Tom has a strong and faithful(忠诚的) dog, Bruce. The dog likes playing with Tom. Sometimes he also follows Tom's father to work.

    One morning when Tom's father worked in the field, he took off his coat and put it on the ground under a big tree. He turned to the dog and said, "Watch my coat, Bruce!"

    Bruce sat down on the coat. Later Tom's father remembered he had to buy some food. So he hurried to the shop. After shopping, he went home directly and forgot all about his coat and the dog.

    Late in the evening Tom looked for his dog everywhere in the house, but he couldn't find him. At this time Tom's father suddenly remembered his coat and the dog. He went back to the tree at once. He found that Bruce was still sitting on the coat!

    The morning was cold and clear. A yellow bus came around the corner and stopped near a wood (树林). A coach asked the students to get off the bus. Girls began to gather by the starting line. One of them is a young, little girl. She had prepared for this running race for the whole summer. She looked around at the other girls, noticing how she was different.

    There was a break in the silence, and everyone started to run. After about twenty-five minutes, every runner finished the race except the girl. She was still running for the next forty minutes. As she came near the finishing line, she saw her parents, classmates and the coach. They shouted her name and told her not to stop until the end. The sweat (汗水) was flowing down her face.

    She kept on running until she crossed the line. I was that girl, and that was the first time I had finished a cross-country race (越野赛跑). Finishing this race made me realize that I could do anything with my own strength. After that, I took more hard work to practice running. I was not a natural-born runner, but I want to become one. I continued to struggle (努力) with every run. Now I run much faster than before and become more and more confident. I am so thankful for running because it has helped make me who I am today.

    Last summer, I went to Yunnan on vacation with my family. We1four days there.

    Our first stop was Lugu Lake. I wondered why there was so beautiful a lake in the world. I enjoyed 2 there. We went boating and took quite a few photos. Then we went up to a hill. On the top of the 3 we got to see something beautiful. I felt like I was in a painting. I thought I would 4 forget the beautiful scenery (风景) there.

    The next morning we went to Lijiang by bus. It was a long 5 from Lugu Lake to Lijiang. In the afternoon we 6 After a short break (休息), we went to walk around the town and bought Some gifts. Then we decided to try the famous (著名的) Guoqiao Rice Noodles for dinner. They were very 7 and delicious. After dinner we took a walk and enjoyed the old streets and buildings 8 the moon. The summer evening was cool.

    Our 9 stop was the "spring city" Kunming. We visited Dianchi, watched the birds and went to the flower market. We had a really wonderful day.

    The four-day trip came to a(n) 10 soon. We had to go home. Everything in Yunnan was great. It is a very beautiful and interesting place. I'm sure you'll never regret (懊悔) going on a trip there.

    Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One early morning, I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 a. m. When I arrived to collect my passenger, I saw a small woman in her eighties standing before me. I took her suitcase to the car and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly towards the car.

    She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way l would want my mother treated."

    "Oh, you're such a good man," she said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, "Could you drive me throughout the downtown (市中心)?"

    "It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

    "Oh, I'm in no hurry," she said. "I'm on my way to hospice (末期病人安养所). I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long time." I quietly shut off the meter (计价器). For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, and the neighborhood where she had lived. Sometimes she asked me to slow down in front of a special building and she would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

    As the day broke, she suddenly said. "I'm tired. Let's go now."

    We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

    "How much shall I give you?" she asked.

    "Nothing," I answered.

    "You have to make a living," she said.

    "Oh, there are other passengers," I said.

    Almost without thinking, I bent down and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly and said, "You gave an old woman a little moment of happiness."