There was once a king who had a great palace with a wonderful garden. In the garden, there lived all kinds of animals. All of them

enjoyed living there.

 There was only one thing in the garden that the king hated: an old tree in the center of the garden. It was so old and dry. This made

the king so angry that he finally asked some people to cut it down and turned the place into a swimming pool. However, after the tree was cut down, the animals left the garden. Without the animals, the garden was not so beautiful as before. The king was sad, but he didn't know what had happened.

 A young man went to the king, and said he could explain what had happened. “This was because you cut the old tree down,” said the young man. “There were thousands of moths (飞蛾)which lived in the tree. Birds needed the moths to eat and then they produced wastes for plants to grow. The plants then attracted many other animals to your garden. So your garden became very beautiful. But as you cut the tree down, the animals had to leave.

“Excellent!” said the king, “I'll make you rich and you will try to make my garden beautiful again.”

“I'm afraid it will take many years to finish. It will take many years for the natural balance(生态平衡) to get back again,” said the young man.

 The king was sad, but all he could do was just to wait.

    Bill was a boy of 15. His parents didn't care about him. Bill often slept in class and always failed in his exams. Neither his teachers nor his classmates liked him.

    One day, Miss Jones, a new teacher, came to Bill's class. She began her lesson. She asked a question. "I'd like the smartest boy to answer my question. ''Then she said loudly, "Bill, please!”

    Bill was surprised. And he stood up without a word.

    "Just try it! I believe you can!" She encouraged(鼓励)Bill.

    After school, Miss Jones had a long talk with Bill. She told him that she cared about him and believed in him.

    Bill thought a lot that evening. From then on, he worked hard and Miss Jones helped him with his homework in the afternoon. She even cooked for him.

    Later, Bill had another exam. He was very excited to pass the exam. A change took place in Bill's heart.

Carol has three sisters. All of them are very beautiful. Sometimes she feels very bad because she doesn't look like them at all. She is short and heavy and she doesn't have big eyes or beautiful hair.

As young girls, her sisters often go to parties on weekends but Carol always stays at home—reading books and doing the homework. She says it's her dream to go to university(大学).

Ten years later, Carol grows up. All her sisters get married(结婚) at a young age and don't live a happy life. But Carol is now a teacher in a university and she spends most of her free time taking trips. Every day her life is colorful.

Well, you see it won't matter if you are not beautiful but you must study hard all the time. That may be the only way if you want to make your dream come true.

Woodcarving (木雕) is a traditional folk art form in China. Chen Jia, a young woman from Chaozhou, has concentrated (集中精力) herself on passing forward and innovating (创新) Chaozhou woodcarving.

Chen, born in the 1990s, began to learn the craft (工艺) when she was14 years old under the influence and support of her family. "I wanted to give up several times during the learning process, as I often hurt myself. It's also very difficult. My father wanted me to give up woodcarving and find an easier job. However, I fought on." Chen said.

Chen recalled that she had a strong sense of achievement when her first woodcarving artwork, which took her several months to finish, was sold. "Since I have learned it, I just keep going." said the artist.

To finish one woodcarving piece, a woodcarver usually needs more than 30 carving knives and wooden hammers of different sizes. A common theme for carvings includes different sea animals. In the past, Chaozhou woodcarvings were mainly used to decorate buildings, including serving as furniture and ceremonial objects. However, they have started to lose their charm among people living in modern life.

To attract young people to better appreciate the traditional art form, Chen has innovated on the craft in terms of its themes, shapes and usage. She now carves out small decorative objects and articles for daily use, hoping that more and more people will accept the art works as their liking.

Mandy's family lived in a small village. They had a hard but happy life. Mandy was never lonely,1 many children played on the hill behind their house.

But one winter, Mandy fell ill. Her parents were too 2 to pay for the medicine. Mandy had to sit by the window, watching her friends outside.

One day, a spider(蜘蛛) came and began to spin(结网) down next to her. When Mom came in, she noticed the3 too." Please get out!"

" No, she is my friend. Please let her stay. Look! She's spinning 4 me."

How thankful the spider was!5 came. The family started to decorate(装饰) the tree. Mom prepared some eggs and Mandy started to paint on them. But after a while, she was tired. Mom helped her finish the 6 and hung them on the tree. Dad found some pieces of wood and cut a few stars, but without Mandy, it didn't feel the same 7 .

When the family were asleep, the spider began to 8 . She spun down to the floor, then carefully climbed every branch(树枝), leaving her web s behind.9 , she reached the top of the tree.

Before long, the 10 air blew under the door and turned the gray webs to silver—— real silver.

" Look! It's real silver!" Mandy was very 11 ." The best Christmas gift for me!"

" How is this possible?" Mom and Dad were also amazed at the 12 .

Mandy looked up at the web," It must be 13 spider friend. Thank you!"

The next day, Dad took the silver to exchange for coins. They were enough to pay for Mandy's14 . Two weeks later, Mandy was on the hill,15 with her friends again.

Students sometimes fight (打架) at school. But how can you keep away from a fight? Here's something you can do. 

Be calm (冷静). Sometimes, you feel so angry that you really want to teach somebody a lesson. But being angry can't solve problems. A fight can't help, either. It may bring you more problems. In the school, everyone will be punished (惩罚), if he gets into a fight. There is no winner in a fight. 

Shout loudly. If you know someone is coming up behind you to attack, turn to the person with your hands up in front of your body and loudly say"stop" before walking away. Loud voice can usually make the attacker calm down. If the person doesn't stop, shout for help by calling your teachers. 

Learn to say no. Your friend may ask you to join in a fight, but helping him fight is not really helpful to him. If you really want to help him, try to ask him to stop. Also, you can tell him that if he has a fight, he may be punished. Then, try to know why he wants a fight and help him find a right way to solve the problem. 

If you follow my advice, you may keep away from a fight at school.