There was a time when New York City buildings were almost all the same height.

3.Today you can see buildings of different heights that seem to touch the sky. They are called skyscrapers(摩天大楼). They shape the famous New York City skyline.

 It started about 90 years ago. It began like a race. This wasn't a race down the street or around a track(跑道). It was a race for the sky. Who was racing? Buildings were.Their builders were actually racing to build the world's tallest skyscraper.

 The race started slowly.

 First came the Woolworth Building, in 1913. It rose 792 feet(英尺) on the southern side of the city. Then the race heated up.In1930, two skyscrapers were nearing completion. The Bank of Manhattan Building was finished first. It rose up to 927 feet into the sky. Builders were then putting a round roof（屋顶）on the top of the Chrysler Building. It rose up t0 925 feet. The Bank of Manhattan, two feet taller, seemed to be the winner.

 A few weeks later, New Yorkers saw a strange sight（景象）.  The day that the Chrysler Building was to be completed, workers raised a shiny metal, spire（尖顶）through the top of the building, adding 121 feet to the building's height! At l,048 feet,the Chrysler Building was now the world's tallest.

 But the race was not over.  A year later, in 1931, the Empire State Building became the new winner.4.At l,250 feet, it was the world's tallest building.

 In 1973, even that record was broken. Builders finished the World Trade Center. At 1,368 feet high, it rose above all other buildings in New York City.

 Time goes on. As technology improves, taller buildings are being built. The race is still on.

    You may think that inventions are far away from your everyday life. But in fact, almost everyone can invent. It's just that they do not realize that their idea could be the start of an invention. Once inventors see their ideas have some practical value, they don't let them run away.

    For example, the inventors of the dishwasher, American Josephine Cochrane, loved to give dinner parties. But she found it took too long to wash her dishes by hand. She decided that a machine could do the job faster. So, in 1886, she began to make one for herself.

    Here are the steps to create inventions. The first and most important step is to find the problem. Start by looking at what is wrong with things you see now and ask people around if they remember ever saying, “I wish someone would invent something for...” Then you might notice situations(情况) or things in need of improvement. The next step is to think about possible solutions. An invention is a new way of solving a problem. So think of many and unusual ways. You can often come up with a solution to a problem by looking at it from a different side.

    The hardest part of inventing is coming up with a problem and finding a solution. Once you have an idea, you can always get help building your invention. This problem-solving technique can also work in your everyday lives. So, why not try it in your studies, in your relationship with others, or even in the way you look at the world?

    To be healthy and happy is important for each of us. Do you want to improve(改善)your health and feel better? Here are some ways.

    Eat whole foods. Eat some healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and a little meat. If you have a healthy eating habit, you'll be happier.

    Exercise. Take up a sport you really like. If you want to keep healthy, try to exercise for 30 minutes a day, twice or three times a week．

    Get enough sleep. It is best to get eight hours' sleep a day. A cup of milk before sleeping may help you get a good sleep.

    Keep yourself busy. This is good because it stops you from having bad habits. To keep yourself busy, you can walk around the house, spend time with your pets, do a sport, or do a hobby you enjoy.

    Spend time with your friends. Spend time and have fun with them. Talk with them, but you shouldn't talk about anything bad. You should stay with the people who are healthy and happy.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}We may feel excited when we have success in a school play. We may feel sorry if we lose an important game. We want to keep the memory for the rest of our lives.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Our English teacher, Miss Wang, has taught us a good way of remembering things to make our own yearbook.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}A yearbook is a kind of book which is used to keep the memory of exciting moments.  It's usually made at the end of the year.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}First we chose the persons who had done something special, and then some students interviewed them, some wrote down their stories, and others took photos of them.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Finally our teacher helped us to put these things together. We had our first yearbook.

    All of us put a lot of love into making the yearbook. It is so wonderful that not only the students but also our parents and teachers will remember the special time for ever.

    I'm a 34-year-old man, married, lived in a nice house, and have a successful career. But my life was not always so great. I had a learning disability from an early age. I went to a special school where I got plenty of extra(额外的)help. Still, I suffered(遭受)the rest of my school days in public schools.

    My life improved greatly when I discovered art. The art world gave me a chance to express myself without words. I went to a workshop and gradually became good at making things with clay. Here I learned my first important lesson: disabled as I was in language, I could still be smart and well express myself with clay. And my confidence(自信)came along.

    I got my next lesson from rock climbing. It was a fun thing but I was scared from the start. I soon noticed it wasn't an easy thing: it needed lots of practice. So I did it more. After about five years of climbing, I found myself in Yosemite Valley on a big wall. I learned that if you fall in love with something and do it all the time, you will get better at it.

    Later I decided to learn how to read and write. I practiced reading and writing, which I used to avoid as much as possible. After two years, I was literate(有文化的).

    Through the long process with art, climbing, and reading and writing, now I've got to a point in my life: I am smart enough to dive into(潜入)an area that is totally unknown, hard, but interesting.

A: Hello, Henry. How are you?

B: Hi, Peter. I'm fine, thanks. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

A: I'm fine, too. Do you have a ping pong ball?

B: {#blank#}2{#/blank#}But I have a soccer ball. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

A: No, playing soccer is boring for me. But I have a basketball.

B: {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

A: It's under my bed.

B: {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A: That sounds interesting. Let's go.