The hippo(河马) is the most dangerous animal in Africa, but that hasn't stopped a South African animal lover from making friends with one.

    Marius Els is 40 years old. He 1 around 20 different kinds of animals on his ranch(饲养场), in South Africa. He has a real soft spot for Humphrey, a 6-year-old hippo that's like a son to him. While all of his friends are too 2 to go near the animal, and his wife told him not to get too close, Marius climbs on Humphrey's back as he swims 3 the lake.

    Marius has kept the hippo 4 he was just five months old. And over the years, the two have 5 a special relationship that people just don't understand. Marius looks on Humphrey as a son, although the 1, 200 ton animal could 6 a person with ease. Only sometimes the hippo can throw Marius off his 7 in the water. Humphrey is very friendly to his owner, especially after Marius offers him a dinner of his favorite 8, apples.

    Humphrey feels very 9 in his life. He had another good friend, a goat, but she got eaten by a jackal, so now he's all by 10. Marius says he's been trying to get a female friend for Humphrey, but there's no such thing in Africa right now.

A Meaningful Gift

    Emily was an eight grader. To pass her Civics course（公民课程）,she had to do some volunteer service in a nursing home for a week.

    One Monday, Emily went to the nursing home after school. When she arrived, she was told she would1an hour every weekday with an elderly lady, Mrs. Blair. She was then led into a room, where an old lady in a flowery dress was sitting on a sofa.

    Emily2awkwardly（别扭地） in front of the lady. She cleared her throat and said,“Good afternoon. I'm Emily.”

    “Good afternoon, Emily. Take a seat,please,”Mrs. Blair replied.

    Then,3filled the space between them. Emily wondered what to say.

    “Tell me about yourself,Emily,”Mrs. Blair said suddenly.

    “Well,” Emily started, “I don't have any grandparents, so I can't relate to elderly people much. I love the performing arts. I'm here mainly because I have to 4here to get a good grade for my Civics class.”Mrs. Blair didn't seem to5.Many people, especially teens, don't seem to care about old people like me. Now you're here, and I'm going to change that about you. Ask me anything.”

    Emily thought for a moment, and finally decided, “What was your job?”

    “I was a Broadway star in the 1950s,”Mrs. Blair answered.

    “Cool! Can you tell me about it?” Emily asked, amazed.

    Mrs. Blair smiled. “Back then, only the lead actress had the honor to wear a 6bracelet. I was the lead in almost all of the plays, so I always wore the bracelet. Till this day, I still have it.”

    Emily smiled along with Mrs. Blair and listened to the other stories, attentively. She had become so interested in Mrs. Blair's7that she decided to come earlier the next day.

    Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday passed by quickly. Then came Friday. As she was leaving, Emily was really8to say goodbye.

    “Don't be sad. You can still visit me,” Mrs. Blair comforted her. She then handed a small box to Emily, “It's my gift to you.”

    Emily9opened the box and was surprised to see what was inside. “It's the bracelet that you wore. Thank you!” Emily said, with tears in her eyes. “I'm sure to visit you whenever I'm free.”

    On her way home, Emily thought of her own love for the performing arts. She touched the bracelet and made a10that she would keep her word to Mrs. Blair.

    It was such a beautiful day that I drove to go for a look in the country. On the way back home, my car 1.

    It was out of gas on a lonely road far from a town, I decided to walk 2 I got help. I had walked almost a mile before I finally found a house near the road. I was glad to see it 3 it was getting dark.

    I knocked at the door and a little old lady 4 long gray hair came out. She said. "I've been 5 for you for a long time, Come in, 6 is almost ready."

    "But I only come for some gas," I answered. I couldn't understand 7 she was talking about.

    "Oh, Alfred! Gas? You used to like tea," she said.

    I quickly explained my problem， 8 she didn't seem to hear me. She just 9 calling me Alfred and talking about how long it had passed 10 she had seen me. She acted very strangely and I felt very 11. As soon as she went to get tea, I ran out of the house as fast as I could.

    12 ，there was another house down the road and I was able to buy the gas I needed. When I told the man about my 13 , he said, "Oh, that's Miss Bronte. She lives by herself in that big house, She's strange. She's out of her mind. But don't worry. She won't hurt anybody. She is still 14 the man she was supposed to marry thirty years ago. The day before their wedding he left home and 15 came back because of the war."

Once a wise man and his student traveled on the horses to a mountain village which even couldn't be found in a map. They were well 1 at a small house by a family of five. The wise man asked, "How do you live in such a lonely place?

"That's what keeps us going," said the host, pointing to a thin and tired cow. "She gives us 2 , some of which we drink and some we make into cheese. When there is extra (额外的), we 3 the milk and cheese for other food."

The wise man thanked them and left the village. When he reached the first turning in the road, he said to his student, "Go back and get the cow, take it to the cliff (悬) and 4 it off." Although the student was shocked and angry, he followed his master's order.

Years later, the student still felt a sense of 5 about what he had done, so he returned to the poor family to find out what he could do. 6 , in place of the small house there turned into a large one with trees all around. He recognize (辨认) the host standing on the opposite who once treated him. He went over to the man and asked, "What happened?"

The man replied with a smile, "Our cow fell off the cliff and died. Firstly, we lost heart and didn't know 7 to live our life. Later, we accepted the fact and tried to come up with new ways of doing things and develop new skills. And so, we are now much 8 ."

Sometimes our dependence on something small and limited (有限的) is the biggest obstacle (障碍) to our growth. 9 you free yourself of the thought "it's little but it's certain and comfortable", then your life will really change. I hope you have the wisdom to recognize your "10 " this new year, and the courage to push it off the cliff.

My sisters and I recently returned from visiting our beloved parents in Florida. For six days, we spent about six hours on the beach 1 . We really 2 ourselves there.

I usually read books on the beach while my mom and sisters enjoyed 3 shells(贝壳). This time they 4 their pockets and bags with seashells, and then took them home. On the last day of our trip,I joined the family 5 of collecting shells too. I grabbed handfuls of(一把) sand and picked out shell treasures. Having 6 so many shell handicrafts(手工艺品) made by my mom and sisters before, I used to take shells for granted(理所当然). But I couldn't help but feel 7 at the shells in Florida. Some were big and in different 8 while some were no bigger than a nail, which was unbelievable.

 Many people know there's a beach full of 9 in Western Australia, which is over 74 miles long! It's called Shell Beach. But nobody exactly knows 10 seashell species(品种) there are on the beach:11 as many as 200,000 different kinds. However, very few of the shells have pearls(珍珠) in them. 12 The Science Network,"A finished pearl takes 15 to 20 years to make, which 13 why a ton of shells might produce as few as three pearls. The probabilities(概率) of them being 14 pearls are, exactly, one in a million."

I was lost in thought. The chances of finding a pearl in a shell are more than one in a million. Compared with shells,15 isn't so hard. The shells with pearls are valued by people and so is the person who gets to the top. So try to be a pearl on the beach!

I'm a foreign student at Ningbo University. Can you guess what I'm majoring in? It's Chinese Language and Literature! When I was young, I found a book in the library, Journey to the West. The story about Tang Monk and his three disciples (徒弟) was so fascinating. After I finished high school, I decided to come to China. But my parents didn't understand me. In their minds, China was still a developing country, and they couldn't see why I would like to go there. This July, China had a 72/144-hour visa-free (免签) policy for foreigners, so I invited my parents to travel in China.

We started our journey from Ningbo where Ningbo University is located. We went to Tianyige Museum, China's oldest private library and the Moon Lake Park, feeling the rich history of China. After that, we flew to Chengdu. We visited cute giant pandas and even had the chance to feed them bamboo. We also tried the delicious and spicy Sichuan hot pot, which was truly a unique experience. Finally, we took the high-speed train to Beijing. The train ride was smooth, quiet, and fast. Both my parents and I enjoyed the ride very much. In Beijing, we visited the Forbidden City and Tian'an men Square. Beijing is a modern city, yet it still has its ancient beauty.

On the way to the airport, my mother left her passport on the subway. Thankfully, the subway staff were very friendly and quickly found the lost passport. They even delivered it to the airport for us. When it came time for our tearful goodbye, my parents said to me, "Now we understand your choice, and we fully support you."