根据短文内容回答下列问题。

    My father used to work in the city and seldom stayed at home. But he would come back and help to harvest(收割) rice every year.

    One autumn, he promised to help our neighbour, who lost his arms in a traffic accident in 1999, to harvest his rice. After father harvested our own, his little rice picker broke. What's worse, he had to return to work the next day because his partner was ill in hospital. It meant that father wouldn't be back in a few days. It now seemed impossible to help out the neighbour.

    Father told us that he wouldn't let the neighbour's rice rot(腐烂) in the field. He decided to harvest it by hand without a machine. "If tonight's weather is clear, I think I can do it, "added my father. In fact, he was rather tired after a day's harvest work.

    After dinner, father had a short rest and made his way to the field. A full moon was glowing(发光) in the sky and the weather was cold but clear. He spent the whole night keeping his word.

    I would never forget the image(画面): Father was cutting rice in the light of the harvest moon. Behind him, row after row of rice stocks(秸秆) stood at attention, showing respect for a man who kept his word.

    Long, long ago, a donkey(驴) fell in a dry well. The animal cried for hours as the farmer tried to think out what to do. Finally, the farmer thought the animal was too old and the well needed to be covered(覆盖) up anyway, so he decided not to try to save the donkey.

    The farmer invited his neighbours(邻居) to help him. They began to shovel(铲) dirt into the well. The donkey cried harder. Then a few shovelful later, he became quiet. The farmer looked into the well, and was surprised by what he saw.

    While every shovelful of dirt hit his back, the donkey would shake (抖) it off and take a step on the new layer(层) of dirt. As the farmer's neighbours continued(继续) to shovel dirt on top of the animal, the donkey would shake it off and take another step up.

    Soon the donkey stepped up out the well and ran away, to the surprise of all the neighbours

    The lesson we get from this story is that life shovels some dirt on us, we must get out of the well and not let it cover us. We must learn to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our trouble is a stepping-stone (踏脚石). We can get out of the deepest well by never giving up!

Wanting: I want nothing but music

    Wanting Qu, born and raised in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, has become one of the most popular singers in China this year. During the past few months, her name and songs have spread quickly on the Internet, over the radio, and in almost every corner of China. You would be considered totally “out” if you have never heard of her song “Stay in My Song”.

    She is a girl full of courage. At only 16, Wanting left home and entered a Canadian school to study business, starting her life in a foreign country alone. Soon，she found that her true passion was music. She went on to get her degree(学位), but also tried her hand at songwriting. She did part-time jobs to keep on her study like many Chinese students who study in foreign countries, but never gave up her dream of being a musician. When the chance came, she bravely introduced herself to the CEO of Nettwerk and became the first Chinese singer-songwriter the company signed in 26 years.

    Wanting's music career started to take off in 2009 when she worked in Nettwerk. In 2011, after hearing the songs she wrote and recorded, the famous Chinese composer Zhang Yadong called her and would like to work with her.

    With all the successes she has achieved in China, Wanting is recording her first English album. She is ready to conquer(征服) the world.

    31-year-old Michael Phelps has become a phenomenon(神话) in swimming.

    Phelps won four golds and one silver at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. He ended his journey to the next Olympic Games and magic performance successfully. Within 12 years, from Athens to Rio, Phelps won 22 gold medals. He was one of the greatest athletes in the history of the Olympic Games.

    At the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, he won eight gold medals. That was more than the whole Australian team could put together. He beat(打败) Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven wins in the pool at one Olympics. Phelps has put his name next to seven world records.

    Michael Phelps started to swim at the age of 5. Guess which stroke(动作) he first tried, the backstroke. It's because he didn't want to put his face in the water. By the age of 7, he had taken part in a lot of swimming competitions. At 11, he met Bob Bowman who saw the kid's great talent.

    How did Phelps become so good? He was born with the body of a swimmer. He stands 1.87 meters high and has a wide wingspan(臂展). He knows how to use his body to full advantage. His hands and feet are like paddles(踏板) in the water and he has a strong kick. But that's not all; he also has the heart and will to win. He thinks that anything is possible as long as you keep practicing.

    Swimming is Phelps' life. Every day he spends five hours in the water, swimming about 11 kilometers. He never takes a day off. This is a young man who knows what he wants. "If I didn't swim my best, I'd think about it at school, at dinner, and with my friends. It would drive me crazy," he said.

    "There are no limits(限制). The more you dream, the further you will get."

Bryan ran home." Dad! Look!" he called excitedly."I found the cutest pet in the river! I named him Hoppy."

Dad had a closer look," Oh, a frog! How handsome!"

" Do you think Hoppy will like it here?"

" Why don't you keep him for a while, and then we' ll see how he's going."

Bryan found a shoebox. Using a pen, he poked(戳) air holes in the top of the box." Welcome to your new home. In you go, Hoppy."

" Are you hungry?" Bryan asked. He lifted his frog out of the box and put some sandwich pieces in front of him." Eat up, Hoppy." Bryan watched... But Hoppy didn't eat. Bryan waited... Hoppy just sat and stared (瞪眼看)." Don't you like sandwiches?"

Bryan put Hoppy back in the box."I think Hoppy's tired. I'm going to make him a comfortable bed." Bryan cut the old newspapers into pieces and put them into the box. He put Hoppy on his new bed." Are you cozy now? I' ll tell a story to help you sleep." When the story was over, Hoppy was still awake.

" Can't you sleep? Why?" Bryan asked. Hoppy just sat… and stared. Bryan didn't know what to do and sat thinking.

" How are you getting along?" Dad asked.

Bryan cried," Hoppy doesn't want to eat or sleep."

" Think about what he really needs."

A little later, Bry an ran into the house looking for his dad." Whoa!" said Dad." What's the hurry? And where's Hoppy?"

"I took him back to the river," Bryan said." He was sure glad to be home! When I put Hoppy down, he jumped into the river, caught a fly and ate it. Then, guess what!"

" What?"

Bryan laughed." Just before Hoppy jumped into the water, I think I saw him smile at me."

Most of us cannot imagine modern life without social media (社交媒体). We use it almost every day in order to keep up with what is happening in our friends' lives, or find out the latest information.

 The greatest advantage of social media is that we can connect with people much more easily. We are still able to keep in touch with our friends if they are far away. Also, it makes it easier for us to make friends, especially for those who are afraid of making friends face to face. Are you shy? If yes, social media has probably helped.

 Social media is also ideal for making yourself heard. Anyone with a voice can express(表达) it. Anyone with a talent is free to show it. Moreover, anyone with a smartphone and the Internet can be a reporter. As a result, it has become much faster to cover the news than ever before.

 Social media, on the other hand, can make us less confident sometimes. A study found that the more a person uses social media, the sadder he feels about his own life. One reason for this is that people around us put colourful information and perfect pictures online in order to show off their best moments. So we often get an incorrect sense of how wonderful their lives are, compared to our own.

 Social media does not cause sadness; it simply provides a tool for us to use. Is it good or bad? Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai says, "What is interesting is the power and influence of social media. We must try to use social media in a good way". After all, you decide how you use this powerful tool.