Students at Shanming Middle School in Jiangsu often take part in activities{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (hold) by nearby communities. Does it sound fun? Well, students have mixed feelings. They enjoy the time outside school. But they don't find the activities  {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (interest).

Why not design{#blank#}3{#/blank#}  (they) own activities? Some students got this idea and soon students joined the project.

     They first thought about activities ideas and listed them in an “activity menu”. They included: visiting science museums and companies; watching movies and basketball competitions.

    “The menu looked great, {#blank#}4{#/blank#}  we soon found problems,” said Wang Ziming, one of the{#blank#}5{#/blank#}   (designer).

      First they needed a place to hold the activities. The students decided to talk to the local government to let them use the district stadium.

 “We first presented the benefits of these community activities to them,” said Wang. “ Then we promised we'd use the stadium {#blank#}6{#/blank#}  (careful ) and clean it afterwards”.

     The local government agreed that they could use the stadium and some sports equipment once{#blank#}7{#/blank#}  month.

     The students also designed a virtual (虚拟的) bank to encourage volunteering.

     Students{#blank#}8{#/blank#}   volunteered as librarians or cleaners would be rewarded with “gold coins”. A certain amount of coins gave you free entry to entertainment events such as{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (watch) a movie.

     Now, this special activity menu {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (become) popular in Wuxi communities. The students are happy with this.

    I'm Zhao Kai, a student at Hongxing Middle School. The new term begins and I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} a new friend at school. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} name is Alice Green. She is a(an) {#blank#}3{#/blank#} girl. She comes to China with her parents. She isn't heavy or thin. She is of medium {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. She is tall with big blue eyes and short brown hair. She usually {#blank#}5{#/blank#} glasses in class, because she is a little nearsighted.

    Alice and I are in the same class, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} we go home together after school. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} the way home, we talk about many things. She often {#blank#}8{#/blank#} her hometown(家乡)—New York to me. And she invites(邀请) me to visit it. She enjoys music and {#blank#}9{#/blank#} singing hard every evening. So do you know what her dream is? She wants to be a {#blank#}10{#/blank#}. She also likes watching movies and her favorite actress is Gillian Anderson.

    Before leaving the university, I was busy looking for a job. It was very difficult to {#blank#}1{#/blank#} a job in the big city. I had been refused for many times. Then {#blank#}2{#/blank#} day I got the news in the local newspaper. It said, "Find over ten wrong words in the newspaper, and you can work as an editor (编辑). "I loved literature (文学) and had finished {#blank#}3{#/blank#} several articles for the newspaper. So I decided to have a try. But it was the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} date when I saw the newspaper. What's more, a friend of mine said, "Today is April Fool's Day. It may just be an April Fool's joke. A fool may take it {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. "I was very disappointed. However, I still made a {#blank#}6{#/blank#} to have a try.

    {#blank#}7{#/blank#} that day, I knew I was the only applicant (申请者). I got an important lesson from the experience. {#blank#}8{#/blank#} something that seems impossible, we need to have a try. Only then, may we have a chance to make something impossible possible.

Deal with conflict(冲突)

    Losing friends is as easy as making friends if you don't know how to deal with anger and conflict. Conflict is part of everyone's {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. It will show up at school, at work and at home. It's OK to feel angry, annoyed(恼怒的)or sad. These feelings are {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, but different people deal with {#blank#}3{#/blank#}in different ways. Some people shout, call people names, or even hit the person who has {#blank#}4{#/blank#}them. Others do their best to keep away from dissension(纠纷)but very few deal with conflict {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    Dealing with conflict is a step-by-step progress. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} you start talking about the problem, calm down, count to 10 and imagine a relaxing {#blank#}7{#/blank#}. Then, say what is really bothering(使烦恼)you, but watch how you express yourself. Don't complain. Share {#blank#}8{#/blank#} you feel by using". For example, don't say "You are always ordering me to do this or to do that," but "I feel sad {#blank#}9{#/blank#} you don't pay attention to what I think." You want people to {#blank#}10{#/blank#} your opinion so make sure you practice what you want to say. Listen carefully to the other person and accept that he or she might see the problem in a different way.

    Be open minded and willing to say sorry.

    Billy's favorite color was orange. But he couldn't see what orange looked like.

    A month after he was born, his mother found that his eyes weren't as {#blank#}1{#/blank#} as other babies'. "He is blind (瞎的)." The doctor said. Even so, with the hope to help Billy learn about the world around {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, his mother kept describing everything she saw for him.

    Not just{#blank#}3{#/blank#} his mother's words, Billy saw with his ears and hands to know the world, too. He had great hearing, "He probably can't see{#blank#}4{#/blank#} or sizes of things, but he can notice many special sides of them." Said his mother.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Billy lived in the dark, he always believed a dream would light up (点燃) his life. He found that he was interested in computer science. So he{#blank#}6{#/blank#} learning it at seven years old. As a young boy, he {#blank#}7{#/blank#} going to Stanford University some day. After he worked hard for years, Billy {#blank#}8{#/blank#} made his dream come true.

    Many people wanted to find out{#blank#}9{#/blank#} he could get success. Billy replied, "Just move forward! And always believe you will be able to {#blank#}10{#/blank#} yourself better step by step."

    You cannot choose what you are given, but you can choose how you make use of it.