When I was little, my mother began selling flowers in Camden Market. She couldn't1me at home on my own, 2I had to go to the market with her.

    3, I didn't have to do anything. I just sat there, and my mother told me jokes and stories so I didn't get 4.When I got older, I gave my mother a hand and I really enjoyed it.

    Then one year, my grandma gave me a book for Christmas. It was all about making candles and I loved it. I was 14, and I didn't have to go to the market5because my mother could leave me at home on my own. I6my free time making candles of all shapes and sizes. I made7them.

    One day, my mother was ill, so I had to go to the market on my own. I decided to8some candles with me and see9I could sell them. They10in 20 minutes! The next week, my mother gave me some money to buy some wax (蜡) to make more candles. They were sold out really quickly, too.

    Ten months later, we decided11flowers. My mother and I couldn't make enough candles during the week, so some of my friends started to help us. I paid them one pound12every candle, and we 13sell them for three or four times. It was fun and my friends worked with me in the market.

    At the age of 22, my uncle14me some money and I opened my first shop in Portobello Road. Since then, I've15looked back, even in difficulties. In the first store, we only sold candles, but now we sell everything from the designer, furniture to paintings. Oh, and candles, of course.

    Jennie sat at her window as usual， looking out upon the street， with a look of sadness on her face， “what a long day this is going to be!”

    Then she saw a little boy running down the street， swinging his schoolbag. Looking up to the window， he took off 1 hat and bowed with a bright， pleasant smile.

    “What a nice 2 ， ” said Jennie to herself， as the boy ran out of sight. “It seems like having the sunshine. I wish everybody who goes by would look up 3 smile.

    George， the little boy， told his mother about that 4 girl when he got back home， “she looks so helpless. I wish I could do something for her.”

    “Why not give her some 5?”said his mother. George agreed.

    The next morning， as Jennie 6 at the window again， she saw George with a handful of beautiful flowers carefully picking his way across the street. He stopped in front of her window， smiling pleasantly， and said， “can I come in?” Jennie told him 7 to get into the house. Opening the door to Jennie's gentle “come in”， George said， “I've brought you some flowers.”

    “Are they for me?”said Jennie 8. “How kind you are，” she continued， as George put the flowers on her lap. I've 9 received any flower since we moved to the town.”“Did you live in the countryside?”asked George， 10 the old， small and empty room.“Yes，” said Jennie.

    Jennie used to have a happy family and live in a beautiful house in the countryside. However， she lost her right leg in an accident. She 11 walk like other people any longer. Later， her father died， and her mother was sick 12 so many years that their money was all gone. They sold the house， and moved here to get work to do.

    George told his parents 13. They decided to help her. More and more people in the 14 gave Jennie friendly smiles when they passed by her house. She was greatly cheered up. A few months later， Jennie and her mother 15 a flower shop. People could always see Jennie sitting in the shop， having a lovely smile on face.

    My stutter(口吃) had always been much of a problem. I'd had so many specialists(专家) for my speech over the years. It hurt me until I met a new one in the hall.

    "Hello! I'm Mrs. Claussen. I hear you're from Texas!"

    "Ye-Ye-Ye-Yes m-m-m-m-m-m-aam I am..."My heart felt like it was pounding (剧烈跳动)through my chest and my hands were dripping wet.

    "Well," she said with a 1smile. "I've always like Texas."

    She turned out to be the best speech specialist I've ever had, not like 2who told me to clap my hands while speaking. She was different from others. She spent the first several weeks just talking to me — asking me all kinds of questions about myself, 3my feelings. And she listened. She then began to teach me about the speech. Not just about my speech, but about everybody's.

    I 4in my old school and was a pretty good tenor(男高音), but I learned that the new school's singing group was all 5. It was such bad news, for I thought that was the one thing I could really do well- and I could do it .However, Mrs. Claussen finally got me in the group. I felt like she really cared about me as a person, not just a 6student.

    During the next two years, my speech didn't get much better - except with her. When I was in college(大学), things got worse. I once even wanted to know 7I would ever be able to communicate! It was a very sad time, and I often felt alone. When I was feeling really sorry for myself, I remembered Mrs. Claussen had told me whether I could change my speech was all up to me. She had told me to fight for perfect speech, just 8speech. She was right about that. I finally improved my speech greatly.

    Many years have passed, but I think of her from time to time, wondering (想知道)if she had as much 9on her other students as she had on me. I like to think that she did. Her name was Mrs. Claussen... and she 10me. I'll never forget her.

A better town for teenagers

    I believe there are many things that we can do to make life in our town a lot better for teenagers.

    First of all, I think more bike lanes should{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(build). A lot of teenagers in my town ride bikes everywhere, but it's very{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(danger) because there is a lot of traffic. If there are more bike lanes in the future, it will be much {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(safe) for us.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(two), I believe that we need more places for teenagers to go to.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}my opinion, teenagers won't cause problems in the street if there are more places for us to go to. So we need more{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(club) and other places where we can meet.

    Thirdly, teenagers here need more sports facilities. There{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(be) places to play ball games so far like tennis and basketball, but what about other sports,{#blank#}8{#/blank#}skating and rollerblading?

    Finally, I'm sure we'll make the town better{#blank#}9{#/blank#}we don't drop litter. If we all do something{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(help) now, our town will be much better for everyone in the future.

Rock climbing（攀岩） did not become a sport until late in the 1900s. But now it has become a popular outdoor activity. While rock climbing may still be necessary for mountain climbing，most people just climb low mountains for fun. 

If you have ever done rock climbing，you will know that it is not a very easy sport. Indoor and outdoor rock climbing both need practice. What most people don't know is that rock climbing is one of the sports that depend on your body and mind（意志）. 

To climb successfully，one must use wonderful skills. One of the important rules is to always have three parts of your body on the rock face. Another important rule is that your arms only hold you close to the rock face while your legs are pushing you up，the closer you are to the rock face，the easier it is to climb. 

Rock climbing is a wonderful sport. Once you start to learn how to climb，you'll find more fun. People who like games such as chess playing or problem—solving may love rock climbing，because they are nearly the same in the way of thinking. For anyone who wants to get into beautiful shape，rock climbing is a fun and good way. Anyone who enjoys a difficult game and loves the outdoors should think of taking rock climbing as a new hobby.