Dai Shifang was an easygoing girl, who seldom argued with her parents. But when she became a ninth-grader, things started to change. "We often have arguments, sometimes because of some little things," she said.

    Maybe Dai has got the "ninth-grade syndrome (综合征)". Some experts think ninth-graders usually suffer a lot because of the changes in their body and mind.

    A study shows that the lack of support from parents makes things even worse. Dai's classmate Liu Shijia is an example. "The exams in Grade 9 are more difficult. So I'm under great pressure. But my parents push me so hard and they don't support me at all," she said sadly.

    As ninth-graders enter the rebellious phase (叛逆期), they want to be free and have their own ideas. The study shows that about 47 per cent of ninth-graders try to make their parents agree with them when they have different ideas. Dai feels this deeply. "I think I am an adult already. I can make decisions for myself," she said. For example, she thinks there is nothing wrong with playing with boys, but her parents don't agree with her. They often argue about that.

    To deal with these problems, an expert from Nantong gave useful advice to students. "First, talk with your parents. Sometimes you may not fully understand each other, but keep trying. Second, pay more attention to your studies. Finally, learn about the changes in your body and get to know yourself better. Then try to accept them and control your feelings," she said.

    Something caught my eyes when I was walking down the street. Two silver coins were shining in a melting snow bank, so I dug through the snow looking for more. Of course, I just ended up with really cold hands. I slipped the two coins into my pocket and went home, colder but richer. I began to think about how to spend the money.

    Two days later, Mary and her little sister were searching the snow banks. "Finders are keepers" was my first thought. I didn't want to hand them out even though Susy was already crying." I dropped them right here," she said between tears. Her hands were cold and red for digging in the snow. "Maybe they slid down the street with the melting snow. Let's dig over here. "Mary's voice sounded confident.

    "They'll never know" was my second thought, and I walked past them. "Phil, have you seen two silver coins?" asked Mary. Susy looked up from digging. Her eyes were hopeful.

    "Tell a lie" was my third thought. As a matter of fact, I hesitated," I dug two coins out of that snow bank just a few days ago. I wondered who might have lost them." Susy hugged me with a big smile, "Oh, thank you, thank you."

    Most children love toys. But do you make your own toys? Seventh-graders at Central Middle

    School in Connecticut, US, really did. They made toys using a 3-D printer(打印机) in science class.

    They made a red and blue soccer table, a catapult(弹弓) and a scooter(踏板车).

    But these toys are not for themselves. They will donate them to poor children in Haiti. "By doing so, students feel that they can help others," science teacher Kate Bruzinski told the Greenwich Time.

    Bruzinski teaches the students how to use 3-D printers. They printed(打印) parts of toys. They worked in groups of four. It took them six to seven weeks to make the toys. They drew pictures for the toys, found materials(材料) and then built them.

    Soon, these toys will meet their owners in Haiti. Students are happy about that.

Betty is a biologist. She studies brain diseases that come along with aging. Her 1 is not an easy one. She is trying to understand what goes wrong with the brain over time, and how people can age in a healthy way. It is very important, especially when people are living a 2 life now.

Betty does not have a natural gift (天赋) for math. She never 3 that she could be a scientist one day when she was little. Now, she has got a doctor's degree in biology and become a famous 4 researcher. Betty has made it partly because she is curious about everything. This is a very 5 quality for a scientist. Another 6 is that she is a creative thinker. "After all, science is all about problem-solving," Betty said.

Betty thinks the best part of her research is trying out an idea to see if it will work. Her heart is filled with joy when her idea is proved right and 7 by other scientists. But when things don't go 8 as she plans, she feels no disappointment. She says mistakes may 9 a new idea.

Few are born to be a 10 . According to Betty, curiosity and creativity play the biggest role.

Emily Green is my friend. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} April 23rd, 2022, she made an excellent speech in English at a club.

In 1997, Emily was born in a poor family in Beijing. From an early age, she was  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}m teaming English and always spoke English with others. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Emily's family couldn't pay for her study in an English school, she kept learning English by herself.

Many people wanted to know how she learned English so well. Emily enjoyed sharing her experience with {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(In fact, she worked very hard and she found many great{#blank#}5{#/blank#} to learn it well. She learned English every day. She liked to {#blank#}6{#/blank#} to English radio or tapes at breakfast. In class, she listened to all her {#blank#}7{#/blank#} very carefully. After class, she read the words, sentences and texts again and again. She {#blank#}8{#/blank#} down the mistakes in the notebooks. She {#blank#}9{#/blank#} learned English by watching American TV shows. She imitated(模仿) the actors' words {#blank#}10{#/blank#} sentences in the shows. After years of hard work, her English became very good. People liked to talk with her in English.