Beethoven, a famous musician in the world, was born in Germany in 1770.

In his childhood Beethoven didn't have a happy life. His father was a singer. When he was only four, his father began to make him practise hour after hour on different musical instruments (乐器). If he did not put his heart into it, his father would beat him or make it hard on him.

Beethoven loved music and he learned so fast that he was able to go around to give concerts, when he was only a boy of eleven. At the age of seventeen, lie won high praise from Mozart, the greatest musician at that time.

    Beethoven was often poor and in during his life. After one illness, lie suddenly found he couldn't hear at that time, he was only thirty-one. It was a great blow (打击) to him.

    But he still went on working and writing music pieces. To people's surprise, he wrote some of his best pieces after he lost his hearing.

In 1827, the great musician died. He leer more than 300 pieces. But people still remember his name today.

Florida teen band The Garbage-Men is performing on the stage. The band has five members. They are Jack Berry, Ollie Gray, Harrison Paparatto, Austin Siegel and Evan Tucker. The five teens are making music from waste. The Garbage-Men band's instruments are made from recycled things. The guitars are boxes. A horn(号) is made from pipes. The keyboard is formed from old bottles.

    The band started about two years ago. Jack Berry who was in eighth grade at the time decided to make a playable, home-made guitar. After some trial-and-error(反复试验),                he ended up building it from a cereal box,  a yardstick and toothpicks. After Jack showed his creation to his friend Ollie Gray, Ollie had the idea to form a band using other home-made instruments as a way to improve recycling. “We want to show people there is more to recycling than throwing things away in the bin.” Jack, 16, told TFK. “You can actually reuse materials.”

Last year, the Garbage-Men played at local events, including festivals, farmer's markets. Typically， the teens set up on the street and performed popular songs from the 1960s， including classic Beatles and crowd favorite “Wipe Out”. They talked about recycling and offered tips for how to improve the environment. While they were performing, Jack's little brother Trent, 11, gave out leaflets about recycling and helped sell the band's CDs and other musical products.

The band donated the money from sales to charity. They have raised more than $2,500 for Heifer International. The organization gives farm animals, seeds and agricultural training to people in poor countries to help end poverty and hunger. “It's a good, sustainable-development (持续发展的)charity,” Jack says, “By donating one animal, you help the whole community.”

The band, all tenth graders, tries to play a show every week. They've also played on a Florida radio station. The teens hope to take their shows on the road by touring in other states. “Music is a really good way to get a good message across to people because it's really close.” Jack says. Their instruments may be rubbish, but their message isn't.

C

    Jackson was driving back home along a road one evening. He just lost his job. It was winter and it was very cold, just like his feelings.

    An old lady with her car was standing on one side of the road. The lady looked very worried. She needed help. No one stopped to help her. Jackson stopped in front of her and got out of his car. Even when he put a smile on his face, the old lady still looked worried. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe, and he looked poor and hungry.

    Jackson knew how she felt. He said." I'm here to help you, madam. Why don't you wait in my car? By the way, my name is Jackson."

    The lady thought for a while and then went into his car. There was something wrong with her car. Jackson went under her car to repair it. After a long time, he finished it. He got dirty and his hands hurt. Then the lady told him that her name was Annie. She asked Jackson how much she should pay for his help.

    Jackson never thought about getting money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she should give that person help.

B

    Mr. Jenkins liked all kinds of delicious food. As an important officer, he was often asked to dinner.The shopkeepers tried their best to fawn on(巴结) him. They knew it was good for their business.

    Now the officer got fatter and fatter. He could hardly go upstairs at home and had to sleep downstairs. He often felt tired if he walked or did some housework. He was worried about it and had to go to a doctor. "Stop eating much fat(脂肪) and sugar,Mr. Jenkins," said the doctor,"or it will be worse for your health!" It was difficult for the officer to do it. He wouldn't do as the doctor said. He found something was wrong with his heart a few months later. Now he thought the doctor was right. And he had to be in hospital.

    "You must lose weight(减肥),sir," said the doctor,"unless you want to die soon! .... Could you tell me a way to lose weight,please. "You must do some exercise first."Which exercise?" "To move your head from side to side when you are invited to dinner!"

    One sunny day, I decided to go for a walk with my husband. I was wearing a special1 ring that day. It was my 20th birthday gift from my grandmother.

    As we were walking in the park, I just looked 2 at my hand and found the diamond on my ring was missing. I was really 3 so I went back to look for it. I knew how small the chances were of finding it, but I still wanted to give it a try.

    As I was fixing my eyes on the ground, I ran into an old gentleman 4.

    “What's the matter, love?” he asked nicely.

    “Sorry that I ran into you,” I said. “But I lost something important. I'm really nervous.”

    I explained about the missing diamond and showed him the5 in my ring.

    “That's not going to be easy to find it,” he said. “Tell you what, love, I take a walk here every day. I'll6 my eyes open for it.”

    I thanked him, expecting7. However, a few days later, my husband and I met the old man again in the park.

    “Guess what,” he said. “I found your diamond!”

    I couldn't believe what I saw when the gentleman handed the diamond back to me. Then my husband8him money for his help, but he refused.

    As the diamond is worth several thousand dollars, the old man could have easily kept the diamond 9sold it, but he did neither of these.

    Now thanks to this man, I always look at my ring and remind10 that there are still kind and generous souls out there. I'll spend more time trying to do something equally nice for other people.

    Mr. and Mrs. Scott want to buy some new chairs for their new house. They come into a shop and see some very good chairs on the floor. They like the colour and want to know how much they are. They see a price tag (标签) on one chair. It says (上面写着) "￥100". They like the chair but they are too dear (贵) for them. The Scotts don't think they can buy them now. They leave this shop and go to other shops. Mr. Scott thinks they can find some cheap chairs.