Once there were two mice. They were friends. One mouse lived in the country; the other mouse lived in the city. After many years the Country mouse saw the City mouse; he said, "Do come and see me at my house in the country." So the City mouse went. The City mouse said, "This food is not good, and your house is not good. Why do you live in a hole in the field? You should come and live in the city. You would live in a nice house made of stone. You would have nice food to eat. You must come and see me at my house in the city."

    The Country mouse went to the house of the City mouse. It was a very good house. Nice food was set ready for them to eat. But just as they began to eat they heard a great noise. The City mouse cried, " Run! Run! The cat is coming!" They ran away quickly and hid.

    After some time they came out. When they came out, the Country mouse said, "I do not like living in the city. I like living in my hole in the field. For it is nicer to be poor and happy, than to be rich and afraid."

    My interest in cooking started when I was 11, partly thanks to my mother. She didn't really like cooking and when she cooked, I didn't really like her food. Once I was watching something about cooking on TV and I thought I could do this, so I went to the bookstore and looked for the biggest cookbook I could find.

    During a year, I had produced most of its recipes(食谱) and was ready for a bigger challenge(挑战). I wanted to create my own dishes and I started cooking for more people than just my family. Now as a teen chef(主厨)， I have also cooked in top-class restaurants around the country. I am not doing it for the money, but because I love cooking.

    Now I know that when you stop caring whether you'll be famous or do well, your dream will come to you.

When the bell rang and the exam ended, I went out of the classroom, feeling down and disappointed. After all, it was my {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (three) time to fail the exam. The sky was covered with dark clouds and the wind was blowing hard, which made me even {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (sad).

On the way home, I{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (keep) my eyes on the ground. As soon as I entered my home, my mom came to ask me about the exam with great expectation. However, I just walked toward my bedroom {#blank#}4{#/blank#} a word. Lying in bed, I couldn't stop thinking that I would {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (punish) by Mom and began to cry.

Mom must have known what happened to me, as she gently opened the door and asked me {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (go) to the park. She pointed to {#blank#}7{#/blank#} flower, which was suffering(遭受) from a large storm.

Its {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (leaf) and petals(花瓣) were shaking hard as if it would be broken in-to pieces. But to my surprise, the small flower was still standing strong, smiling against the wind and rain.

I finally understood. Although there were many failures and difficulties, we always have to go on and fight {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (brave). After the storm, we'll see the brightest rainbow. That flower, which blooms(盛放) in my heart. is the most beautiful one {#blank#}10{#/blank#} I've ever seen.

Cai Xuzhe dreamed of flying high when he was young. He was a new face on the Shenzhou-14 team. He spent 12 years as an astronaut（宇航员） getting ready for his first trip to space.

"I am happy and proud but feel more about my duty（责任）," Cai told reporters. Cai and other two team members, Chen Dong and Liu Yang, left the earth on board the Shenzhou-14 spaceship in June of 2022, for a six - month stay in space. They finished the work of building the Tiangong space station.

Cai was born in 1976 in the countryside of Shenzhou City, Hebei Province. He showed interest in planes as a child. When he heard a plane flying past, he ran out and looked at it till it flew away.

Cai went to an Air Force flight college（空军飞行学院）. After finishing college, he began to work at an airport. The airport was in poor condition. However, he studied and trained his flying skills there carefully. InMay 2010, Cai became a Chinese astronaut and underwent（接受） hard training. He did best in his training and finally became a Shenzhou-14 team member. He tried his best to make his dream come true.

My name is Wang Lei, and I am a middle school student in Grade 8. I have a busy{#blank#}1{#/blank#} enjoyable life, filled with various activities .In my free time, I enjoy{#blank#}2{#/blank#} the guitar. I practice playing it every day, sometimes even for hours. It's one of my favorite{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. The sound of the guitar always brings me peace and relaxation.

To keep myself healthy, I regularly do{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. I go jogging in the park once a week, and I also play basketball with my friends{#blank#}5{#/blank#} a week. Exercise not only helps me{#blank#}6{#/blank#} in good shape but also makes me relaxed. I also care about my mental health a lot. The{#blank#}7{#/blank#} has become an indispensable( 不 可或缺的) part of my life. I use it to search for information, watch educational videos, and even communicate with my friends from other countries. However, I get to know the importance of balancing my {#blank#}8{#/blank#} and offline life, so I make sure not to spend too much time{#blank#}9{#/blank#} the Internet.

As a Grade 8 student, I know the value of a healthy diet. I try to eat{#blank#}10{#/blank#} . I believe that a balanced diet is important for my physical and mental health..

Dear mum, 

Sorry I haven't written till now. I'm travelling with my Chinese friend Li Lei in Harbin, then ice city of Heilongjiang in Northeast China. Now let me tell you something about it. 

When we got here, people were so kind and they welcomed us warmly. On the first day, we saw all kinds of ice sculptures (冰雕). They looked like plants and animals, and we took lots of photos of them. Going down the longest ice slide was exciting. We watched a firework show and the lion dance at night, too. 

On the second day, we watched the sunrise, and enjoyed the hot springs (泉) and barbecue s (烧烤). We also met a group of 11 lovely children from Nanning. They were having an educational (教育的) trip. They all wore bright orange clothes and were known as "Little Oranges". They stayed with the local families for a week and took part in different activities with their lead teachers. They could also learn how to look after themselves when travelling. They were so brave. 

In a word, the experience in Harbin was quite exciting, meaningful and unforgettable. Let me know how you are doing in New York. 

Yours, 

Tom