In the state of Qin (秦国), there was a man called Shang Yang (商鞅). He was a statesman (政治家) and worked out many reforms(改革) for the state, like paying more attention to farming and giving rewards (报酬) to soldiers who were successful when at war.

    But these reforms were not easily carried out (执行) at first. Most people didn't trust Shang

    Yang. In order to solve this problem, Shang Yang came up wiIh an idea. He put a thin wooden pole at the south gate of the Qin capital. Many people came to see him and the pole.

    Then, in front of the crowd, Shang Yang said loudly, "The man who takes this pole to the north gate will get 10 gold pieces."

    It was a sample job and the reward was so large. However, some time passed and no one stepped forward. They all thought Shang Yang was making a joke.

    Hearing no answer, Shang Yang stepped forward and said, "The reward now goes to 50 gold pieces."

    This reward was unbelievably large. Finally, a man from the crowd came forward. He put the pole on his shoulders and walked to the north gate. True to his word, Shang Yang gave the man 50 gold pieces.

    After that, the people of Qin were all talking about what Shang Yang did about the pole. They believed he was a man of his word. So when Shang Yang began carrying out his reforms, the people followed him.

    Under these great reforms, Qin grew stronger and stronger. Al last, Qin made all the seven states into one empire (帝国).

    Some parents are always comparing their children with themselves when they were young, or with other people when they were children.

    "When I was your age," a father said to his sixteen-year-old son one day, "I was at the top of my class every year. And I knew what I wanted to do when I left school. I had goals. You are always at the bottom of your class, and you have no goals."

    The man's son said nothing. He had heard this from his father many times.

    "And when your mother was your age," the boy's father went on, "she had a good job and she was earning money. You don't even have a part-time job. You earn nothing."

    The man's son still said nothing. He had heard this before, too.

    "And when your older brother was your age," the boy's father went on, "he studied hard. You just waste your time."

    And the man's son still said nothing.

    Finally, the boy's father said, "And when Abraham Lincoln was your age, he worked all day and studied at night."

    This time the son could not stay silent.

    "And when Abraham Lincoln was your age, Father," he said, "he was the President of the United States. What are you?"

His father had no answer to this.

    Bob comes out of the station and at first he doesn't know the way where to go. This is the first time he comes to this town. He's a president (总裁) in a company(公司). He comes to see his good friend, Peter. Peter is a worker and works in a car factory (工厂). But Bob doesn't know where the factory is. He walks in the street. He passes a hospital (医院), a post office, a bookshop and at last he gets to a school. Some students are coming out. He asks one of them, "Excuse me, do you know where the Red Star Car Factory is?" "Of course, I know. I live there. My father works in that factory. It's outside the town," answers the boy. "Is it far from here? Can you show me the way, please? "Bob asks again. "Yes, I'm going home now. Will you please go with me? I'll take you there." "That's great! Thank you very much." "You are welcome. Then let's go to that bus stop. We'll take a No 1 bus there."

Have you ever read Little Women by US writer Louisa May Alcott? The classic has been changed into plays, films and television programs many times because of its popularity since it came out in 1868. It tells a story of a mother raising her four daughters, while their dad is away fighting a war. Meg, the eldest, wants to live a better life very much. Jo, the second-born, wants nothing more than to be a writer. Beth is a sweet girl who loves music and always brings joy to others. The youngest daughter, Amy, dreams of being an artist. After reading Little Women, I have a feeling of warmth and kindness from the family.

In the following scene, the girls talk about what they can buy with the very little money they have. They feel hopeful about the future even though their dreams may not come true.

Do you know iced tea? Here is a story of it. In 1904, the World's Fair was held in St. Louis, USA, from April 30th to December 1st. Businessmen from around the world brought their 1 to the fair. 

Richard was a tea farm owner. He came to the fair to sell his tea. Unluckily, it was too hot that summer so nobody 2 his hot tea. Although Richard tried hard to tell people tea was 3 for the body, no one asked for even a cup. He 4 this problem so much that he was nearly crazy. 

One day an 5 came to his mind. Why not make the tea into an iced drink? Then he put lots of ice into the tea and mixed them with sugar. He was 6 to find that the tea had a special flavour. It 7 sweet and cool. Many people came and wanted to buy his drinks. Richard was so happy and 8 all his iced tea at a low price. How smart he was! From then on, Richard's business became better and better, and iced tea became more and more 9 in America. 

Richard's success shows us a great truth. Whenever you meet some difficulties, don't give up. Try to deal with it 10 . Maybe you will see a totally different result.

I'd like to tell you something about Zhang Guimei.She is a teacher and she teaches {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（China） at school.She doesn't have any children，{#blank#}2{#/blank#} over 130 homeless girls call her "mum".

Zhang {#blank#}3{#/blank#} （think） it is really important for girls to get education （教育），so she starts the Huaping High School for girls.The school is free for girls from poor {#blank#}4{#/blank#} （family）.Zhang raises （筹集） money for the school {#blank#}5{#/blank#} her free time.

Zhang gives most of her time {#blank#}6{#/blank#} （teach） the girl students.She gets up early in the morning and goes to bed late {#blank#}7{#/blank#} night every day.She also makes many strict school rules （规则）.She asks all the girls to get up at 5：20.And then she turns on （打开） {#blank#}8{#/blank#} lights in the classroom and watches them read.She tells {#blank#}9{#/blank#} （she） students to work hard.And she wants to make {#blank#}10{#/blank#} （that） girls have good lives because of education.

What a kind teacher she is!