A school was near my home and I often watched the kids from my window when they played basketball. One day, I saw a little girl playing with boys. 1played very well and no one could stop her. Sometimes, I saw her play 2 She often practiced by herself until dark.

    One day I asked her 3 she practiced so much. She said, “I want to go to university. The only way I can go is to get a scholarship（奖学金）. I like to play basketball. If I play well, I can get a scholarship. My Daddy told me that if the 4is big enough and work hard for it, I can be successful.” Then she smiled and ran to go practice. 

    I watched her through junior high and into high school. Every week, she and her school team won in the basketball matches.

    One day, I saw her 5 in the grass. I went over there and sat down beside her. I asked her what was wrong. “Oh, nothing,” she answered, “I am just too short.” The coach told her that she would probably never play for a university team，so she should 6 her dream about university.

    She was sad, but she told me that her father said those coaches were not 7. They did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good university, and wanted a scholarship,8could stop her.

    The next year, when she and her 9went to the Northern California match, a university recruiter（招生官员）noticed her and10 her a full scholarship. Her dream finally came true.

    A man got into a train and found himself sitting beside a woman. She was about thirty-five years old. Soon they began talking to each other. He asked her, "Do you have a family?" "Yes, I have one son," the woman answered. "Oh, really?" said the man. "Does he smoke?" "No." The woman answered. "That's good", man was glad to say. "I don't smoke, either. Smoking is bad for one's body son drink wine?"

    "Oh, no," the woman answered at once. "He has never drunk wine." "Good!" the man said. "And does he ever come home late at night?" "No, never," "his neighbour answered. "He goes to bed after dinner every nigh." "Well," the man said. "He's a good young man. How old is he?"

    "He's a good young man He is six months old today," the woman answered with a smile.

Chinese calligraphy is an important part of traditional Chinese culture. Calligraphy started in China and spread to other parts of Asia with Chinese culture. It has a history of 4,000 to 5,000 years. Calligraphy is the art of writing Chinese characters (汉字) and rules of writing with a brush. When you practice calligraphy, it is important to pay attention to the changes of the strokes (笔画) and the spaces between characters. 

There are many famous calligraphers in history, such as Wang Xizhi and Yan Zhenqing. Different calligraphy works can show different calligraphers' feelings and personalities. Today, they can be seen on the walls of offices, shops, hotels and many other places. 

"If I live in China, I will become a calligrapher rather than a painter for sure," the world-famous master of art, Picasso said. He fell in love with Chinese calligraphy as soon as he saw Zhang Daqian's works. 

The tool for practicing calligraphy is calligraphy brushes. They are usually made from the hair of different animals. Practicing calligraphy takes a lot of time and many people take lessons to learn it. During the lessons, they can learn how to write different strokes of Chinese characters. If you're interested in it, you may start practicing with a teacher right away. 

Calligraphy, an amazing traditional art form, shows the love that all Chinese people have for culture and beauty. Chinese people of all ages practice calligraphy often, not to be a calligrapher, but to enjoy the peaceful mind.

The Earth is a wonderful place. There are many things on it like mountains, fields and rivers. However, today there 1 a lot of pollution on Earth.

Air pollution is dirty air 2 cars and factories. This is very dangerous to people and animals. It can hurt 3 lungs (肺).Land pollution is very bad for plants and animals, 4 . Plants need good soil to grow. We should keep the land 5 . 

Water pollution is harmful (有害的) to fish and sea animals. They 6 eat rubbish and die. 7 animals can be healthy in dirty water. Noise is also a kind of pollution, 8 noisy sounds make people tired and sick.

The Earth is our home, and it's important 9 it. Let's do our best and stop 10 the Earth! 

Qingqiang Opera is a traditional Chinese opera in Shan'xi Province. Hou Hongqin is a Qinqiang Opera actor. Hou is famous for her sweet1 because her singing is special and great. She enjoyed practising it，although it was2 . She is especially thankful that she can learn from Xiao Yuling，the famous Qinqiang Opera actor. So Hou often feels she is3 . 

Hou became the head of an opera group in 2005. It was hard because she knew nothing about leading a group，but she decided to4 the challenge （挑战）. "I will use all of my experiences to5 Qinqiang Opera. Being an actor is not enough. Young people should know it and try to learn it. I will do my best to6 the opera to let more young people learn about it，" Hou says. 

Hou has a7 with lots of clothes. "If I am asked to give a show，I can take the bag and leave8 . I want to give more shows to let more people know about it. " Hou says. Most Qinqiang actors begin learning at 11 or 12，and they know nothing except Qinqiang，so it is almost not9 for them to change their job，" says Hou. 

"We must give young actors more care and10 . Now young actors are able to take part in more shows. "