"I'm going shopping in the village，"George's mother said to George on Saturday morning．"So be a good boy and don't get into trouble．And don't forget 1good care of Grandma．"Then out she went．

    Grandma 2 in the chair by the window when she opened one little eye and said，"Now you heard 3your mother said，George．"

    "Yes，Grandma，"George said．

    George was bored to tears．He didn't have a brother or a sister．His father was a farmer，and 4farm they lived on was miles away from anywhere，5 there were never any children to play with．He was tired of staring at6pigs，hens，cows and sheep．He was especially tired of having to live in the house with his grandma．Looking after her all by himself was hardly 7way to spend a Saturday morning．

    "Go and make me a cup of tea for a start，8 sugar and milk．"Grandma said．Most grandmothers are lovely，kind，helpful old ladies，but not this one．George's grandma was a woman9was always complaining about something or other．She spent all day10on her chair by the window．George 11 that Grandma used to be a gentle lady，but as she grew older，she was not able to look after herself and even worse，she was easy to get angry．

    "We 12be nice to the old，George，"His mother always told him．

    Thinking of this，George 13into the kitchen and made Grandma a cup of tea with a teabag．He put one spoon of sugar and 14 milk in it．He stirred the tea well and carried it into the living room 15 ．

    A man died and was on his way to another world, either the Heaven (天堂) or the Heli (地狱). He saw a very beautiful palace halfway and the owner of the palace invited him to stay.

    The man said, "I have been working hard during my life and now I just want to eat and sleep without any 1 " The owner of the palace said, "If so, there is nowhere else 2 than here for you. There is enough delicious food in my palace and you can eat whatever you want. No one will 3 you. You don't need to do anything. "

    4, the man stayed in the palace. In the5, the man felt very happy, eating and sleeping without thinking about other things. But soon he felt a bit lonely and 6. So he went to the owner and said, "It is very boring to live 7 just eating and sleeping every day. Now I have no8 in this kind of life. Could you help me find a job?"

    The owner 9 , "Sorry, there is no job here at all."

    After another several months, the man could not stand(忍受) this kind of life and went to the owner again, "I really could not stand this kind of life any more. If you do not offer me a job, I would like to go to the Hell instead of 10 here. "

    The owner of the palace laughed loudly, "Do you think it is the Heaven here? It is actually the Hell!"

    Mark lived in a village far away. One day he became very ill and everyone thought he would1soon. They sent for a doctor. Two days2the doctor came and looked over the sick man. 3asked for a pen and a piece of paper to write down the name of the medicine. But there was no pen4paper in the village, because no one could write.

    The doctor5 up a piece of burnt wood from the fire and wrote the name of the medicine on the6 of the house. " Get this medicine for him, " he said, "and he will soon get 7. "Mark's family and friends did not know 8 to do. They could not read the strange words. Then a young man 9an idea. He took off the door of the house, put it on his carriage(马车) and drove to the nearest 10. He bought the medicine there, and Mark was soon well again.

    I remember the first time I got on a horse. I was two years old and we were watching a friend of the family ride. My mom agreed to let me take a short ride around the ground with the friend and that was it' I became crazy about having a horse. From then on, I drove my parents mad beg­ging for a horse. Whenever I saw a horse, I would beg even harder.

    When I was four years old, problems appeared in my life. I had Selective Mutism (选择性缄默症). This is an unusual childhood disorder (失调) in which children stop speaking in certain social situations, many times at around the age of four. I spoke to my parents as usual, my brother and certain other people, but was silent at school and in social situations. I went days, weeks, months without a sound at school. At most, I might very quietly speak to a friend.

    My parents looked for a cure. One psychologist (心理医生) had an idea. Having discussed his plan with my parents in advance, one day I was asked by the psychologist what I wanted more than anything in the world. He explained that I was going to be given a chance to work for what I wanted. I couldn't believe my good luck, but I could not answer. I just stood there. Finally, I was allowed to whisper (低声说) the answer in my mother's ear. "A horse," was all I could say.

    I was to get a little horse, but before we could even start looking, I had to try to talk. I had a chart of weekly tasks I had to finish. I had to answer the phone five times every week, something I had never done before. I did everything that was asked of me and the day came when my parents found the perfect horse. His name was Sequoia, a strong little chestnut (栗子马). He was perfect, of course, and I fell in love immediately. It truly was a dream come true. When I was with Sequoia, I forgot all about my problems and felt strong and life.

    By connecting with them, I have learned to hug what I was once not able to do and I found my voice back.

When she was 14 years old, Remya Jose's life was turned upside down by a family crisis( 危机). 

Remya, who lived in a small village in India, learned that her mother was ill and her father would have to spend his time caring for her. As a result, she and her twin sister had to do most of the housework

— including washing clothes. To make things even more difficult, the Jose family couldn't afford an electric washing machine. Instead, the two girls would have to do the washing all by hand in the local river, and then carefully carry everything back to their home—a task that took several hours. 

Being a good student interested in engineering, Remya wanted to make a washing machine which could be used without electricity. She started studying electric washers to learn how they worked. Remya then designed(设计) a machine that used bicycle pedals(踏板) and chain. To find those items, she and her father went to a local auto shop. Workers there not only gave her the parts, they helped her make the machine!

Here's how the machine works: Remya used a cylinder(圆筒) to hold the clothes and put it in a cube( 立方体). Next, she connected the bicycle pedals and the chain to the cylinder. As Remya pushed the pedals with her legs, the cylinder cleaned the clothes just like a regular washing machine. 

Remya's invention worked! She had created her own human-powered washing machine—and now a task that used to take several hours took only 30 minutes. Remya's washing machine was chosen from among 25, 000 entries as India's best innovation! She was given India's National Award and honored by the nation's former president. 

The story of this young woman's creative invention was known around the world. 

"Remya Jose made a difference, " said Jeanine Thomas of The Borden Project, "Her invention saves time and money for the world's poor. Her story shows that with creativity, one individual can improve the lives of many. "

Tina is a thirteen-year-old middle school student. Last year, she went to {#blank#}1{#/blank#}summer school in France and stayed with a local family, the Truffauts. 

At first, things didn't go well {#blank#}2{#/blank#}she couldn't speak French. Simple things like finding the right bus stop {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (become) big problems. The Truffauts helped her a lot and treated her like part of the family. They played {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (game) and had traditional food with her. On the weekend, she {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(join) a club. For most of the time, she used body language to talk with. People showed {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (they) thanks with smiles and she would always smile back. Language was not a problem {#blank#}7{#/blank#}her. As a new member of the club, Tina was invited to have parties with the other members. Day by day, she made more friends. Tina decided {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (love) her new life. "A smile is a second language. It is also the best gift I have got, " she said {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(happy). 

Smiles and a helping hand can always make people {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (close) than a language can.