B

      Mark Twain was a great writer in America. He wrote many books. He liked telling jokes in his books. People liked reading them very much. And it was full of jokes in his life, too. Mark Twain liked reading. So he often borrowed books from other people. One day, he wanted to borrow a book from his neighbor. His neighbor was a mean man. He didn't want to lend it to Mark Twain. Then he had an idea. He said to Mark Twain, “I have a rule. You will have to read the book at my home. If you want to borrow it from me, you should never take it out." Mark Twain had to read that book at his neighbor's house.

     A month later, his neighbor went to borrow a cropper (割草机) from Mark Twain. Mark Twain said to him with a smile, "I make a rule, too. That is, you must use my cropper in my garden. If you borrow it, you can never take it out either."

    Sydney Fredette has a lot of things to deal with. Not only is she a high school student, but she has also set up her own organization, Beary Merry Christmas. She volunteers（自愿）to serve poor kids and families in Orange Country in California, US.

To remember her best friend who died of cancer nearly 10 years ago, Fredette decided toy animal that is made by children themselves in the stores' workshops. Fredette then gave them as gifts to the homeless children in California during the holiday season.

    With donations at more than 100 bears a year, Fredette and volunteers host activities every year, where volunteers not only give out the bears, but also clothing, meals, and other things.

    Not wanting to limit（限制）the giving to just the holiday months, Fredette now hosts other activities for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Halloween, providing the chance for her volunteer team to make a difference through the year.

    "I love making relationships with the people I serve," Fredette said. "The thanks they have, hearing their stories and seeing how happy they are, it's so cool."

    Future plans for Fredette include building a public food bank and providing a self-development class for students in her school who will soon attend college.

    Heading to college herself in the fall, Fredette is looking to stay local and continue to help out in her hometown. In fact, she was regarded as a "Dreamer & Doer" not long ago for her work in improving her community, along with 32 other high school students.

I started learning English at the age of 22. It is kind of 1 to start studying a language. However, age is never a problem if you really want to 2 something.I was preparing myself to study engineering in the USA. To enter（进入）my dream university, I had to 3 a TOEFL score（托福分数）of 90 or higher. After careful thought, I signed up for（ 报名参加）a six-month program to study English.

It was 4 to get 90 in six months for someone who started learning English from the very beginning, but I decided to have a try. In order to join the 5 , I moved to a different city and rented（租用）a house with a friend. We were in the same program. We did not have any distractions（使人分心的事物）in 6 house, such as televisions, computers or smartphones.

We had classes every day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 7 a lunch break only. After the classes were over, we had something for dinner and started 8 what we had learned and doing homework. We would study 9 we became sleepy, and usually we would finish it by midnight.My friend and I encouraged each other and we did our best. 10 , we both got perfect TOEFL scores and went to the USA at last.

Have you ever read Little Women by US writer Louisa May Alcott? The classic has been changed into plays, films and television programs many times because of its popularity since it came out in 1868. It tells a story of a mother raising her four daughters, while their dad is away fighting a war. Meg, the eldest, wants to live a better life very much. Jo, the second-born, wants nothing more than to be a writer. Beth is a sweet girl who loves music and always brings joy to others. The youngest daughter, Amy, dreams of being an artist. After reading Little Women, I have a feeling of warmth and kindness from the family.

In the following scene, the girls talk about what they can buy with the very little money they have. They feel hopeful about the future even though their dreams may not come true.

Joe was a farmer. He didn't have a good harvest(丰收) for years.

"If God let me control(控制) the weather, everything would get 1 ," he complained(抱怨), "I know better than God does because I am a clever farmer."

God heard his words. "Well, I will give you one year," God replied. "You will be in charge of the weather. Let's see what your crops will grow like."

Joe was so surprised that he couldn't 2 what he heard. But he still wanted to have a try. He shouted, "Sunny!" Suddenly the clouds went away.

He tried again, "Rain!" The sky became cloud y right away and heavy rain poured down. In the following year, he changed the weather between sunny and 3 . Watching his crops growing bigger and bigger, he felt satisfied. When the harvest season came, he carried his basket and sickle(镰刀) to the field, looking forward to a big harvest(收获). But his heart sank(下沉) to the 4 when he found his strong crops had not grow n any grain at all. Puzzled and 5 , he started crying. Once again, God heard him.

"Don't you have your wish to control the weather?" God asked. "Yes, but I just don't understand. I have given them what they 6 . How could it be?" Joe wondered. "That's because you 7 asked for wind, rainstorm, snow or anything that could make the roots(根) stronger. 8 strong roots, of course they won't grow any fruit." After he knew the 9 , he asked God to take back the power.

It turned out that only through life's challenges(挑战) would we harvest the 10 of life.