B

    Are you a big fan of E.T. (Extraterrestrial) or aliens? Then you should read Extraterrestrial Civilizations (《地球以外的文明世界》) by American writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992). In his 1979 book, Asimov looked at whether there is life beyond the Earth. He also talked about how we might be able tocommunicate with aliens someday. Asimov even told us that there are possibly about 500,000 civilizations (文明) in the galaxy (银河系). The book may be a little out of fashion since it came out in the 70s. But you'll still enjoy the good reasoning (推理) and imagination of it. Asimov was a science fiction (科幻故事) master. His most famous works talk about the relationship between robots and humankind.

    The wind tried pushing Colin to the ground. It felt as if Colin's news-bag was full of potatoes.

    Maybe it had to do with the news Dad read before Colin left. The morning headlines（标题）were full of the usual sad stories.

    “No good news again!” Dad said.

    Car accidents! House burns! Storm damage（损害）!

    Colin moved quickly from house to house leaving papers in the mailbox. He wished he could bring only good news to his family, also to his friendly neighbours. “How could I make things better for everyone?” he wondered.

    Colin noticed Alice coming. She only had one real eye. The other was made of glass. He liked Alice even if many others laughed at her. He didn't realize how much it helped her, having a friend like Colin.

    Each time Colin left a paper by a customer's door, he thought, “How could I make some good news?”

    Colin gave his usual cheerful “Hi” to everyone on his way. His smile was like the rising sun.

    Someone was crying and he ran to where a little boy had fallen and hurt his leg. Colin calmed him down until the boy's mother arrived.

    “I'm glad you're my paperboy,” she told Colin.

    He continued on his way, but he didn't feel tired. It was fun doing what he usually did—helping others.

    He raced up the street to his last customer. Mrs. Williams saw Colin coming and had peanut butter cookies as a treat for her favourite paperboy. She wondered why such a lively boy always had time to chat with an old lady.

    Colin's own treat for his customers came from his heart. He did have much good news to share, even if he didn't realize it. His smile and polite manners brought cheering-up news to all his customers.

    Sports are important in English life. The people of England are sports lovers. Some of the world's famous sports began here such as football and cricket(板球).

    Football is a fast game played in winter and early spring. Lots of people play football in parks or playgrounds just for fun. With hundreds of years' history, it's one of the most popular sports in England. The English love football very much and they turned most of their main players into famous persons. David Beckham and Bobby Charlton became heroes（英雄） for many children. The most interesting part of the English football year is the FA (Football Association) Cup Final each May.

    Cricket is a national sport in England. It is a very popular summer sport. It is a game played on grass(草地 )by two teams of eleven players. Players wear white clothes and score points（得分） by hitting（击打） the ball with a bat(棒子). People can sit around the green, enjoying the sun, having drinks and watching the team games.

    Tom Longboat had always been fast. He learned to run as a young boy on the Six Nations Grand River Reserve in Ontario, Canada. He ran a long distance each day to get to school or to visit his family and friends.

    Sometimes running was the easiest part of Tom Longboat's life. As an aboriginal(土著的) athlete, life was hard for him. Other people tried to control how he trained and where he raced. But he chose to depend on his own spirit, mind and body, and would never back down.

    Tom Longboat won the Boston-Marathon in 1907 with a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes and 24 seconds, 4 minutes and 59 seconds faster than the world record(纪录) at that time. The Boston newspaper said he was the most excellent runner who had sped over their roads.

    He took part in the Olympics and won many international marathons.

    His spirit lives on. Every year, the best aboriginal athlete in Canada is given the Tom Longboat Award.

    Toby was a 13-year-old Boy. He studied in a middle school in Paris. He was quite a Clever Boy and was good at almost everything. However, he had a problem. He had a fear(恐惧)of heights. This problem made him unhappy for a long time. He talked to his father about it one day.

   "I've had enough, Dad," he said." I would love to go rock Climbing with my friends. But every time I get too high, I feel afraid."

    His dad paused(停顿)as he thought about his son's ________

   "Well, Toby," he said quietly," I Can help you. But you will need to Be Brave. Are you ready?"

    Toby was quiet for a few minutes.

   "I am ready!" he answered bravely.

    Toby's father picked up the keys and walked towards the front door.

   "We're going into the City!" his father said.

    Toby knew what was coming. Toby lived in Paris. One of the world's tallest buildings was there. That was the Eiffel Tower. Nothing was said between them as they drove into the City.

    After about an hour, they arrived at the Eiffel Tower. Toby looked up at it.

   "Can I really do this?" he asked worriedly.

   "Well," his father said," I will be with you every step of the way. This is the day that you fight your fear! Come on!"

    Toby took a Breath. His father held his hand and then they made their way, step by step, towards the top of the Eiffel Tower. At last they got to the top.

   "Wow, Dad!" he said excitedly as he looked over Paris.

   "I told you there was nothing to worry about," his father said.

Winter comes after autumn and before spring. It brings snow and ice. Here are different ways to know it's winter.

The days are short and the nights are cold. The winter solstice (冬至) is the start of the coldest days in winter, and it is the shortest day of the year!

The sun isn't warm in winter. There is lots of snow in winter. People and animals don't like to go outside.

In winter, when you look outside, you'll see a lot of brown things, not the green ones. There are no leaves on most of the trees.

Some animals hibernate. They sleep in winter. But others keep food in autumn to eat in winter, because it is difficult to find food. Many birds fly from the north to warm places for the winter. They will come back when spring comes.