Once upon a time there lived a wise king who wanted to marry off his favorite daughter. He 1 how he could find the right person. Finally, the king had an 2. He decided to hold a contest(比赛) to decided which gentleman would achieve this great honor. The king ordered that anyone 3 wanted to marry the princess must report to the palace. To win his daughter, a man must fill up a whole room with a(an) 4 thing very quickly.

    The first brave man anived at the palace. He brought bags full of feathers. With great 5, he started to fill the large room with feathers, but time ran out and he failed.

    The next day, 6 young man tried to quickly fill the room, this time with beautiful silk. Time ran out again, and he left the palace 7.

    The contest went on day afterday, 8 contestants hoped to pass the test but no one 9. The king began to lose heart. Wasn't anyone in the kingdom qualified(有资格的)to many the beautiful princess?

    One day, a young man arrived at the palace empty-handed. The king wondered how this man planned to win the contest. Entering the room, the young man 10 the lights. He reached into his pocket, got a small 11 and lit it. In no time, the light filled the whole room.

    The king was very happy because he had found the perfect match for his lovely daughter.

    To get through a problem, sometimes we must 12 the way we're thinking about it. We need to re-educate ourselves by looking at the problem in a different way.

A neighbor of mine, while visiting his mother in Boston, took her to a shoe store to buy a new pair of shoes. While she was trying on different styles, my neighbor took the manager（经理）beside him. "When she picks out a pair that she likes,' he said, "just tell her that the price is 12 dollars. I'll pay the regular price. I don't care how much it is.'

The following week, my neighbor was walking by the shoe store and the manager recognized (认出)him and called him in.

"What's the problem?' asked my neighbor as he entered the store.

"Wasn't my check any good?'

"That's not it,' answered the manager, "The problem is that your mother is bringing all her friends in for those 12-dollar shoes!'

Rick and his classmates are visiting the City Zoo near their school. Mr. Wells, a zookeeper, 1 them around and says, "Let's go and see our new 2 —Daisy, an otter (水獭)!"

The kids happily run to a 3 . There, they see the otter lying near the water, looking sad.

"Is Daisy sick(生病)?" Rick asks.

"No. She 4 needs friends." Mr. Wells says, "But we have no money to buy 5 otter."

" A life without a friend is terrible!" the kids feel 6 for Daisy.

The trip is fun, 7 the kids keep quiet on the bus ride back to the 8 . Suddenly, Rick asks, "Is there anything we can do for Daisy?"

"Yes!" Lisa 9 an idea, "What about having a bake sale? Then we can make some money for the zoo!"

"Great!" the kids all say, "People will love the idea and 10 !"

The next morning, the class all 11 their home-made cakes to school. The cakes are very 12 and soon sell out. "Wow! We've collected 13 $300!" Rick calls, "Let's send the money to the zoo!"

Two weeks later, a thank-you note comes to the class. It 14 .

Dear kids,

Thanks for your help! Daisy has a friend. Come and see them at any time!

The City Zoo

"Daisy must love her 15 life now!" Rick says and the class all smile.

Alex is a young boy. He likes music very much. He wants to play the piano and join the school music club. But all these things are difficult for him. Why? Because he has no hands.

Many people think it is impossible (不可能的) to play the piano with no hands. Alex is also one of them. He thinks he can't play it. But he had a big dream when he was a kid. He always wants to be a good pianist.

But Alex's parents always encourage (鼓励) him. His parents always tell him that where there is a will, there is a way. They find a nice music teacher for Alex. And they take him to music lessons every Tuesday and Thursday. At first, it's really difficult for Alex to play the piano. But now, after about two years, the boy can play it well by arms. And now he's not shy (害羞的) any more. He often plays the piano in class. He sometimes joins the piano match of his school.

"My music teacher and classmates always help me with the lessons. I make many friends there and join the school music club now. I must thank them. And I must thank my parents too. They teach me a lesson—nothing is impossible. "

Patricia Casquinho is a 15- year- old girl. She was born in Portugal, but lived in Germany for years before she finally went to study in the US as an exchange student(交换生). What made Patricia interested in studying in America?

"I love watching American movies about teenagers. I come here to experience the high school life," Patricia said. However, her life in the US was not easy at first." It was hard to get used to so many different things here. But talking with my new friends made it much easier. They helped me a lot," said Patricia.

 During her stay, Patricia noticed some differences between the schools in the US and Germany." In Germany, we don't have many exams like SATs or SOLs. We just have final exams. Also, there is a difference in the school timetable. The school day in Germany is shorter. Students usually start later and finish earlier. Besides, American students often take classes with different students from different grades. We don't do that in Germany. And we don't have school sports teams either," Patricia shared.

"I've played sports games on the school sports team since I came here. This is really my favorite experience in the US. And I will share my life here when I go back home," she said.

Last month, our family had a trip to Shanghai Disneyland. At the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} , we tried the motorcycle-style trains(过山车). It seemed {#blank#}2{#/blank#} but exciting. After we got off,I still felt a little dizzy(晕的), so I almost {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . All my families had a good laugh. Later we went to the Fantasy World, we just sat there {#blank#}4{#/blank#} to meet the lovely characters such as Winnie, Snow White and Mickey Mouse. It was really an unforgettable trip, we will {#blank#}5{#/blank#} visit it again next summer vacation!