Jim is an American. He is now living(居住) in China. He gets up at about half past six and has breakfast at seven o'clock. After breakfast, he says goodbye to his parents and leaves home at half past seven. He usually goes to school on foot. He gets there at five minutes to eight. He has his first class at eight.

    Morning classes are over at ten past twelve and he has lunch five minutes later, at about a quarter past twelve. After lunch he plays with his friends.

    Afternoon classes begin at half past one. Usually there are two lessons in the afternoon. They finish at half past three. Usually he plays games or other things at school, and he gets home at about a quarter past five. He has supper at six and then does his homework and then watches TV. He goes to bed at about half past ten.

Something unexpected happenedin the summer of my eleventh year. The home I had grown up in burned to the groundin the middle of the night. Thankfully, my mom, dad, grandma, brothers and I escapedalong with my dogs. Yet, we had nothing but the night clothes we were sleeping in.I spent the rest of that night with a friend of my family. I tried unsuccessfullyto sleep in the bed in his house. I was too scared.

    The next day my mom brought me a few T-shirtsand pairs of jeans that another friend gave to her. One pair of them was too shortand the other pair was too long, but I didn't care. At least I had some clothesagain. My dad returned to our broken home to see what he could find. The only thinghe could save was my mom's rings.

    To spend the summery dad rented us a big houseon the same road as our old house had been. As we moved in, our friends and ourcommunity continued todonate (捐赠) all they could to help us to get back on our feet. There were moreclothes, furniture, food money, and even some books for me to read. Love was aroundus.

    Looking back now I am thankful for all we wentthrough that summer because it taught me so much about life, love and people. Itshowed me that when you have nothing left but love, for the first time you see thatlove is enough.

A schoolbag hanging outside is a secret code (暗语) between the driver and students living in a small village in Chongqing.

When the driver sees a schoolbag {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (hang) on the door of an old house, he stops and honks the horn (鸣喇叭) to answer the "code". A boy then {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (come) out and gets on the bus.

The boy's grandmother looks after him {#blank#}3{#/blank#} his parents work far from home. The boy, a {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (nine) grade student, has to go back to school in the city every Sunday. To catch the bus, he and the driver, Cheng Lin, made the special "code". The boy's parents were deeply touched when they {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (hear) the news. They showed their {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (thank) to Mr. Cheng.

There are a large number {#blank#}7{#/blank#} left-behind children on this route. Mr. Cheng pays more attention to Fridays and Sundays which are {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (important) than other days because the children travel back and forth to school on the days.

Many people see Mr. Cheng as {#blank#}9{#/blank#} good driver because of his love and care for his young passengers. But Mr. Cheng thinks it's {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (he) job and he just does what he should do. The schoolbag is their code, packed with love inside.

I'm living in a small village in the countryside. My wife and I run(经营) a cake shop. We live a very peaceful life. Someone might say our simple life is boring. But we love it. We know all the people in the village. I have much time for my hobbies-- gardening, fishing and walking in the countryside. I love the outdoor activities.

 Three years ago, in 2020, I had a really terrible job in a company. I used to work very late in the office from Monday to Thursday. Usually I went home the latest on Thursdays. Luckily I could go home early on Fridays, but I had to bring work home on weekends. Because of the job, I used to smoke and drink too much.

 One day, my wife, a P. E. teacher, decided to leave me. She complained(抱怨) that she seldom saw me. She also said that I had become not humorous but serious since having the job. This made me realize what was really important to me. We talked and decided to start a new and happy life together. Last year,I gave up the job. Of course, I also gave up smoking and drinking and took up new hobbies.

One day, Jack's parents take Jack to watch a music show. Jack feels happy and sad with music, and he knows the power(力量) of music. Then he wants to play music. 

So they go to a store. His father likes the piano, but Jack thinks it is difficult. Mum likes the violin, but Jack doesn't like it. He wants to play the drums. So his dad buys a drum set for him and his mum helps him sign up(报名) for a drum set class. Then he starts learning to play the drums. 

At first, Jack has a lot of problems when he plays the drums. ____ His teacher teaches him patiently and his classmates often help him. He also spends a lot of time practicing it. He knows practice makes perfect. 

Now, Jack does well in class, and he is good at playing the drums. He knows more about the power of music. Jack thinks the drums open the door of exciting life.