It was nearly dark, the sun was dropping down the mountains far away. Little Tom came back home, with tears in his eyes.

“What's the matter, Tom? How's your trip?" his mother asked with a big smile. “I failed. The mountain is so high and full of big or small stones on the way, I still go ahead. But I was tired and it was so late that I had to come back." Tom cried. “It doesn't matter, you are only 14 years old after all. You will have another chance.”his mother said. "But, standing at the top of the mountain is my dream!”Tom said. His father came over and asked, "Did you see the green trees on your way to the mountain?”"Sure, and there are a lot of beautiful flowers by the side of the road.” Tom replied. “Did you hear the birds singing?”his father asked. "There were many kinds of birds singing in the trees, and the sound was very sweet." Tom said. "Did you feel the beauty of nature?”his father asked. "Yes, the blue sky, the white clouds, the green trees and the colorful flowers made a nice picture." Tom answered. “That's enough!" his father smiled and said, "Please remember, son. For often, achieving what you expect is not the most important thing. Although you didn't reach the top of the mountain, you got a lot on the way.”

 It is true that not every goal will be achieved, not every job will end up with a success, and not every dream will come true. The most beautiful scenery (风景) is on the way.

    A man made a nice talking machine. It could weigh people. The man wanted to try the machine before he could make a lot of these kinds of machines. He put the machine into the waiting room of a station. There were always lots of people in and out there.

    The first one began to use the machine. It was an Indian woman. When she stood on the machine, the machine thought for a few minutes to decide which language it should speak. "Good morning, madam," it said in Indian. "Your weight is 72kilos. That's three kilos more. If you eat more fruit and vegetables, you will be soon all right. Wish you a nice day."

    The second one who used the machine was a nice Chinese girl. She stood on the machine and waited to hear weight. "Good morning, Miss," the machine said in Chinese. "Your weight is 45 kilos. It's all right for your age and height. Go on to eat what you eat every day. Wish you a nice day."

    The third one to use the machine was a very fat American woman. She thought for a long time before standing on the machine. But as soon as she stood on the machine, the machine spoke quickly in English, "Good morning. Will one of you get off?"

    Last week, I visited the Badaling Great Wall with my friend Peter.

    We set off early in the morning. We took the subway first and then a bus. Reaching the foot of the Great Wall, Peter was attracted by the landscape at once. "How wonderful it is!" he said repeatedly and pulled me into the cable car (缆车) at once. We got a view of the beautiful scenery.

    After a while, we got to the Great Wall. Peter was very excited. He touched the bricks. I told him when and how we Chinese built the wall.

    He listened with great interest. When we entered a turret (炮塔), Peter was more curious. I told him what the turret was and what it was built for "It was really an amazing achievement (成就)!

    Peter said with admiration (钦佩) and took several photos.

    Then, we reached the Stele (石碑) of brave Man, the symbol (象征) of the great Wall. A lot of visitors gathered (聚集) around it and took photos. I translated the words on the stele for Peter. "Only the one who can reach the great Wall is a brave man." "Rell?" Peter asked joking. We both laughed.

Bruce loves music because it makes him feel easy. He is shy, and making friends has been1 for him. That's why his mother asked him to take the2 this year. "You'd better not sit there with your headphones on, "she told him. 

Bruce nodded. But the moment he sat on the bus, he3 his headphones and closed his eyes. He was soon lost in a song of his favorite band, the Blue-Bob. 4 . he sensed someone around him. He opened his eyes and saw a boy from his5 . 

"Hey, Bruce? I'm Mike, "the boy said. *I think we both take the music class. Did I hear6 singing a song by the Blue-Bob just now?"

"Uh, no, "Bruce's face turned red, "That wasn't me. "Mike looked a little7 . Without saying anything, he went away. 

For the next few days, Bruce kept asking himself8 he had lied to Mike. "Maybe he also loves the Blue-Bob. Maybe he was just being9 , "he thought. So when they saw each other on the bus the next day, Bruce managed to10 a smile on his face. 

"Hi, Bruce, "Mike said. "I can hear your11 every day, and you have such a good taste. "Bruce's eyes lit up. "Don't you think the songs are too12 ?""he asked. "Not at all, ""Mike answered. ""1 love songs of the past too. My grandpa is really into music, and he has13 me to sing many of them. "

Bruce listened as Mike talked about his favorite songs. And they shared the head-phones, singing softly along with the music14 Bruce got off at his stop. 

"See you tomorrow!" Mike said. 

Bruce waved goodbye. "I must tell Mom how I15 Mike and we had the best time…with headphones on, "he smiled to himself.