Tom's father has a big farm. On New Year's Day, his father asked him, "Could you work on the farm when you're free this year, Tom?"

    "Farming is not my work, Dad. I have much school work to do," Tom wasn't glad at it.

    "If you help me work on the farm, I will give you anything you want."

    "OK," Tom agreed happily.

    So Tom gets up early and works hard on the farm in his free time this year, just like other farmers. His wheat grows very well.

    Time flies. Today is the last day of the year, December 31st. The father is talking with his son.

    "I'm happy to see you work hard on the farm. Tom, now tell me what you want as the gift(礼物)."

Tom shows his father a big piece of bread. He makes it with the wheat on his farm. "I have already gotten your gift, Dad. You're trying to give me a lesson— no pain, no gain.

    Right?"

    A frog was swimming in a pond after a rainstorm. He saw a brilliant rainbow across the sky. He was so excited that he couldn't help crying.

    "I have heard there is a cave filled with gold at the place where the rainbow ends. I will find the cave and be the richest frog in the world," said the frog.

    The frog swam to the edge of the pond as fast as he could. There he met another frog by accident.

    "Where are you rushing to?" asked the second frog.

    "I am rushing to the place where the rainbow ends," said the first frog.

    "There is a saying that there is a cave filled with gold and diamonds at that place," said the second frog.

    "Then come with me." said the first frog. "We will be the two richest frogs in the world."

    The two frogs jumped out of the pond and ran through the grassland. There they met another frog.

    "What's the hurry?" asked the third frog.

    "We are running to the place where the rainbow ends," said the two frogs.

    "I have been told there is a cave filled with gold, diamonds and pearls at that place," said the third frog.

    "Then come with us," said the two frogs. "We will be the three richest frogs in the world."

    The three frogs ran for miles. Finally they came to the end of the rainbow.

    There they saw a dark cave on the side of a hill.

    "Gold! Diamonds! Pearls!" cried the frogs. As they jumped into the cave, they found a snake lived inside.

    He was hungry and had been thinking about his dinner. He swallowed the three frogs quickly.

    Do you want to be a TV news reporter? People often ask me 1 I love my job. Well, it's very2. I'm the first to know about important news stories. I3around the world and I talk to people. I find out what is happening4different places. I talk to some important and famous people. I've talked to people in the government, 5 famous sportsmen and sportswoman and film stars. I ask people to tell me about6lives. I want to know how they feel.

    A lot of people want to work in TV news, so you have to be energetic and creative. You have to show that you can do it. You must learn how to use a video camera,7 reports, and speak to the camera. What's the best way to learn? Your school or college TV station is a good place to start, but you have to get a job!

    Most people8with an unpaid job, so they can learn. The best place to learn is at a small station. There aren't many people, and as a result, you get more9. I had an unpaid job at a small station, and one night, when10was ill, I read the news on air. I did well, and as a result, I got my first paid job!

    O. Henry, a famous American writer of short stories, was born in North Carolina in 1862. O. Henry was a pen name. His real name was William Sydney Porter. When he was a young boy, he did not go to school for long because of being born in a poor family, but he tried to teach himself everything he needed to know.

   When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas. There he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank. But he got himself into some trouble. Some money went missing from the bank. O. Henry was believed to have stolen it, so he was sent to prison(监狱). During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and went on writing.

   He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because almost all of them finished with a sudden change. This made the readers surprised.

Last summer I got the chance to spend a month helping out in a hospital in Africa. I had one year left at school, and I was  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(interest) in studying medicine at university.

Working there introduced me to a world that is very different from  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(I) in so many ways. I was shocked(震惊的) that many families over there had such  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}poor and difficult life. But I was also surprised at how positively people spend their daily  {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (life). They come together and help each other, and that's something a lot of us here in the UK have forgotten. My work in the hospital  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(be) hard. Not only did I spend a lot of time cleaning floors, but also I got to spend some time looking after the patients (病人)  {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(careful). And I liked  {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(talk) to some doctors and asking them about the job. I saw some truly awful(极坏的) things in the hospital,  {#blank#}8{#/blank#}none of them changed my mind about being a doctor. {#blank#}9{#/blank#}fact, they only made me more determined to learn medicine.

 {#blank#}10{#/blank#}I finished the work, I knew what I'm going to do in the future: I want to work for an international organisation like the Red Cross. I can't wait to get started.

My first home was a beautiful meadow(牧场) with a pond of clear water. There were some large trees near the pond. On one side of the mead ow was a field and on the other was the house of our master(主人), Farmer Grey. He was a kind man.

My mother and I had a happy life. She worked during the day. I played with the other young horses and had great fun. At night I lay next to her.

One day, my master sold me to Squire Gordon. He lived with his family in a big house.

" You' re a beautiful horse, he said." You have a beautiful black coat. I shall call you Black Beauty."

I learned to carry my master on my back and pull a coach(马车). I learned to ware reins(缆绳) and a bit (马嚼子) in my mouth, I did not like them but all the horses had to wear them.

My master had two horses. One of them was Merrylegs. He was very friendly. The other was Ginger. She was not friendly. She bit and kicked people.

Ginger and I pulled a coach together. The coachman's name was John Ginger and I worked very hard. We became friends.

Ginger told me about her life when she was young. She told me. " My master was not kind to me. My reins and bit hurt me. My master did not care."

Squire Gordon and his men felt sorry for Ginger. They were always kind to her. She stopped biting and kicking people. She became a happy horse.

One day in autumn Squire Gordon went on a long journey, John went with him and I pulled the coach.   The weather was rainy and windy. Mr. Gordon and John could not see well in the rain. We came to a bridgeI stopped." Something is wrong。"I thought, I did not want to go on to the bridge. Mr. Gordon and John wanted me to go on to the bridge. I did not move. Just then a man saw us." Hey there! Stop!" he cried.

" What is it?" shouted the Squire.

" The bridge is broken in the middle, he answered." If you go on to it, you are all going to drown(溺死) in the river."

" Thank God!" said the Squire. " Thank you, Beauty!" said John. We turned around and went along the road by the river. For a long time no one said anything. Then John said: " Black Beauty saved our lives. He knew the bridge was dangerous."

When we returned home, the Squire told Mrs. Gordon:" We are all safe, thanks to Black Beauty!"

That night I was glad, although I was very tired.

—— from Anna Sewell Black Beauty