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    Once a very rich man and his son collected valuable paintings by famous artists like Picasso, Van Gogh and Monet.

    Later, the son left to join the army. After a few weeks, the old man received a letter saying his son had died while taking another soldier to a hospital. The old man became very lonely and sad.

    One day, a soldier visited the old man and gave him a painting—it was a portrait（肖像）of his son. The painting of his son became the old man's most valuable item. He told his neighbors it was the greatest gift he had ever received. The following spring, the old man died.

    All of the old man's paintings would be sold at an auction（拍卖会）. The auction began with the painting of the old man's son.

    “Who will open the price at $100?” the auctioneer asked. Moments passed and no one spoke or raised their hands. Someone said, “Who cares about that painting? Let's get on to the good ones.” More voices followed in agreement. “No, we must sell this one first,” replied the auctioneer. “Now, who will take the portrait of the son?”

    Finally, a good friend of the old man spoke, “Ten dollars!” “Will anyone go higher?” called the auctioneer. After more silence he said: “ Going once… going twice…Sold!” The auctioneer then announced that the whole auction was over. “According to the father's will, whoever takes the son's portrait gets the whole collection.” The auctioneer said.

    Because of the father's love, whoever took the son got it all.

    World famous physicist(物理学家) Stephen Hawking died peacefully at his home in Cambridge on March 14th, 2018.

    Hawking was born in Oxford, England on January 8th, 1942. He went to school in a small city near London. As he himself admitted, he wasn't very serious about studying. He did very little work, he was never top of his class. However, he still achieved good marks. After leaving school, Hawking first went to Oxford University to study physics. Then he went to Cambridge University to study cosmology(宇宙学).

    At the age of 21, Hawking noticed something wrong with him. He had a bad illness that stopped him from moving and talking. He couldn't communicate except by blinking(眨眼). He sat on a wheelchair with a computer by his side. To communicate with others, he moved two fingers to control the computer's mouse. He chose his words from the screen, which were then spoken by a voice synthesizer(音响合成器). "I've had the disease for most of my life," Hawking once said, "Yet it has not stopped me from being successful at my work."

    Although Hawking was a disabled man, he made great achievements. He received many awards and prizes for his work, including the Albert Einstein Award—the highest achievement in physics.

    Hawking worked at Cambridge University as a professor. His story shows that nobody, however bad their situation is, should lose hope. "Life is not fair." he once said, "You just have to do the best you can in your own situation."

    "You have saved my horse." Queen Olivia told the young boy standing before her. "Now you shall get a gift for what you did." Peter nervously ran his fingers through his brown hair. That day when he was working in the field，the shocked horse ran past him. Without thinking，he rushed out and controlled it. He didn't know it was the Queen's horse and never expected to get a gift. But he still felt happy for getting one.

    Two of the queen's men appeared. One carried a mirror. Red jewels(珠宝)shone on top of the mirror's silver frame(框架). The other carried a wooden cage with a chicken inside it.

    "Only one gift call be yours," the queen said. "Choose wisely." "That's easy," Peter said. "I'll take the chicken." Some of the queen's men laughed. It was clear that they thought he had made a foolish choice.

    "And why did you choose the chicken?" the queen asked. "Well, I don't know much about jewels," Peter answered. "But I do know about chickens. The chicken will provide eggs for my family for a long while."

    Queen Olivia smiled. "Then you did make a wise choice," she said. "That minor may look beautiful. But the jewels you see are only colored glass, and the frame is painted silver. The chicken is much more valuable." Peter took the chicken and bowed. "Thank you, your majesty."

    "You are a smart child." the queen added. "I could use a smart boy to help take care of my horses. Would you like to take the job?" Peter smiled. "Thank you very much!" he said excitedly. A job at the castle paid well. Now his family wouldn't worry about their food any more--all because he was kind to help others and smart enough to make the right choice!

    Teenager Jake Denham was skiing (滑雪) with his family in the USA when he fell over and lost one of his skis. His family didn't know that he had a problem. They kept on skiing. When they got to the foot of the mountain, there was no sign of Jake.

    Jake couldn't find his ski anywhere. In the end, he decided to take off his other ski and walk down the mountain. But he couldn't work out the right way to go.

    It was now getting dark and he was a long way from any place of safety. He knew that he might die that night in the cold temperatures. But Jake kept calm (镇定). At home, Jake watched a lot of programmes about living in difficult situations. He remembered the advice from these programmes and knew that he should build a hole in the snow. He made a hole and pointed it up the hill so the wind couldn't blow into it. Outside his hole, the temperature fell to a dangerous ­15℃ that night, but inside it Jake was safe from the cold.

    But he had to get down the mountain. The TV programmes always said，"If you are lost, you should find someone else's tracks (轨迹) through the snow and follow them." "I wanted to live my life，" remembers Jake." So I got up and I found some ski tracks and I followed those." He walked and walked and finally he saw lights. Nine hours after he lost his ski, he found a team of workers who came to save him. He was safe!

    His mum was very happy when she heard the news. Amazingly, Jake didn't even have to go to hospital. He got through the terrible experience without any injuries.

So, the next time someone says that watching TV is a waste of time, think of Jake. Sometimes TV can save your life!

On my thirteenth birthday, my father gives me a special present. It is a little bird, cute and colorful. She is not that 1 at first, but she then becomes a sweet part of my life. I look forward every day to playing with her. She means a lot to me, 2 a family member*. 

One day, she seems not quite herself and struggles* to fly. Dad tells me the vet* can surely make 3 better. So I bring the bird there, hoping she will be healthy soon. 4 she is more badly ill* than we can think. 

A few days later, comes the bad news and there is 5 we can do for her. At that moment, I know I 6 her and I can't stop crying. I cry all the way to collect her little body. When I walk into the vet, I see a woman with a little girl. After a short talk, it is clear why they are here. They lose their lovely dog. 

Then the vet brings my little bird and places it on the desk. I 7 . the body of my love with much sadness. When I turn around to leave, I am surprised to see that there is the 8 ,standing in front of me. She looks at me in the eyes 9 and asks me: 

"Do you want a hug*?" 

"Yes, that's what I need now." 

So, little girl, thank you for bringing the 10 to me which warms my heart. Just remember, we are never "little" to anyone. 

A king is old and he knows it is time to choose a new king. He 1 to all the young people in his country,"I will give each of you a seed. Plant it and 2 it back here one year later. Show me the plants you bring, 3 I'll choose a new king from you."

A boy named Peter gets a seed, 4 . He looks 5 it carefully. But the seed doesn't grow at all.A year later, Peter has to take his empty box to the palace. Others all take beautiful plants there and Pe-ter feels 6 .

The king gets to the palace and looks around. When he finds there 7 nothing in Peter's box, the king smiles and says to them,"One year ago, I gave everyone a seed. In fact, all the seeds 8 grow.But all of you, except Peter, brings me beautiful plants. Peter is the 9 one with the honesty(诚实) to bring me such a box. So he will 10 the new king!"