Droughts (干旱)are common in Kenya. Before, they came every 10 years, but now they seem to be hitting us more often and for a longer time.

    We gave the droughts names :“longoza”was the drought when many animals died ; there was the drought of the “planes” because food was dropped from the air by planes; and one particularly bad drought was called “ man who dies with his money in his fist (拳头)”，because, even if there was money, there was simply no food to buy.

    I was born in 1951 in Machakos. From what my mother tells me, when I was 7, there was a serious drought. I clearly remember the terrible weather and the hunger. I can't tell you how many times I went to bed without eating. “ I slept like that, ” is how we described it. I can't count the number of days when “ I slept like that,” or describe the feeling of going to sleep hungry, knowing I'd wake up and there would still be no food for breakfast.

    My father would leave early in the morning carrying a little basket to ask for food on credit (赊欠). Each night he would return home around 10:00p.m. My mother would try to encourage me by telling me to keep the water in our pot boiling so that when my father arrived we could quickly cook any food he brought in the already prepared water. I would keep the fire burning and the water boiling, along with the hopes that we would eat that night. But my father would arrive frustrated and empty -handed. And I would sleep like that.

    Sammy looked out of the classroom window at a bird in a tree. He saw a worm (小虫) in the bird's mouth. "Wow!" he whispered as he looked at the bird eating the worm.

    "Sammy!" his teacher Mr. Maxwell said loudly.

    Sammy jumped and knocked his science book off his desk. Everyone in the class laughed and Sammy blushed. This was the third time today he had been caught not paying attention to the science lesson. It was just so easy to get distracted (分心的) when people read aloud from the science textbook!

    It wasn't that Sammy didn't like science. He loved to learn about machines, Earth and animals. He even thought bugs and plants were great. He wanted to go outside and see how a snake lived. He wanted to watch plants growing from the ground as they did last month. He just didn't want to read about these things.

    Sammy thought Mr. Maxwell would surely understand. "There was a bird with a worm in its mouth..." Sammy began. Then he saw the furious look on his teacher's face. Sammy decided that he had better stop talking before Mr. Maxwell became any angrier.

Vance and Troy lived in the same street. Both of them had a nice home. But Troy was unhappy because some of Vance's things were better than his. Troy was a jealous (妒忌的) boy.

Vance and Troy grew up and got 1 . At first, they both rode bicycles to work. Later Vance bought a motorcycle. And Troy felt jealous. So Troy also 2 a motorcycle and became happy. He didn't feel jealous until Vance bought a car.

Troy worked hard until he had enough 3 to pay for a car. However, there were a lot of other cars on the road. The traffic was heavy and the trip to work was very 4 .

After a year, Vance bought a bigger car. So Troy worked even 5 , and yesterday he bought an expensive new car. This morning, Troy left home and drove his new car. There were hundreds of cars in front of him, and his car just moved 10 6 in 15 minutes. 7 , he was happy because his car was bigger than Vance's. Then he saw Vance 8 him, but Vance was not in a car. Vance was riding a bicycle. The cars moved very slowly, so Vance cycled past them 9 and cycled away in front of Troy. Troy watched from his big, expensive new car and felt 10 .

This is a lovely Disney character named LinaBell. She has become 1 on the Internet since she first showed up at Shanghai Disneyland Resort（旅游胜地）. By November 3, 2021, 2 about LinaBell had been read over 350 million times on Sina Weibo. 

The story about her is as below. While Duffy was 3 after butterflies with his dear friend Mickey Mouse, he lost his way. LinaBell 4 Duffy alone in the forest and offered to help him find his way back. After that, Duffy 5 her with a flower. 

LinaBell's souvenirs（纪念品） at Shanghai Disney are so hot that it's 6 to buy one in a store. And sometimes you could only 7 from second-hand shopping platforms（平台） such as Xianyu at high prices. For example, amid-sized LinaBell, which sells for 219 yuan, now costs as 8 as 888 yuan. On Taobao and JD. com, LinaBell related 9 —including phone cases, hairbands, water cups and bags—have become bestsellers. 

However, many people think LinaBell has been popular just because it is 10 . But in fact, her personality makes her popular, too. She is an independent and brave girl. She finds joy and 11 in solving problems. "I always feel relaxed after watching her 12 . It really brings me great joy and satisfaction. I didn't believe anyone could love a cartoon 13 that much, but after meeting LinaBell, all I can think about is the little pink fox, " said an Internet user. "Many fans are now 14 LinaBell as their daughter. All of my friends are crazy about her, and we all hope to 15 a LinaBell toy as our birthday gift. " said Li, a 20-year-old student from Shanghai. 

Are you looking forward to meeting LinaBell?

 There are many deserts on the earth. And the following are some facts you may find interesting.

What are deserts like?

 Deserts can be hot and dry places. Rain may not fall there for months or years. Some deserts are sandy and stony. Deserts can also be very wind y places. The wind can change the shape of the deserts. It moves sand around from place to place.

 Temperatures in the desert can vary greatly. During the daytime, the temperature may reach 40℃ even in the shade. At night, deserts can become very cold. In winter, there may even be a frost early in the morning.

Living in the desert

 The camel is sometimes called" the ship of the desert". It stores food in its hump and can go for days without water. It has large feet which help it not to fall into the soft sand. Its long eyelashes keep out the sand during sandstorms.

 An oasis(绿洲) is an area of the desert where water may be found. People and animals visit an oasis for water and food. Plants grow at an oasis. Some farmers are able to grow crops here.

The Arabian Desert

 The Arabian Desert lies between the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. Oil under parts of the desert has made some countries in the area very rich. The government has spent money building fine cities with lovely parks and lakes, and people live a comfortable life there.

I like traveling alone. I have been to the Terracotta（兵马俑）, Disneyland and the Bird's Nest（鸟巢）. Attracted(吸引) by the beauty of the Great Wall, I flew there by myself this time.

At the entrance (入口), one short old woman followed me all the time. She wanted me to buy some cards. Finally, I became angry. "Don't you understand the meaning of ‘No'?" I shouted at her and left.

As soon as I walked along the Great Wall, I felt very excited. Then, when I was halfway, I found I was on a very dangerous road, and there were no walls. When the cold wind came, I was afraid. Suddenly, I heard a soft voice behind. Someone told me not to be afraid and she would help me. As I felt a pair of hands trying to keep me safe, I calm down(镇静).

Half an hour later, we arrived at a safer place. Feeling better, I turned around to see who she was. She was the short old woman. I felt humiliated for what I did and gave her a big hug (拥抱).

Through this experience, I learned that we should be kind to others because we never know what situation we'll be in and when we'll need help.