One of the best-known American writers of children's books is Alfred Strong, or Doctor Strong, as he is better known to readers everywhere．Now, an art show called "Doctor Strong From Then to Now" is travelling around the United States．The pictures and drawings show the history of Doctor Strong．

    Doctor Strong first became famous almost fifty years ago when his first children's book was published (出版)．Since then, he has written forty—five books that have been sold more than one hundred million copies around the world．

    Doctor Strong's books are known for their easy use of words and colourful, hand drawn pictures．These drawings bring life to his imaginary creatures, The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and hundreds of others．

    The San Diego Museum, in California, organized the art show．It included about three hundred Doctor Strong's early drawings and some of his writings．

Most of Doctor Strong's books, although written in a funny way, have serious messages．For example, in McElligot's Pool, he describes the danger of pollution．He discusses the arms race (军备竞赛) in The Butter Battle Book, written in nineteen eighty four．

    Doctor Strong says he never planned to write stories just for children．He says he writes stories that interest people of all ages．He says he uses easy words so that everyone, even a child, can understand．

    Mrs. Green works very long hours every day. She usually gets up(起床 ) at 5:40. She brushes her teeth(刷牙) and goes to her workplace (工作地点). Then she runs with some kids. After that she takes a shower(淋浴). she eats her breakfast at 7:00. Her work starts(开始) at 8:10. she is good at(擅长 ) history and many boys and girls learn history from her. All the kids（孩子） like her very much. She often talks or plays games with the kids. She  usually goes to bed(睡觉) after 22:00. she is often very tired(劳累) but she likes her job and loves the kids. She doesn't work on weekends. Mrs. Green likes reading at home on weekends(周末). Sometimes some kids' parents come to her home to talk about their kids. When Monday comes, Mrs. Green gets busy again.

Peng Liyuan, First Lady of China, made a speech （发言） in English at the United Nations（联合国） on September 26. She talked about education and shared her Chinese dream with the world. 

Peng began the speech with a story of her father. Her father grew up in a small village in China. In those days, not many villagers could read, so her father opened up（开办） a night school to teach them. With his help, many people learned to write their names and read newspapers for the first time. And many women were able to teach their children how to read. Peng's father's love for education influenced（影响） her. She was lucky enough to have a good education. Later, she followed her father's footstep（脚步） and became very good at music. 

Education is important, but still, some children in China can't go to school. Peng hopes that all children, especially （尤其） girls, can have a good education, and that is her Chinese dream. 

When I was in Grade Three，I was chosen to be the princess in the school play.For weeks，my mother had helped me practise my words.But once on stage，every word 1 from my head.Then my teacher asked me to change my role to be a narrator（讲述者）for the play.Though I didn't tell my mother what had happened that day，she noticed my 2 and asked if I wanted to take a walk in the garden.

It was a lovely spring day.We could see dandelions（蒲公英） coming out through the grass in bunches.I watched my mother bend down by one of the bunches. "I think I'll remove all these weeds（野草），"she said.""From now on，we'll 3 have roses in our garden."

"But I like dandelions，"I said."All flowers are 4 ，even dandelions!"

My mother looked at me seriously."Yes.Every flower gives pleasure in its own way，doesn't it？"she asked thoughtfully.I nodded."And the same as 5 ，"she said.

When I 6 that she had guessed my pain，I started to cry and told her the 7 . "But you will be a wonderful narrator，"she said，8 me of how much I loved to read stories aloud.

Thanks to my mother's encouragement，I got to know everybody had his or her own 9 in the world.I felt proud of the role in the play.Eventually，I acted out my role so 10 that my teacher was really surprised by what I had done.

Life is not easy to most people, so when anything happens, be sure to believe in yourself. When I was young, I was {#blank#}1{#/blank#} nervous that it was hard for me to talk to anyone. My classmates often {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (laugh) at me. Then I felt very frustrated. 

I was {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (real) sad but could do nothing. Later, something happened, which changed my life. It was {#blank#}4{#/blank#} English speech contest. My mother asked me to take part {#blank#}5{#/blank#} it. What a terrible idea! It meant I had to speak in front of all the teachers and students of my school!

"Come on, boy. You should believe in yourself. You are sure to win." mother said to me. 

Then, mother and I talked about many different topics. At last, I {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (choose) the topic "Believe in yourself". I tried my {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (good) to remember all the speech and practiced it over a hundred times. With my mother's great help, I felt {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (relax) and did well in the contest. I could hardly believe my ears when the news came that I had won the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (one) prize. 

Since then, things have changed for me. No matter what I do, I try to tell {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (me) to be confident and I will find myself. This is true not only for me but also for everybody, I think.

As a student， I was most afraid to answer questions in class， and I found that the students around were just like me. At the beginning of each class， when the teacher asked a question， I always lowered my head because I was afraid that the teacher saw me. 

One day， in a foreign language class， Mr. Black gave us a lesson. He wanted us to be active in class， so he asked us some questions， but no one answered. "Let me tell you a story first，" he said. 

"When I came to the United States to study， the university often invited famous people to make speeches. Before the beginning of every speech， I found an interesting thing. The students around me always took cardboard folded （折叠的） in half， wrote their names in bold （黑体） with the most eye-catching color， and then placed the cardboard on the seat. So when the speaker needed the answers from the students， he could see and call a listener's name directly. I couldn't understand that. My classmate told me the speakers were all top people， who meant chances. When your answer was to his surprise， it meant he might give you more chances. In fact， I really saw a few students got great chances because of that. "

After listening to the story， I understood that the chance will not find you itself. You must show yourself all the time so that you can find a chance on the card.