Early one morning, an old woman was carrying a big basket of potatoes on her head to the market. She hoped to1them to the people from town.

     The mountain road was narrow and the old woman was walking 2, because she did not want to have 3and lose her potatoes.

     Suddenly she 4 a loud bell, and a bicycle came round the corner.

     It passed her and went very fast 5the hill. The old woman had to jump to one side of the 6 so quickly that the basket of potatoes nearly fell into the valley.

     She looked up and saw that a young boy was on the bicycle. He was 7 on without even 8 round to see whether the old woman was all right. The old woman began to shout,“Come back, young man! You dropped something!”

     When he heard this, the boy stopped the bicycle so suddenly that he nearly fell off .

     Then he turned and began to 9the bicycle back up to the hill.“What is it?”he asked,“What did I drop?”“Little boy,”the old noman answered, “you dropped your 10.”

    A train stopped at a small station. An old man on the train1out of the window and2a woman. The woman was selling cakes，and many people from3train were buying them. The old man wanted to buy a cake，4 the woman was standing far from him. It was raining hard and he didn't want to go out of the train.

    Suddenly he saw a boy. The boy was walking on the platform(站台)5 from him. So he shouted，“Come here，boy.Do you know6each of the cakes is？”“Five cents(美分)，”the boy answered. The old man gave the boy 7cents and asked him to buy 8“One is for me，and the other is for you.”

    Some time 9the boy came back. He was eating a cake. He gave the old man five cents and said，“Sorry，there was only 10”

    Having brothers or sisters means owning the most expensive gift in the world. With them, we do not have to live a 1 life and we can also learn a lot from them.

I 2 in a blue-collar (蓝领的) large family a few miles into the countryside outside Chicago. There were four 3 in my family and my parents lived a hard life to bring us up. Among all my sisters, Cynthia, who is four years older than I, has 4 me the most. Cynthia has never 5 to be different. She has always dared to point the unfair things out and 6 the way things were around us, trying to change the negative (消极的) situations through her own efforts. She has always had the 7 to look at life from a different and unusual perspective (角度). That made me 8 her very much. Her example gave me the courage to question things like her and taught me to explore my own world 9.

    Now we're both old 10 we're still exploring. We 11 a lot together each year and this year we're going to visit a few African countries. After experiencing more and more, I realize that it's great to grow old because without work to 12, you have more time to take trips and have adventures, like we are now. Cynthia and I have always been 13, and now in our 60s, we still keep a good relationship as ever. I'm so grateful to have such a sister.

    Do you have any brothers or sisters? If you do, you're in 14. They will be your lifelong wealth. Please 15 your time together and be a positive role model for the younger ones.

Painting from Memory

    I was born in Damyang, a beautiful place known for its bamboo forests in Korea. I spent much time in the forests painting pictures of the1. Painting is one of my talents. I lived there until last year when my family moved to New York. My mother, a scientist, was asked to come work here.

    There are no bamboo forests, I said, there is nothing to 2 in NewYork. Don't worry, you will find many things to see and paint there, my mother said. I still felt 3 . But I will miss home, I said. Then you can paint pictures of your favorite places. They will make you feel at home even in New York, she said. So when we moved, I brought my forest paintings with me.

    New York was not easy at first. I missed home a lot. Yet when I looked at my paintings of bamboo, I felt much better. I soon 4 friends at school too. They also like painting, and we now paint in a group after school.

    Last month, we had a new neighbor, Varvara, an old lady who moved from Russia, to be closer to her daughter. She was sad to leave her home. My mother and I often visited her. She told us her unbearable homesick and everything about her hometown Vyborg. I could 5 her home in my head.

    Varvara missed her home so much that she became ill. I worried about her and I wanted to do something for her. I had ever been in her 6 before. At least, I had my forest paintings of home. However, she didn't even have that. Unless …

    A few days later, I met Varvara on the stairs. She looked better but still sad. I gave her my gift: a painting of Vyborg. I had painted it from her 7 .

    She began to cry as she saw the painting. At first, I was worried that she didn't like it. Later, she told me that those were tears of joy. I knew just how she 8 wherever you go, hometown is always with you.

    Stuart and Steve were twin brothers. Stuart loved to play basketball. But Steve loved to read books.

    One day Stuart was playing basketball 1 he fell and broke his leg. When they took him to the hospital, the doctor said he wouldn't be able to play for six months. Steve went 2 him and brought him books on basketball. At first Stuart wasn't going to read them. Then he began to read them and 3 that there were ways he could play basketball better. He began to think that books weren't 4.

    When Stuart's leg started getting better, Steve would help him by going for walks with him. 5 Stuart's doctor said he could start playing basketball again. Then Stuart showed Steve how to toss(投) for baskets. Steve found that he enjoyed it.

    Then Stuart was ready to 6 the basketball games. Steve went to watch the games and enjoyed himself. They then 7 practiced basketball and read books together.

    So you can see, when 8 happens, something good may also happen. Steve showed Stuart about books and Stuart showed Steve about basketball. So you can also 9 showing others something that you like to do and they can show you something that they like to do. 10 you can find new things to do.