and togetherness that the city doesn't provide. I realize just how much a simple hello does for a stranger — it really can make your day a little better.

    My big trip showed me that my small town really has its own values in me that I didn't even know I had. I never would have known what a big place my town holds in my heart if I had not taken that trip to New York City.

    My name is Sam . I joined a club called“ passing help ” last month . Now let me tell you why I joined it.

    One evening this May, on my way home my old car was broken . It was 25 miles from my home . I wanted to get a ride, but there was no car . It was also hard to take a taxi . I decided to take a bus home .I went to a bus stop nearby .

    After a while , a bus came , but it did not go to my town .The bus driver was a young woman . She was kind and she told me which bus I should take . I waited there for about thirty minutes , but no bus came . At last a car came to me and a woman came out of the car .She was just the bus driver.

    “When I reached the bus station , I got to know that the bus to your town couldn't come ,so I returned here.I just can't leave you here ,” she said , “ Get in my car and I will take you back to your home .”

    “ It is a long way .”I said.

    “ Come on ,sir, ”she said ,“ Let's go.”

    On the way she told me a story . A few days ago, there wasn't gas(汽油）in her car . An old man drove her up to a gas station and then back to her car.

    When we got to my home , I wanted to give her some money to thank her , but she didn't accept it . “ I only want to help others and do something nice for somebody. Pass it along. ” She said.

    John is a very strong man. He gets a job cutting trees. His boss gives him an axe. The first day, John cuts down eighteen trees. “Good!” the boss says. Happily, John tries harder the next day, but he only cuts down fifteen trees. The third day he even tried harder, but can only cut down ten trees. Day after day, he cuts down fewer trees.

    “ I must be losing my strength ( 力气 ),” John thinks. He goes to the boss to say sorry and says that he does not know what is going on.” “When is the last time you sharpen ( 使锋利 ) your axe?” the boss asks. “I'm busy cutting trees, so I have no time to do it.”

    When John is working hard, he doesn't work “smart”. He doesn't think about the best way to do this job.

    It's Sunday today. The weather(天气) is fine. Tom doesn't need to go to school. He takes the No. 24 bus to Wanda Cinema(电影院). An old man gets on the bus at the Xihu Park Stop. Tom stands up and says to the old man, "Come and sit here, please!" The old man goes over and sits down. He says, "Thank you very much, my boy. You are a good student." "You're welcome." says Tom.

    "Which school are you in?" the old man asks Tom.

    "I am in No. 16 Middle School." answers Tom.

    "No. 16 Middle School? I graduated(毕业) from this school 50 years ago(以前)." says the old man.

    "We are alumni." says Tom. Then they begin to talk about No. 16 Middle School.