Esperanza lives in a poor Latino(拉丁美洲人) neighborhood in Chicago, .America. She dreams of having her own house one day. Her parents told her that when they moved from their last house, they would have a new' and shiny(亮闪闪的) house. But the house is small and old.

    Many people live in Mango Street in a big old house. Esperanza lives behind it with her family. A lot of the people who have come from Mexico don't speak English. Many miss their home country. Esperanza understands their sadness, but she also feels at home in America. She is an American, but her roots(根) will always be Latino,

    Esperanza is young. Like her friends, she has to grow up fast. She is stuck between being a girl and being a woman. In the poor and dangerous area where she lives, this is difficult for her. Mexican people usually live in a close neighborhood. This means that people live packed(挤塞的) in together. Everyone knows everyone else. So Esperanza knows other older girls that do things she is not comfortable doing. It is just a fact of her life.

    But Esperanza has good friends too. She becomes friends with two sisters named Lucy and Rachel. They ride bikes and have adventures together. Esperanza is also friends with a girl named Alicia. Alicia is afraid of the rats in her apartment. She shares her poems with Esperanza.

    Bob comes out of the station and at once（立刻） he doesn't know where to go. This is the first time he comes to this town. He comes to see his good friend, Peter. Peter is a worker. He works in a factory. But Bob doesn't know where the factory is.

    He walks in the streets. He passes（经过） a hospital, a post office, a bookshop and at last he gets to a school. Some students are coming out. So he asks one of them for help. "Excuse me. Do you know where the watch factory is?"

    "Of course, I know. I live near there. My father works there. It's outside this town." answers the boy.

    "Is it far from here? Can you show me the way, please?" Bob asks again.

    "It's about 8 kilometres away from here. I'm going home now. Will you go with me? I'll take you there."

    "That's great! Thank you very much!"

    "Now let's take a No. 10 bus. It'll take about 15minutes to get there."

    "It's very kind of you." says Bob.

"You can have your pick." a friend of mine called. Her sister's cat had had a group of kittens (小猫) just weeks before. 

I didn't know if I was ready yet, but it appeared she wouldn't easily give up. "I think it would be a1 for you, Shawon. You can't miss it. "

"Okay," I finally said. "How old are the kittens?"

"They were 2 on March 22."

March 22 this year, the day I would never3 . Sue, my wife, passed away on the same day. A series of memories rushed to my mind. 

For nearly ten years, Sue had been fighting cancer (癌症) . Through the whole painful journey, Boomie, our old cat, was there. He joined Sue on the sofa while she had a short sleep, feeling completely4 from the latest treatment. His antics (滑稽的动作) could bring a smile to Sue's face when the pain was at its5 . Sue loved Boomie very much, and it was a love Boomie returned. Boomie even comforted her after she lost her6 .

The cancer had caused Sue to drop a lot of weight. That must have been7 the ring had slipped (滑落) off her finger. I8 the house high and low for the ring, but no9 .

Boomie acted strange after Sue died, refusing to eat. Nobody could help him, even a vet. He couldn't10 without Sue. He had to be put down.

Coming back to earth, I thanked my friend for her kindness and made up my mind to take this chance. 

My new kitten finally11 and I decided to name it Belle Dame-French for "beautiful lady". She kept me entertained and relieved me a lot, bringing the house back to life. 

One morning, I heard some noise coming from the dining room. What was Belle up to now? I went to12 . Sure enough, Belle was on the floor, playing with something shiny. I bent down to pick it up. Only it wasn't a13 it was the missing ring. Sue's ring was found by Belle. I was too surprised to14 that! 

"When I die, I want to come back as a cat," Sue always joked. "And if I could choose, I'd come here!" 15 , there was no better place to be a cat than our house. 

"Maybe a miracle (奇迹) just happened. Sue, my Belle Dame." I thought to myself. 

I have invented robots which improve the work of cars. My love of making things began when I was a kid. I really became 1 about inventing after I learned about Thomas Edison.

In Grade Four, we 2 a project by our teacher in class. We had to write to a company and learn about the products. I chose the Thomas A. Edison Company. Soon after,3 company sent me a book about the life of Thomas Edison. 4 excited I was!I enjoyed reading and re- reading about his inventions. I like the recorded sound and the electric light best.

My dad 5 my interest in inventing and encouraged me. He showed me 6 I could turn my ideas into plans and then into new things. Once, I surprised 7 witha model plane I made. Later, we found a similar model plane 8 a store. I learned that different 9 often invent similar things. I also learned that not all great ideas work. Failure is a common part of the inventing.

My dad is always looking for a better way 10 a simple job. His guiding hands, together with my interest in inventing has led me to become an engineer and inventor. Of course, I also thank Thomas Edison. He is my hero.

 When Mancina was young, he would skateboard during the winter seasons. At the beginning, he knew nothing {#blank#}1{#/blank#} skateboarding and couldn't play it so well. It wasn't until he moved to a different neighbourhood and met a group of {#blank#}2{#/blank#} ( skate) that Mancina began to truly love skating. 

 However, at just thirteen years old, doctors told Mancina that he had an eye problem. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} just a year and a half, he lost vision in his left eye. Mancina stopped skateboarding. After a few years, he picked up the board again and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} ( film) a video of himself skateboarding with the help of a cane(杖). The video {#blank#}5{#/blank#} ( share) online. It made Mancina decide to return to the sport although he is now {#blank#}6{#/blank#} ( complete) blind. 

"Being a blind skater, I have to take my time to feel obstacles(障碍物) and have a good understanding of {#blank#}7{#/blank#} ( it) before I start skating, " said Mancina. "I depend on my white cane the most. I use it to know my environment and to find obstacles while skating. "

Mancina hopes to perform at the Paralympics in 2028. His future plans include breaking his own record and building a skate park. Once it's built, he {#blank#}8{#/blank#} ( introduce) blind kids to the world of skating.