I'm an office worker and work in a downtown(闹市区) office. I live on a small island(岛), so take a boat from the island to the city center on weekdays. The boat leaves at 6:20 and① it takes about 35 minutes to get to the city. Then I have a short walk to my office. Sometimes when the weather is bad, I can't get to my office on time by boat.(Tina Brown)

    I'm a teacher. ②I take the train to work every day. The train is quick and cheap and there are hardly any delays(耽误). The trains run every half an hour. The train station is near my home. It takes only 35 minutes from my home to the school.(Ms Jackson)

    I'm a college ( 大学)  student. I live in a college. The college is very big, so I usually walk a lot. Sometimes ③it takes 15 minutes to get from one building to another. When I want to shop with my friends outside the college, we take a bus. The buses stop running after 10：00 pm. So if we get back after that time, we take the bus to our school. (Maria Black).

    Ever since I was a child，my mouth has caused me trouble．I'm not a bad person；I have just had a hard time learning when to keep my mouth closed．

My mom has told me again and again，"Robert，your constant bad words are hurting me．If you continue to be this rude，you will get into big trouble．"

    It's been a problem at school several times，too，when teachers have told me something I didn't want to hear．I used to feel it was my duty to stand up for myself and tell them ______ off．

    One day in English class I began working on my homework until I heard a classmate talking behind me．It was Nathaniel，talking to himself as usual．

I said ever so nicely，"Nathaniel，would you be quiet?"

Nathaniel continued talking to himself．I quickly shouted，"Nathaniel，shut up!"

    For the next five minutes，we threw hurtful words back and forth at each other．

"At least I don't have an ugly lazy eye like you!"I shouted．

    I knew this would bother him deep inside．It would hurt his feelings and shut him up．

What I said filled him with anger．He tried to reach over my seat and grab me as he shouted．"That's it! That's it!"

    Surprised at his reaction，I sat back in seat．Never had I seen Nathaniel act like this before．

Later on，we were taken to the principal's office．

There，the principal told US to discuss the matter．It wasn't until then that I finally found that when I hurt someone physically，the wounds(伤口)eventually heal．But when I hurt them with my words，sometimes the pain never goes away．

    At the end of the discussion，I said sorry to Nathaniel．

    When I headed back to my room，I spent some time praying． I began to think about how often what I said hurt others．But I believe that as I keep praying and asking God to help me，he'll tell me when to keep my mouth closed．

    As a student, I was most afraid to answer questions in class, and I found that the students around were just like me. At the beginning of each class, when the teacher asked a question, I always lowered my head because I was afraid the teacher saw me.

One day, in a foreign language class, Mr. Black gave us a lesson. He wanted us to be active in class, so he asked us some questions, but no one answered. "Let me tell you a story first," he said.

"When I came to the United States to study, the university often invited famous people to make speeches. Before the beginning of every speech, I found an interesting thing. The students around me always took a cardboard folded(折叠的) in half, wrote their names in bold(黑体) with the most eye-catching(引人注目的) color, and then placed the cardboard on the seat. So when the speaker needed the answers from the students, he could see it and call a listener's name directly."

"I couldn't understand that. My classmate told me the speakers were all top people, who meant chances. When your answer was to his surprise, it meant he might give you more chances. In fact, I really saw a few students got great chances because of that."

    After listening to the story, I understood that the chance will not find you itself. You must show yourself all the time so that you can find a chance on the card.

    Once there was a famine（饥荒）.A rich cook sent for twenty of the poorest children in the town and said to them, “In this basket there is a piece of bread for each of you. Take it and come back to me every day at this hour for more.”

    In a hurry the hungry children got together around the basket, and fought over the bread because each wanted the largest piece.At last they went away without even thanking the good cook. Mary, a poorly-dressed girl, did not fight with the other children,but stood quietly in distance.When the badly-behaved children had left,Mary took the smallest piece,which was all left in the basket.She kissed the cook's hand and went home.

    The next day the children were as badly-behaved as before. Mary got a piece of bread almost half the size of the one she got the first day.When she came home,her mother cut the bread open. Many new, shining pieces of silver fell out of it.

    Her mother was very worried, and said, “Take the money back to the cook at once.The silver must have fallen into the dough（面团）by accident. Hurry up, Mary” When the little girl gave the rich man her mother's message, he said, “It was no mistake.I had the silver pieces put into the smallest bread for you as a prize. Always be as satisfied, peaceable and thankful as you now are. Go home now, and tell your mother that the money is yours.”

    September 21st, 2050—At a press conference today, it was announced that the first tourist heading for Mars would be the 38-year-old American businessman Patrick Clifford. He would leave the Earth in the launching window of June, 2052, and he would set his foot on the surface of Mars in November, together with 6 astronauts who would further explore the planet.

    Patrick has a two-year training ahead of him to get ready for the trip. Not only will he spend five months in getting to Mars, but another 600 days there before he can go back home. Patrick was very excited, "This has been my dream since I was four, and seeing the first man on Mars 20 years ago made me realize that it was possible."

    To be able to pay the 1.3 billion dollars for his ticket for the trip, Patrick sold his majority stocks in the company which his father had built. "I know that my father would have been proud of me if he had still been alive today. He knew what this meant to me," says Patrick.

    So, how is he going to spend his 600 days on the red planet? "Well, since I don't have a job, when I get back after selling the company, I have plenty of time to come up with a new business idea," Patrick says and laughs. If he brings a shovel(铲子), he can start building the first hotel there, but maybe he shouldn't expect too many guests until someone can offer a lower transfer fare.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(几个月前), I read a book. It made me feel it's a {#blank#}2{#/blank#}to always buy more things than I need. I started cleaning my house and got lots of unnecessary things. It's a w{#blank#}3{#/blank#}and trouble for me. And then I{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(考虑)what to do with them.

This question made me think of Garage Sale for Orphans. It helps people clean out their houses and t{#blank#}5{#/blank#} things into money that can help homeless kids{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(全世界). It r{#blank#}7{#/blank#}me. So I ask my boys for help, and they loved the idea of helping others.

They walked from door{#blank#}8{#/blank#}door to ask the{#blank#}9{#/blank#}/'neɪbəz/ for the things they don't need. At first, I wondered if we{#blank#}10{#/blank#}able to fill a box or two. Finally, however, we had ten boxes full of different things. Then it was time{#blank#}11{#/blank#}the yard sale.{#blank#}12{#/blank#} (即使；尽管)we had ads in the newspaper and online, I was still not sure whether whether anyone would come. {#blank#}13{#/blank#}(令我们惊奇的是), so many people came to our yard sale. I p{#blank#}14{#/blank#}to get 400 to 500 that day. At last, we got $743.23! We sent the money to the poor children in Haiti. Thanks for all the people who{#blank#}15{#/blank#}helped us.