When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I would make it home for the holidays. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have the three-day holiday posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers. It was Christmas Eve when I arrived home, and a little snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood, there were lights, all colors, and ornaments (饰品) shining against the green of a pine.

    “Where did it come from?” I asked.

    “I asked the Gates boy to cut it,” my mother said. “I wouldn't have had one just for myself, but when in great need…such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon.”

    The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the Tree Top Crystal Star was in its place. A few green branches reached out a little awkwardly(难看) at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with the pleasant smell of Christmas.

    “It's not like the one you used to find,” my mother went on. “Yours were always in good shape. I suppose the Gates boy didn't know where to look for a better one. But I couldn't be fussy because he had tried his best.”

    “Don't worry,” I told her. “It's perfect.”

    It wasn't, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time: all Christmas trees are perfect.

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

    How are you? I am fine. School is out already. On our last day, we went to a museum. It was fun until we all had to run through the rain to get on the bus. Even that was kind of fun, though.

    How was your camping trip? Dad says you're just getting back home this Wednesday. I've been taking good care of Sparky for you. The dog sleeps at the foot of my bed on most nights. He and the cat have even been getting along.

    Dad says to tell you that our yard is looking good this year. We've had lots of rain, especially last Friday— the last day of school

When are you coming to get Sparky? See you soon.

Love,

Kyle

Dear Kyle,

    Our camping trip was wonderful! We've already decided to come here again next year. From Ohio. We drove south to Kentucky. We enjoy looking at rocks, so we had decided to go to Mammoth Cave National Park. I'd never seen so many rocks!

    Each day, we chose a different cave. We saw narrow(狭窄的)places and huge ones. In one cave, we were underground for more than two miles.

    We'll come to get Sparky next weekend, if that's okay.

Love,

Grandma and Grandpa

    One day an American was in Africa. He wanted to go to a small village in the hill. He got on a bus and the driver said: "The yellow ticket is one dollar. I have two other tickets. The red one is fifty cents, and the green, ten cents." "A green one, please "said the man. The bus started to get up the hill. Suddenly it stopped. "Red ticket passengers, get out and walk. Green ticket passengers, get out, close the door, and push the bus." shouted the driver.

When I was young, my family lived a hard life in the countryside. One evening we were visiting some friends and the weather was very bad. It began to rain on {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (we) way back home. Dad carried me on his back. Mum {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(give) her coat to my brother. We walked together in the rain for more than an hour. 

I was fat at that time and Dad must be tired to carry me {#blank#}3{#/blank#} such a long time. He almost fell down many {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(time). I tried to get down and walk myself,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} I did nothing well since I was just a little kid. 

After arriving home, we found the inside of our house was covered with water. The rain had come through the{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (break) roof and water was everywhere. Mum put bowls all around the house {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (catch) the rain. Then she put my brother and me to the dry place on the bed. I fell asleep soon.{#blank#}8{#/blank#} I opened my eyes, I found Dad and Mum were sleeping in chairs, each having caught {#blank#}9{#/blank#} bad cold. 

It happened more than twenty years ago. And now I'm a mother too. I can remember neither the beginning nor the end, but I{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (real) understand what the parents' love means. Whenever I think of it, tears run down my face from my eyes. 

I was on vacation last month. I went to Hong Kong 1 my parents. We went there by plane. It was really 2 for me to have such a great experience(经历). 

3 it's a small city, there are too many people. The city is clean and the people there are very4 We went to Times Square first because it was near 5 hotel. We also wanted to buy 6 there. The things there were cheap, and we enjoyed going 7 there. Then we went to many other 8 I liked the Ocean Park best. The Ocean Park was really big and there were many tourists. I saw many ocean animals there. I took a cable car(缆车). From it, I also 9 green hills and colorful flowers. 

This trip was so wonderful that I wouldn't forget 10 forever(永远). 

Cui Chenxi, a 14-year-old girl, finished the women's skateboarding street final (滑板女子街式决赛) in fourth place at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics on July 28th. It achieves China's best result in the sport since it was 1 to the Games three years ago in Tokyo. 

Cui2 Jinan, Shandong Province. She has always been interested in sports. She tried her hand at 3 sports: football, basketball, and table tennis. But4 it was skateboarding that won her heart. 

Cui only began skateboarding in 2020. Her father 5 her to try skateboarding. Then she fell in love with it. Within a year, she began winning6 at professional-level(专业级的) events. In 2022, she got third place in the women's street event at the Shandong provincial (省级的) games. She soon joined the provincial skateboarding7 . In 2023, she made history by becoming China's 8 -- ever Asian Games medalist after winning gold in the street skateboarding event in Hangzhou. 

But it is not easy to make so much9 in such a short time. Cui has always been working hard and learning from other skateboarders. "When I started skateboarding, I thought it was great fun. Later, I 10 that most of the time, getting hurt is just part of the process. But that is where the spirit of skateboarding lies. " she added.