We have heard about people who have special memories. Recently there has been a report about a woman from Australia who can remember almost every detail (细节) of all the events in her daily life.

    Rebecca Sharrock, 25, is one of just 80 people worldwide who have been identified(确定) as having Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory ( HSAM,超级自传体记忆症). It means she can remember every small event—which most people would forget with in (在......以内) days—as if it had happened just minutes ago.

    "I remember my mum putting me in the driver's seat of a car and taking a picture of me when I was 12 days old,” she said. " That's my earliest memory. I remember every day since then. I can't tell all the dates exactly because I was too young to understand calendars, but I remember what I did that every day, what the weather was like and so on.”

    Rebecca can also re—experience taste. If she's eating something that she doesn't like, she thinks about Black Forest cake, her favorite food, and the memory will be so strong that she can nearly "taste” it.

    However,  sometimes her memories prove (证明) to be painful. Because they're not just events that she remembers. "When I relive （再体验) memories, the feelings return, too,” Rebecca said. "For example, I remember falling over when I was three at my grandparents' house and hurting my left knee. Talking about it now, I feel painful in my left knee. "

    "At night, I have to sleep with the radio/recorder and a soft light on, she added. "1f it's too dark or quiet, my mind would be filled with all these memories and I can't sleep. "

    Once there was a piano player in a bar. People came just to hear him play. But one night, a girl asked him to sing a song.

    “I don't sing,” said the man.

    But the girl told the waiter, “I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing! ”

    The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get money, sing a song!”

    So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song!

    He had skills(技能) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he caught the chance, and found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.

    You, too, have skills. You may not feel that your skills are great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved(提高).

    The class teacher thought that hobbies were important to children. So she encouraged all her students to have one, and sometimes she arranged hobby shows for their parents to see.

    One morning the teacher told the class to have a holiday and get their hobby things to school before 5:00 p. m. A hobby show would be held the following afternoon.

    So in the afternoon, the students with nothing to show did their lessons at school as usual, while the lucky ones had a holiday to go home for their hobby works.

    When the afternoon lessons began, the teacher was surprised to see that Tommy was not there. "I don't believe Tommy has a hobby, "she thought. However, at a quarter to five, Tommy arrived with a beautiful collection of butterflies(蝴蝶) in a glass case. The teacher liked the samples（标本） very much and put them on a desk in the classroom. But, to her surprise, Tommy picked them up again and began to leave.

    "What are you doing, Tommy? "she asked. "Those things must stay here until tomorrow afternoon. That's when the parents are coming to see them. "

    "I know that, "answered Tommy, "and I will bring them back tomorrow, but my brother doesn't want them to be out of our house at night."

    "But, aren't the butterflies yours?" asked the teacher.

    "No," answered Tommy." They are my brother's."

    "But Tommy, you should show your own hobby here, not somebody else's!"

    "I know that, "answered Tommy. What surprised her most was the answer, "My hobby is watching my brother collecting butterflies."

    In a small village there lived a man. He would do nothing all day but daydream. Whenever he was hungry, he would go out, beg（乞讨）for food, come back and hang out.

    One sunny afternoon, the man was very hungry. With great difficulty, he got up, took out a pot（罐）and went out to beg. By begging the whole day, he finally got a pot of milk. He hung the pot on the ceiling（天花板）, lay down on his bed and started daydreaming again.

   "This pot of milk is going to make me rich, "he thought." I can make butter from the milk. Then I will be able to make ghee（印度酥油）and go to the market and sell the ghee." His dream continued, "With the money I get, I will buy a pair of cows. They will have baby cows. Soon I would have a large number of cows."

   "Then I will continue my business. I will buy come more cows and own a farm. And I will employ people to work on my farm. I can also open a candy shop. I will make candies out of the cows' milk, "the man kept smiling to himself.

   "I am so smart, "thought the man. Lost in his thoughts, he reached out his foot, breaking the pot. He saw the broken pot and cried. He lost whatever he had because he was lazy and spent his time daydreaming.

    Kathy could still remember the night she had to leave her home in Hungary. It was the beginning of World War II and her family had to leave their country as soon as possible. She quickly filled a bag with a few pieces of clothing, her diary, and her treasure—a beautiful silk scarf.

    Kathy and her best friend, Monica, had asked their parents to buy them matching scarves. They each would wear the scarves as a symbol of their friendship. Kathy had no idea that she was going to America that night and would not be returning.

    Kathy kept that special silk scarf for many years. One day she decided to give it to her granddaughter, Eliza, to wear to her first job interview for good luck. Kathy was afraid that Eliza would lose the scarf, but the granddaughter promised, "Don't worry, Grandma, nothing's going to happen to your scarf. You'll see. It is going to bring both of us luck today." And with that, Eliza kissed her grandmother and left for the interview.

    That afternoon Eliza left the interview, feeling sure that she had got the job. So she decided to celebrate by going to a restaurant. As she was sitting at her table, she felt someone looking at her. Sitting next to her was an old woman, who could not take her eyes away from her.

    "I'm sorry, do I know you?" Eliza asked.

    "I'm sorry, dear, but you make me think of someone I once knew," the old woman replied. "My best friend looked like you and used to wear a scarf just like the one you're wearing around your neck." Eliza listened carefully, with her eyes and mouth wide open. She had heard stories of her grandmother's best friend and knew the meaning of the scarf. Could this be Monica, her grandmother's childhood friend?

    Eliza introduced herself and waited to hear the name of the other woman.

    "My name's Monica, dear. I lived in Hungary as a child, but my family had to leave when I was fourteen years old. I've been living here in California ever since." said the old woman.

    Eliza could not believe her ears …

Students should like vacations. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} last week, I asked some students what they did last summer vacation. Their answers surprised me a lot. Some said they just {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (stay) at home and played computer games all day. Some said they had many classes in summer school. And many students even said their vacation was {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(real) boring. The summer vacation this year is coming soon. Do you want to have a better one? Here {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (be) some tips(小建议) for you.

First, find out what you are interested in and join some clubs. Next, it's just right {#blank#}5{#/blank#} spending some time and money on some trips. Learn to be {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (friend)when you meet new friends.

If your parents take you to another country, try to learn a {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (two) language.Take some photos of the beautiful places along the way. Finally, remember to finish your homework on time{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(know) more about your new lessons in Grade Eight.

I am sure if you can use {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (you) time well and have a good plan, you will have{#blank#}10{#/blank#}wonderful summer vacation.