At the age of nineteen, Xiliu married Gao Sheng, who had just lost his wife and had a son named Changfu. A year later Xiliu gave birth to a boy Changhu. Before long, Gao Sheng died of illness.

Seeing Changfu didn't often go to school, Xiliu sent him to work with the poor boys as punishment. Changfu could not stand and wanted to return to school. Xiliu refused, and Changfu, like a beggar (乞丐)， huddled(蜷缩) himself up with cold. Xiliu said to Changfu, "If you are ready to take a beating of 100 strokes, I'll take you back." Changfu decided that he would take the beating. Aware of Changfu's regrets for his mistakes, Xiliu did not beat him and asked him to continue his studies.

      Changhu was a slow-minded child, so Xiliu asked him to quit school and work in the fields.

      But Changhu was so lazy that he often ran away from work. Xiliu then asked him to do business, but he used up all his money in gambling(赌博)． At last, Xiliu sent him to Luoyang to sell goods, where he was put into prison for using fake (假的) silver. In prison he suffered a lot. Xiliu told Changfu, "I gave the fake silver to your brother on purpose, intending to make him suffer. Now you go and get him out." Back home, Changhu knelt before his mother and finally gave up bad and returned to good.

    Our new neighbours are the Browns. They have two children, a boy and a girl. The boy is Jack and the girl is Alice. Jack is 11, and he is one year older than me. Alice and my sister Nancy are 8 years old.

    At weekends, Nancy and I like to go to play with Alice and Jack. Both Jack and I really enjoy playing computer games. Sometimes the girls join us, but the games they enjoy are different from the ones we like.

    There is a big park near our houses. Sometimes, when the weather is fine, the four of us go for bike rides there. We often stop at the huge playground to have some fun. Jack and I like to play basketball, but the girls prefer to sing and dance.

    Our families often have dinner together. On some days, they come over to our house and on other days, we go over to theirs. Mr Brown and his wife cook really well.

    Nancy and I are very glad to have the Browns next door. It's great to have friends living so near.

    Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh(1853-1890) killed himself by shooting himself in the chest(胸膛).

    This is what van Gogh himself told his brother, the doctors and the police just before he died.

    However, in a new book Van Gogh: The Life, two Pulitzer (普利策奖) Prize-winning authors, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, argue that van Gogh may have been murdered. They believed that the artist was protecting a 16-year-old boy named Rene Secret, who shot him accidentally.

    Van Gogh's statement that he shot himself was accepted because he had been mentally unstable(精神状况不稳的) for two years. He suffered from psychotic(精神病的) attacks and imagined things that were not really happening. Art critics (评论家) believe that his unstable mental state is shown in his work, describing his style of painting as shaken. Some of his most famous paintings, such as The Starry Night, were produced during this period.

    Van Gogh is among a number of creative minds who suffered from mental health problems. In fact, mental illness is so common among famous creative figures that scientists have studied whether there is link between creativity and insanity(精神错乱). Research began in the 1970s, but the idea that an unstable mind could be linked to creative genius(天才) was already around in ancient Greece.

    Some scientists believe mental illness, in its more manageable state, gives artists creativity. Research has found that doing creative activities can also be therapeutic(有疗效的) for people suffering from mental illness. Painting, writing, or making something can be a positive way for people to express their thoughts.

    Do you know the famous cartoon piglet (小猪) "McDull" ? He is not clever, but he has {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. McDull lives in a simple and happy way. He has a lot of dreams. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}is to visit the Maldives. But his mother doesn't have enough money for the trip there. So she tricks him by {#blank#}3{#/blank#}in Hong Kong. Because in Hong Kong there is a sign and it says "Go to the Maldives". It makes McDull very happy. He thinks he is really in the Maldives!

    McDull's dreams never {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. He tries again, but always fails. Anyway, he doesn't stop. He will get another dream soon. He lives his life in a good way. That's why the piglet is so popular! So, even you are not {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, you should always try your best!