Jimmy had a cow．One day the cow was ill and stopped giving milk．Jimmy didn't want to1money on her so he let her go．The cow felt sad but she had to2 ．Bob found the cow on his way home and he 3her to see the doctor．

    Then the cow lived a4life because Bob was like a father to her．Soon she started to give milk again．Bob5milk and made lots of6 ． One day, Jimmy found this cow was his and wanted to get her．"That cow was7."said Jimmy．But Bob didn't want to give the cow back.

    "I will ask the Village Administrator(行政官)for8,"Jimmy shouted．Soon the Village Administrator came and he let the cow choose(选择)by herself．The cow walked9from Jimmy and started licking(舔)Bob's hand．She knew the two men were10 ．

    Jennifer was sitting on the bench. "It's getting1," she thought. "I should go home." She wanted to know her parents reactions(反应)when she2home after the three days she was missing. It was really dark when she finally got to home's front door. It was3as usual. 4looked after the outside garden for5days. It was so strange because her father usually worked hard to keep everything6and tidy. She couldn't understand what was going on. She walked into the7. First, she went into the kitchen8she saw a note written by her father. He said, "Dear Ellen, here is some coffee I am looking for her out." Ellen was her mother, but9was she? She went to her parents' room She saw her there. Her10 was lying on the bed and was sleeping. Her face looked so11as if she wasn't asleep for days. Jennifer wanted to wake her up. However, she looked too tired, 12Jennifer just fell asleep beside her.

    When Jennifer 13, something was different：She wasn't in her mother's room and she wasn't14the old clothes she rail away in. She was oil her own bed. It felt so good being back home Suddenly she15a voice, "Are you feeling better now, deal? You know you made us all very, very afraid. "

    Walt Disney began to make cartoon movies when he was a young man. But he didn't have much money then. One day a mouse ran near his desk while he was working in his small office.

    ＂Would you like to be my pet?＂ Disney decided to make a cartoon about it.

    ＂I am making a cartoon about a mouse named Mortimer,＂ he told his wife.

    ＂Mortimer Mouse? I think Mickey Mouse would be a better name,＂ she said.

    ＂You are right. It would,＂ Disney agreed and made many Mickey Mouse cartoons.

    People all over the world saw Mickey and loved it. Mickey Mouse made Disney famous. Then came Donald Duck, and Goofy Dog and others. Disney began to make long cartoons. Then he made cartoon movies for television.

    In 1955, Disney opened a wonderful land of make-believe in California. Real boats, castles, trains, mountains, rivers, all are in one beautiful park. Millions of people came to Disneyland.

    He died in 1966, but the world will not forget him. Mickey Mouse and all his cartoons will help us to remember him.

    Long ago, there was a queen who lived in a palace. She felt bored and said to her advisor (顾问):

    "All the things around me are too boring. I need a different kind of beauty. Let everyone know that I will hold a competition for the most beautiful thing in the world. And the prize will be this crown(王冠)."

    Several days later, lots of people came to the competition and showed their things. The queen was not satisfied with what she saw. The advisor suggested, "What you are looking for cannot be brought to you. You must look for it by yourself. What about a journey?"

    The queen was interested in the idea, so she started immediately. As she was on top of the hill near her palace, she looked down and suddenly something cried in her heart, "Why have I never found my palace so beautiful?"

    The queen spent one year travelling. She saw beauty on the farm, in the forest and even in the stars twinkling (闪烁)at night on her journey. But what was the most beautiful thing? She thought it over. Suddenly, she under- stood beauty was everywhere. She should learn to enjoy the world. She left the pieces of her crown at different places that she had seen. As time went by, the queen's crown got smaller and smaller until nothing was left.

    She found the most beautiful thing at last. It was the world!

When I moved to America in the 7th grade, I did not speak any English. I had no choice but to keep working hard. Although I made 1 when I reached the 9th grade, people still found it difficult to understand me because of my accent (口音).

One day, at a party, I was invited to play a guessing game. When it was my turn, I tried to 2 the object that I had in mind. Suddenly someone said with a laugh, "What did she say?" I felt 3 . Out of kindness, a girl gently advised me to repeat it, but I got stuck on the word "purple"—I couldn't 4 it. This time, everyone laughed while I was trying hard to get the word out of me. This 5 had its own influence on me. When opportunities were opened up for the summer program I had been looking forward to, I 6 to attend (参加) the interview. Luckily, I got tons of encouragement from people around me. So I decided to 7 .

At the interview, the other students in my group spoke very 8 but I didn't speak that much. I knew that I could hardly be understood because of my accent. Besides when I was nervous, it would be even more 9 for me to pronounce words clearly. After the interview, I stayed, said "10 " and explained to the teachers. I didn't want them to think I wasn't interested or I was being unfriendly. But they appreciated (欣赏) that I expressed 11 . "It's OK. You don't have to say sorry. Your accent does not make you less than others," said one of the teachers.

Surprisingly, I was accepted into the 12 . Imagine how I felt!

Up to now, I still feel 13 that I took that step. It is a sign that I have changed. I did not let my accent 14 me. I'm sure I will continue to feel nervous about speaking English with strangers. 15 that's OK. It will not stop me from trying to be better.

My baby graduated last week. Waiting for the ceremony to begin, I took a photo and posted it on Facebook with words "I'm teary. " However, autocorrect (自动更正) changed my words to "I'm ready. " For a minute I was unhappy. But the next minute I was cheering the handsome man, as he walked straight with a big smile to the headmaster. My heart was filled with pride, and I began to wonder if autocorrect had known something. 

The idea of "empty nest" is often connected with sadness, but the truth is that birds don't have a problem with it. Birds' parents encourage their children to leave the nest as soon as possible, while continuing to provide support. That sounds right to me. The fact that my kid is brave enough to go out on his own means I did my job well. And I should have the rewards. 

So, I started with a hot bath at 6:00 p. m. I enjoyed it for over an hour, and then went out to do some running. Back home then, I cooked salmon -my favourite fish but my boy disliked its smell. Later, in the evening, I didn't have to tell anyone to turn off his computer and get some sleep. But at midnight, I missed my boy a little bit more. 

The next morning, I went for a walk. Was I a terrible mother to live in the house by myself? Then I remembered: my kid flew because I taught him to fly. If I'm happy to be drinking coffee as I write this, it's not about not loving my boy but about finding his independence when he's away. It's about realizing that when your smartphone autocorrects "teary" to "ready", you should take note.