For years I wanted a garden. I'd spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.

    But then we had Mathew， and Marvin， and the twins -- Alisa and Alan， and then Helen. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

    Money was not enough. Neither was time. Often when my children were little， one of them would want something that cost too much， I'd have to say，"Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees， you know."

    Finally， all the children got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about a garden.

    Then， one spring morning， on Mother's Day， I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly， I looked out of the window and there was a new tree， planted right in my yard. There were things blowing around on it. Then I put my glasses on and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!

    I went out to look. It was true! There were dollar bills， one hundred of them， hanging all over that tree. There was also a note among them， "Thank you for your time， Mom. We love you!"

    Later， my children bought me tools， ornaments（装饰品）， a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books. A new page started in my life.

    That was three years ago. My garden is now very pretty， just like I wanted. When I go out and take care of my flowers， I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me. Now every year when winter comes， I look out of my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me， and I get tears in my eyes -- every time.

    I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!

    One day, a woman traveled alone in the mountains．When she was walking, she found a precious (珍贵的) stone．She was very happy and put the stone into her bag.

    The next day, the woman met another traveler．The traveler was hungry and the woman opened her bag to s hare her food with him．The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and said, “How beautiful the stone is! Can I have a look?” The woman gave it to the traveler．The traveler looked and looked, and then he asked the woman whether she would like to give it to him．She gave the stone to him without hesitation (犹豫).

    The traveler left．He was very happy because he knew he could get lots of money by selling the stone and he could live a rich life．But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the woman.

    “I know how precious the stone is,” the traveler said． “But I gave it back．I hope that you can give me something even more precious.” “Even more precious? What is that?” the woman asked． “Your beautiful mind is more precious than the stone,” the man said.

    Can you write down a Chinese word being read to you? Sometimes it can be difficult when you find the word is not included in most dictionaries.

    Lu Jialei, 14, from Hangzhou Foreign Language School, won the CCTV Chinese Character (汉字) Spelling Contest on Oct 18^th, 2013. About 160 people competed. The host read a word to the contestant, explained its meaning and gave sample sentences. The contestant was required to write down the word.

    Winning the contest was a “surprise” to Lu. “I was not the smartest one,” she said. “But I paid attention to details.” To prepare for the contest, she and her teammates studied the Modern Chinese Dictionary for 10 days. There are more than 56,000 entries (词条) including characters, words and phrases in it. She also had a secret weapon. She studied how Chinese characters were formed.

    “When others paid attention to the plot of a story, she looked at how authors use words and sentences to express themselves,” said Su Yunsheng, Lu's Chinese teacher. Su is happy to see students like Lu find the beauty of Chinese language.

    “Besides using something Chinese and having Chinese traditional festivals, learning to write Chinese characters is also an important part of inheriting (传承) Chinese culture,” said Su.

    In a small village there lived a man. He would do nothing all day but daydream. Whenever he was hungry, he would go out, beg（乞讨）for food, come back and hang out.

    One sunny afternoon, the man was very hungry. With great difficulty, he got up, took out a pot（罐）and went out to beg. By begging the whole day, he finally got a pot of milk. He hung the pot on the ceiling（天花板）, lay down on his bed and started daydreaming again.

   "This pot of milk is going to make me rich, "he thought." I can make butter from the milk. Then I will be able to make ghee（印度酥油）and go to the market and sell the ghee." His dream continued, "With the money I get, I will buy a pair of cows. They will have baby cows. Soon I would have a large number of cows."

   "Then I will continue my business. I will buy come more cows and own a farm. And I will employ people to work on my farm. I can also open a candy shop. I will make candies out of the cows' milk, "the man kept smiling to himself.

   "I am so smart, "thought the man. Lost in his thoughts, he reached out his foot, breaking the pot. He saw the broken pot and cried. He lost whatever he had because he was lazy and spent his time daydreaming.

Everyone dreams of traveling to Europe. Whether you' re taking your first trip by yourself, going there with a little money, or just looking for new cities, cultures and food, Europe is something for everyone

Europe is one of the most interesting continents(大陆) you can visit. It has a deep- rooted history and welcomes cultures from all over the world. And it's one of the easiest places to travel around with the convenient transportation ( you may take the subway and taxi easily in Europe).

There are several parts of Europe: eastern Europe, northern Europe, southern Europe and western Europe. Among these, the eastern Europe is a good choice for travelers who want to save money. Northern Europe is known for its natural phenomenon(现象)- the Northern Lights. If you want to see them, you need to visit in winter only when conditions are at their best. Southern Europe is made up of all the countries close to Mediterranean Sea and it's known for its natural wonders and ancient history. Western Europe is the most popular part of Europe, and it has lots of famous spots, like the Eiffel Tower, Van Gogh Museum and Big Ben.

If you are backpacking through Europe, the best time to travel is from November to March, when you'll find cheap tickets for planes and hotels. However, if you're planning a ski vacation or you want to visit the

Christmas Markets, you'll find large crowds of travelers. The busiest time of year for Europe is summer. From June to August, travelers from all over the world go to this place to enjoy the good weather.

In 2024, the best thing for me was becoming a junior high school student. On September 1, I went to school happily and was {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(准备好的) to start a new life. 

Now I am always very busy, with so many {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(活动) to do and things to learn. But I am not afraid of making {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(错误). In class, I always put up my hand when I have questions. I am not good at {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(化学), so I do a lot of exercise. My teacher tells us to think by {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(我们自己). I keep these good learning habits and I am sure they will help me get {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(更好)in the future. 

In our school, the teachers are kind and knowledgeable(知识渊博的). The students are {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(乐于助人的) and hard-working. We study together in class and play games after class. We have different {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(业余爱好) but we are like brothers and sisters. Our school {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(举办) sports events in our playground every year. This year, I got the {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(第一) prize in a running race. 

All in all, I'm very happy that I am a junior high school student. I really enjoy my junior high school life.