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    Kyle walked up and down as he waited for his turn at the back stage. This would be his most important piano performance yet. At ten years old, he was the youngest performer in the Christmas concert. Although his teacher Ms. Neal said he was good enough at the song he would play, he still practiced it more than 30 times that week. When he closed his eyes at night, the music played over and over again in his mind

    Now, the day finally arrived, but Kyle was not sure he was ready. He kicked a small ball which was picked up from a Christmas tree, and then looked himself in a mirror—trying to make his bow tie more smooth and beautiful. He thought of his mom who bought him the new suit with this bow tie. He would make her feel proud of him. He noticed that his hands were shaking. How could he play the notes of the song if his hands were shaking? He took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but his hands shook more.

At this time, Ms. Neal walked up to speak to him. “I have something for you,” she said, putting a smooth black stone into Kyle's hand. “It's a special stone. There's no other one like it in the world. You've practiced so much, so you don't need anything else.”

    The stage lights reflected on it. “Thank you.” Kyle said.

When Kyle's name was called, he rubbed the stone, stepped onto the stage, and played better than ever. After his performance, he noticed that Ms. Neal had a whole bag of black stones. “Why did you say this one was so special?” he asked.

His teacher smiled, “Like your talent, it is special because it belongs only to you.''

    “Everything happens for the best, (一切都会变好的)" my mother said, whenever things weren't going my way. "Don't worry. One day your luck will change."

    After I had finished my college education, I discovered that Mother was right.

    I had decided to try for a job in radio. I wanted to host a sports program. I went to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station. But I got turned down every time. In one station, a kind lady said my problem was that I hadn't got enough experience. "Get some work in a small station and work your way up, "she said.

    I went back home. I couldn't get a job there, either. I felt really down. “Your luck will change, " Mom said to me. I tried another radio station in lowa. But the owner told me he had already had someone.

    As I left his office, I asked, "How can someone be a sports announcer(播音员)if he can't get a job in a radio station?" I was waiting for the lift when I heard the man call, "What did you mean? Do you know anything about football?" He put me in front of a microphone(麦克风)and asked me to try to imagine that I was giving my opinion on a football game.

    I succeeded!

    On my way home, Mom's words came back to me, "One day your luck will change, Son. And when it happens, you'll feel doubly good because of all the hard work you've done." At that moment I knew just what she meant.

The end of the year is drawing near, and winter is in full activity. The season brings along with its strong winds and snow — an environment that's never comfortable to be in.

 This unpleasant and even frightening part of winter can be often seen in literature. In Shakespeare's King Lear (1606), the king has given away his kingdom and been driven out by his two ungrateful daughters. He is out in the winter cold, suffering (遭受痛苦) things that are usually saved for the poorest and most unlucky human beings.

The winter is bad enough for Lear, but being driven out by his family is worse. A song from another Shakespeare's play, As You Like It(1599), is fitting for this poor old man's situation: "Blow, blow, thou winter wind/Thou art not so unkind/As man's ingratitude (忘恩负义)". Here, winter is used to bring out the ugliness of inhumanity (无人性). There aren't many things that are worse than winter, according to Shakespeare.

Once winter became less of a danger to human beings, it became more positive in literary works. Since Charles Dickens, the representation of the season in literature often has something to do with happy Christmas celebrations.

The cold of the winter weather provides a contrast (对比) to the fun going on indoors.

Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843) was the start of this, but Christmas is still a common, cheery element (元素) in stories that feature winter scenes today. Consider the joy felt by Harry Potter and his friends in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) as they sit down for their festive meal：

"Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce."

It is almost as much a pleasure to read about the meal as it might have been to eat it.

Although winter still isn't the most cheerful season in novels and poems, it's safe to say that writers have surely "warmed up" since Shakespeare's days.

Blue is a very common color in our lives-the sky, the sea and even face masks are often blue. But this color is not frequently(经常) seen in plants. Why is that?

A. Because blue plants would blend in(融合) with the sky and sea. 

B. Because animals prefer to eat blue plants. 

C. Because the material that gives plants a blue color is rare(稀有的)

D. Because blue isn't a beneficial(有助的)color for plant growth. 

The correct answer is D

There is no true blue pigment(色素)in nature. When light hits an object(物体), the object absorbs(吸收)some colors and reflects(反射)others. For example, plants look green because they reflect green light and absorb other colors. Blue light offers more energy than other colors. However, if a plant has blue leaves, according to scientists from the University at Adelaide in Australia, it must absorb(吸收) very small amounts of energy while reflecting high-energy blue light. This is not a good strategy(策略) for growth. 

Less than 10 percent of plants are blue. Plants make blue flowers by mixing pigments. For example, anthocyanins(花青素)can turn into a blue-likes color with a certain amount of acidity(酸度). Plants may make use of this unique color to attract pollinators(传粉者), such as bees. 

Do you know the marathon (马拉松)? It's a long running race of 42 km. The 2023 Zhuhai Marathon is on November 26th. Over 10,000 runners from across China and the world take part in it. 

It begins at 7:30 AM at Zhuhai Sports Center. The fastest runners begin running first, and the others run behind them. When they are running, they can see some famous places and buildings, such as Zhuhai Library, Zhuhai Opera House, and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. It ends at Lvyangwan, a beautiful beach park. 

It takes the winners about 2 hours to finish the race. Most people need 3 or 4 hours. Many families bring their kids to join in the running. They only run 6 km. They just run for fun, so people call it Fun Run. 

Running makes the runners sweat a lot. Along the way, they pick up cups of water to drink or to pour over their heads, to cool down. It's good for them to eat some bread, rice and potatoes after the race. 

The Zhuhai Marathon is not just about running. It brings people together, shows our beautiful city to the world, and calls for a healthy lifestyle. Do you want to join in the marathon next year? You can visit its website at www.zhuhai-marathon.com.