A     

    There was a beautiful garden. Every year the king would go to the garden to decide(决定) which flower was the most beautiful one. 

    For the last few years, the rose was always Number One. Because of this, the rose Gulaab became arrogant. It would never let birds stay on its flower. Then all the birds started staying away from Gulaab.

    Behind Gulaab, there was a little yellow flower. People called it Junglee. Junglee wasn't more beautiful than the rose, but it welcomed the birds to stay on its flower. All the birds in the garden liked it.

    This year the king went to the garden as before. The gardener(园丁) pointed at the rose and said to the king, “Your favorite flower, my king.”

    Of course, the king also saw the yellow flower behind it and asked, “What flower is that?”

    “Oh! That's Junglee, a wild flower.”

    “I didn't see a flower like it before. There are so many birds on it. I think it's much more beautiful than the rose. It will be the King Flower of this year!” said the king.

    Manu，an eight﹣year﹣old boy，was sleeping comfortably in his bedroom．After a weekend break from his school，Manu failed to get up on time on Monday morning again．

    "Manu，wake up．It's time for you to go to school，"shouted out Manu's mother，

    Akhila，from the kitchen．Manu pulled the blanket over him and pretended he didn't hear his mother's repeated shouting．"Manu! Please wake up!It's already 6：30and your school bus will be here in ten minutes．Wake up and get ready．"

    After much yelling，Manu finally got up lazily when the school bus stopped in front of the house．Akhila had to ask the driver to wait for a few minutes．She quickly helped Manu get ready and helped him get on his school bus．

    "Phew!Manu didn't miss his bus today．Akhila sighed and thought to herself．"What should I do with this boy？Manu neither wakes up on time nor completes any of his daily tasks at the right time．It's time to teach him a lesson．"

    The next morning，Akhila was in the kitchen as usual．Everything seemed normal in the house except for the  unexpected silence．

    Manu finally woke up at around 9o'clock．He looked at the clock and ran to the kitchen，crying out，"Mamma!Why didn't you wake me up？I am really late for school．"He couldn't stop crying．"I have a maths test today and Madam Mangat will punish me if I miss her class and the test!"Madam Mangat was the strictest teacher in Manu's school．The fear of missing her class made Manu cry even louder．"Mamma，what should I do now？Please help．I promise I will wake up every day on time．"

    Akhila could no longer see her son crying and said，"Just promise me one more thing that you will do your daily task on time without pestering you to do it．

    "Sure Mamma!I promise!

    Akhila said in a loving voice．"I have already got permission from your math teacher and she has allowed Myou to take up the test today．"

    Manu hugged his mother．"Mamma!Thank you．"He quickly got himself ready for school without any help from Akhila．

    On the way to the school，there was silence in the car but a smile on Akhila's face．

    "It looks so good on you," said my friend. I was trying on a bathing suit. Then the topic of conversation turned to going on a diet(节食).

    I wanted to become pretty and thin. So I decided to stick to the diet. I didn't eat my lunch. Some people asked me where my lunch was. I lied to them and made up excuses.

    I did the same with breakfast. I tricked(欺骗) my dad into thinking that I ate my bread, but I fed it to the cat. My weight dropped fast, but when I looked at myself in the mirror, I still thought I was not thin enough.

    Finally, dark circles formed under my eyes. I wore thick clothing in hot weather, but I was still cold. That didn't matter. I still needed to be thinner.

    About a month after I bought the bathing suit, I tried it on again, and it fell right off me. My mother told me to look in the mirror. I could see my eye sockets(眼窝). That was the day I realized how skinny I was.

    I went to see a doctor. My total weight loss was about twenty-five pounds in one month. It took one year for my body to start working normally again.

    Sometimes I want to go back to being thin, but I will never do what I did again. It's not worth it. Please don't go on a diet when you're young. You will regret it. Don't judge and compare yourself with others. Try to love yourself for who you are, not for what you look like.

    Miss Evans was going to give a speech on Friday afternoon. But on Thursday night she was told that she had to go to an important meeting the next day at the same time. "No one can be in two places at the same time. What should I do?" She thought. But soon, she had an idea.

    At five to three on Friday afternoon, Miss Evans went to the lecture room. There were twenty students waiting for her. "I'm sorry," she said, "I won't be able to give my speech today." The students looked surprised. Miss Evans explained that she had an important meeting. "However," she went on, "though I can't be with you myself, my voice can." Then she put a small recorder on the desk," You see, I've recorded my speech and you can listen to it without me." Miss Evans turned on the recorded and left.

    The meeting ended a little early. Miss Evans decided to go back to her students. She stood for a moment outside the room, listening to her own voice. Then she opened the door. To her surprise, the room was empty. As she looked around, she saw a number of small recorders "listening" to her speech!

    "Well." she thought, "If I can be in two places at the same time, why can't they?"