Whitney didn't have many friends. She was shy and 1. She never wanted to be popular, but she did want to have someone to share 2 and laugh with.

    Then it was time for her to go to college in another town. And she had to 3 with someone she didn't know. She had no idea whether she could make friends in that new environment.

    But something happened during the first class. And it 4Whitney's life. The teacher asked everyone to 5 a little about themselves. Whitney told everyone where she came from and some simple information. The last 6 for each student was "What is your goal for this term?" 7 of the students said it was to get good grades, pass the tests or something similar. But Whitney said something 8 . She said that her goal was to make just one good friend.

    When most of the students sat quietly, one student came to Whitney. She reached out her hand and introduced herself. She asked 9 she could be Whitney's friend. Whitney was surprised and happy. She 10 and reached her hand out, too.

    Their friendship lasted all through the college.

    About ten years ago, both of my parents lost their jobs. Life was1 for me then. I 2at the gift shop in my university's museum in my spare time. One day 3 working in the shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.

    As I looked closer at this girl, I found that she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and body. She was wearing a pretty white dress and a little red4. When they came closer to me, I 5 her a wink(眨眼). And the girl gave me the most beautiful 6that I had ever seen.

    All of a sudden, her handicap(残疾) was gone and all that I saw was a 7girl. I was deeply moved by her smile, and I8what life was all about. She brought me, a poor and unhappy college student, into her world full of smiles, 9and warmth.

    I'm a successful business person now. Whenever I am in low spirits and in10I always think of that little girl and the lesson about life that she taught me.

    Our class is going to visit the zoo. Our town has a big zoo with a lot of 1 in it. There are some beautiful tigers and two old 2. They eat a lot of meat every day. There are also two big elephants and a baby one. I want to3on one of the elephants. The elephants are tame(驯服的) and 4. They eat a lot of grass every day. They like children because they sometimes5 the elephants bread and bananas. Elephants like bananas very much.

    In our zoo there are also brown, black bears and white bears. They stand on their back legs, hold up their arms and ask for food. They like 6 very much.

    There is also a Children's Corner in our zoo. There children 7 horses and donkeys and watch the monkeys. The monkeys are very 8. They climb up ropes and jump down again and play with each other like small children. They love nuts and 9and bread. I am going to 10a basket to the zoo with bread, cakes, nuts and bananas.

Wonderful Park has finally reopened after nearly three months of repair! Since my sister Julia's birthday is coming. yesterday my parents took us to the park to have some fun. Julia was very excited as she had never been to Wonderful Park before.

We arrived at the park early in the morning. While we were buying tickets at the ticket office, Julia was told that she could enjoy free admission during her birthday month. She could also get some pin s and stickers for free. Julia was over the moon with her birthday presents. After buying our tickets, Julia wanted to ride the Ferris wheel. However, Mum suggested going to the King's Theatre first as a musical was about to begin.

We were attracted by the delicious smell of popcorn while we were on the way to the King's Theatre. We bought two bags of chocolate popcorn and it tasted good. Before we entered the theatre, there were two cartoon characters standing at the entrance. They were lovable so Julia and I took some photos with them. The show began at ten forty- five. Though I am not a big fan of musicals, it was really great. All the performers sang and danced well. There was a huge round of applause(掌声) when the show ended. Then, we went to the ride. It was the last stop and also the most enjoyable part of our trip.

Here are the photos we took. The first one shows the chocolate popcorn. It was yummy! Next are the photos we took at the entrance of the King's Theatre. The cartoon characters are giving me and Julia a big hug! Here comes the photo that I like best. We took this after we ro de on the Ferris wheel. Dad is putting his arm around Mum's shoulders. Julia is making a V sign with her fingers and I am making a silly face. It is a nice family photo. We all look forward to visiting the park again!

Almost all cultures(文化) celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another year in some ways. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.

In Western(西方的) countries, people usually celebrate New Year at the midnight on December 31st to January 1st. People may go to the party, sometimes dressed in formal(正式的) clothes, and they may drink champagnc(香槟) at midnight. During the first minute of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures like to celebrate New Year by waking up early to watch the sunshine better. They welcome the new year with the first light of the sunrise.

Many cultures also do special things to say goodbye to bad luck at the beginning of the new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll and burn it to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start. Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include(包括) throwing things into rivers or seas, or sayıng special things on the first day of the new year.

Other new year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the new year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black- eyed peas(黑眼豆) for good luck— but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them.