Once a rich woman invited Martin Brown, a famous singer to sing for her friends. But she 1 him to have dinner with them. She told him to eat 2 the servants(仆人).

After the meal Martin stood up and said to the servants, "Now, my good friends, I 3 for you." He sang several songs and the servants 4 quite pleased.

Then the rich woman asked 5 to come to the sitting-room. "We are waiting for your songs. 6 you ready?" the woman asked.

"I am 7," Martin said. "I have sung already(已经). I usually sing 8 in one evening, and I can't sing 9."

And with a polite(礼貌) "10", he left the rich woman's house.

Cell Phone Madness

    When I opened the box at my 12th birthday party, I couldn't believe my eyes. I had really got a cell phone!

    As soon as I got to my school the next morning, I showed off my phone and asked everyone for their number. It felt like I didn't even exist in that class anymore. I wouldn't pay much attention to the teachers because I was too busy on my phone. Luckily I didn't get caught using it. I was pretty sure that the teacher did notice that I stopped paying attention to her because a week later we took a test and I got Grade D for the first time. To make matters worse, my mom had to sign the test. It was hard to show my mom the paper. She never expected “D” on my tests. Well, finally, I showed her and she couldn't believe it. She was angry but most of all, she was disappointed(失望的).

    Weeks passed and my parents started to dislike the fact that I had a phone. They would say, “We have noticed that you never pay attention to us. It's like you have your own little world now and we don't communicate as much with your phone.” I acted like they were wrong, but then I started to wonder if it was true that I was spending too much time on the phone.

    A week later I tried going a whole day without a cell phone and it didn't go that badly. I had so much fun because I was actually spending time with my family and paying attention to them. From that day, I had a different point of view towards cell phones.

    Phones really take you away from the rest of the world．I'm not saying that phones are bad and not to use them, but you do have to spare some time to spend with your family and not get stuck with your phone all day. My phone took away time from my homework and from my family. It also affected my grades.

    I will keep using my phone, but I will have it under better control.

Two fishermen once had an argument over some juicy oysters (蚝) they had found in the sea. Each man believed that he should 1 them. After a long argument, they both 2 to ask the wise old man's advice to decide who should own the oysters.

Then they went to the old man's house and explained their 3 . The old man asked the first man why he thought the oysters were his.

"Well," replied the man, "We used my 4 to get to the place where the oyster bed was, so the oysters should be mine."

"And you?" asked the old man looking at the second man.

"I should keep all the oysters because I must keep safe among the rocks and 5 the oysters from the ocean bed. I put my life in 6 for them."

When they finished, the old man thought 7 for a moment. "I have made a decision," he said. He divided the oysters into three parts. One for himself, the rest for the two fishermen. The two fishermen were 8 and shouted, "That's not fair!"

The man said, "I help you 9 the problem, so I should get part of the oysters. If you had 10 the oysters before, both of you would have got more."

难度系数：★★★

For better research and protection, elephants in the reserve (保护区) should wear GPS collars (项圈). Last June, it was Rommel's turn to wear a collar. He was a huge and bad-tempered elephant, weighing about six tons. One morning, searching around the reserve, we found Rommel playing by the river. A tranquillizer (镇静剂) was carefully shot into his bottom so that we could safely place a collar on him. Normally it takes seven minutes for the drug to act, but for Rommel's size it could take longer. 

He was crossing the river when the drug did work. Slowly, he fell down into the water. This could lead to a disaster- Rommel's death, because his trunk would be submerged (淹没) in the river.     ★     . Only by doing this could we ensure his survival. The problem was that the river was deep and filled with crocodiles (鳄鱼). 

In a flash, I decided to act. I jumped in and lifted his heavy trunk above the water. The water level reached my neck. 

I stayed there for at least 10 minutes as the team tried to fit him with the collar. It was rather hard to keep my cool as my arms became exhausted. Small fish swam past my legs. Each time, fear hit: was it a crocodile? There was also another risk that other elephants might come and cause trouble. 

As soon as his ears started to flap—a sign of consciousness (意识) returning—I dropped his trunk and moved to safety. Then he completely awoke and crossed the river. What a wonderful moment, for both him and me! 

Mike is a 14-year-old boy. He comes from England, but he lives in Beijing with his1 . His father is a doctor and his mother is a teacher. 

Before Mike came to China, he knew 2 about Beijing Opera. Like most young people, Mike only liked pop music. When he first listened to Beijing Opera, he didn't like it and thought it was too slow and 3 . 

One week later after that, Mike started studying in a middle school in Beijing. He had 4 lessons once a week. He started to 5 Beijing Opera in music class. His school asked some great Beijing Opera singers to teach them. At first, Mike couldn't 6 it well but it sounded more interesting than before, and he became interested in it. Now Mike loves Beijing Opera very much. He often 7 advice(建议) about how to learn Beijing Opera. With the help of the teacher, he is good at singing Beijing Opera. He always looks forward to （期待）taking music class. He often 8 singing it in his free time. 

"I really love Beijing Opera and I want to be a(n) 9 when I grow up, " Mike said. "I hope more and more people can understand and love it. I will try 10 and never give up!"

Maybe one day we will see a foreign young man standing on the stage (舞台) as a great Beijing Opera singer.