Sarah stood in front of the mirror(镜子). "It looks like a raincoat on me," she said.

    "Perhaps the blue," said Mama, gently.

    "Sure," the shopkeeper said. But when she took the blue coat, there on the shelf behind all of the dark coats, hidden like a spring flower in winter darkness, there, as if by magic, was a pink coat.

    "A pink coat!" Sarah cried. "I want the pink coat."

    "That coat is smaller than the other ones," Papa said.

    Sarah spoke up. "I'm small, too. Papa, please let me try it on, Mama? Please?"

    "It wouldn't hurt to let her try it on," Mama said.

    Without a word, the shopkeeper took the coat from the shelf and held it for Sarah.

    "Ohhh!" Sarah said. The coat was smooth and shiny inside like her sister Sylvia's blouses. "Ahhh!"

    Sarah stood very straight and looked in the mirror. She looked for a very long time. In the pink coat she looked like a spring flower.

    "Sarah!" Mama said.

    Sarah looked up. Mama was standing behind her. She was holding the brown coat.

    "I'm afraid the pink coat will only fit one year," Mama said, taking a step closer.

    "And there's no one to pass it on to," said Papa.

    And the shopkeeper said, "It's wise to save money."

    Sarah backed away. No one was going to put her into a raincoat again. She wanted to be a flower.

    "Sarah!" It was Papa. He came over to her. "You're old enough to know that you can't always have your own way," he said seriously.

    "Wise and true," said the shopkeeper.

    Sarah took off the pink coat, slowly.

    "It is her colour, though," Mama said.

    "Ahh," said the shopkeeper. "Anyone can see how the pink of the coat brings out the roses in her face."

    Papa looked thoughtful for a moment.

    "We are lucky." continued Mama, "that it is only one little coat for Sarah and not also new coats for Sylvia and Susan and Sally."

    Papa looked from the brown coat to the pink coat. "The cows will give milk soon enough," he said "And how can we let Sarah wear a brown coat when she looks like a flower in this one?"

    "Papa!" Sarah cried, putting on the pink coat back, quickly. She threw her arms around Papa's neck. "        " she whispered.

    "Like a rose in spring," Papa said.

    An Englishman shows a foreign visitor around London. "What is that strange building?" asks the visitor. "That's the Tower of London." "I see. How long did it take to build it? ""About 20 years." "In my country, we can build it in 20 months," answers the visitor. A short time after that they come to St. Paul's Cathedral (圣保罗大教堂). "Very interesting," says the visitor. "How long did it take to build it?" "About forty years." "In my country we can finish it in forty days," says the visitor. This goes on all day. They visit most of the best known buildings in the city. Every time they see a new one, the visitor always asks the same question. Then he always answers that they can do the same thing much faster in his country. At last, the Englishman gets angry with the visitor but he tries not to show it. At last they come to the House of Parliament and the visitor asks his usual question "What is that?" The Englishman answers "I don't know. It wasn't there last night."

    31-year-old Michael Phelps has become a phenomenon(神话) in swimming.

    Phelps won four golds and one silver at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. He ended his journey to the next Olympic Games and magic performance successfully. Within 12 years, from Athens to Rio, Phelps won 22 gold medals. He was one of the greatest athletes in the history of the Olympic Games.

    At the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, he won eight gold medals. That was more than the whole Australian team could put together. He beat(打败) Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven wins in the pool at one Olympics. Phelps has put his name next to seven world records.

    Michael Phelps started to swim at the age of 5. Guess which stroke(动作) he first tried, the backstroke. It's because he didn't want to put his face in the water. By the age of 7, he had taken part in a lot of swimming competitions. At 11, he met Bob Bowman who saw the kid's great talent.

    How did Phelps become so good? He was born with the body of a swimmer. He stands 1.87 meters high and has a wide wingspan(臂展). He knows how to use his body to full advantage. His hands and feet are like paddles(踏板) in the water and he has a strong kick. But that's not all; he also has the heart and will to win. He thinks that anything is possible as long as you keep practicing.

    Swimming is Phelps' life. Every day he spends five hours in the water, swimming about 11 kilometers. He never takes a day off. This is a young man who knows what he wants. "If I didn't swim my best, I'd think about it at school, at dinner, and with my friends. It would drive me crazy," he said.

    "There are no limits(限制). The more you dream, the further you will get."

On a cold winter night, while I was waiting 1 the green light, I saw an old man walking toward me. He stopped me, and I felt a little nervous. The old man said 2 ," Excuse me. Could you please help me?"

Then the old man took out a 10- yuan bill(账单) and asked me 3 the money and buy one sweet potato from 4 old lady. She was selling something about fifty meters away in the corner.

" But why don't you go and buy it 5 ?"I was puzzled(迷惑的). The old man said," That old lady is my wife. And she 6 for six hours. Just now I called her. She told me that there was only one sweet potato left and she wouldn't go home until all the sweet potatoes were sold out(卖光). But I know she can't stand(忍受) the cold 7 her legs hurt. I'm very worried about her."

At that time, I could understand why the old man 8 me to buy his wife's sweet potato. I felt really warm. Without taking the money, I rode to the old lady 9 and bought the last one. As I waved goodbye to the old 10 , I could see him standing there with a big smile.