Devon Miller put the bag onto his back.

    "Did you take the water?" asked his dad.

    "Yes," said Devon.

    "How about the bread? And the map?"

    "Don't worry. I put 1 m my bag, Dad," Devon said. "Come on. Let's go!"

    Devon couldn't wait to start the hike (徒步旅行). It was 2 and Devon expected (期待) a good, long hike. Mr. Miller3a little, because it was his first hiking trip. Usually Devon's mom took him, 4 today she had to work. So Devon's dad decided to have a try.

    "Where do we start?" his dad asked.

    " 5 that tree with the yellow mark (记号)? That's the start of a small road. We just 6 the marks on the trees along the road. The small road goes in a big circle (圆圈). We'll 7 here in a few hours."

    Mr. Miller tried to smile. "Sounds like 8 !"

    Devon and his dad started their hike. It was a beautiful spring day. The weather was cool, but not very cold. They walked and walked. Then they stopped and ate their bread 9 lunch.

    Mr. Miller seemed a lot more relaxed. "This is fun. I'll go hiking with you 10 anytime," he said.

    Thirteen-year-old Cindy had been bullied (欺凌) at school for about two years. Her bag, keys and mobile phone had been stolen. She had also been knocked off her bicycle, kicked and punched (以拳重击).

    Cindy tried to fight back, but it always seemed to be her, not the bullies, who got into trouble. She became so afraid of going to school that she started to be absent from her classes.

    Finally, her headmaster set up a special plan, asking students to look after one another. He gave Cindy the courage to play the guitar in a school concert, which gave Cindy new confidence and helped her receive respect from the other students. Gradually, the bullying began to stop.

    Cindy's story is not uncommon, but help is out there. All schools in the UK now have to follow strict bullying policies (政策). There are many charities and organizations giving support to young people, such as Bullying UK and Childline. So remember one very important piece of advice: If you are being bullied, don'tput up with it—tell someone.

①My daughter's pet fish is dying. Recently I find myself spending minutes and even hours staring at the clear round bowl, hoping for another performance of its wonderful dance. To be honest, I am not a fish person. Compared with cats and dogs, fish can neither play nor walk with me. To me, they are just so boring.

②But every morning now, I tap on the bowl, shake out some fish food and carefully throw it into the bowl, hoping the fish can eat it with the least effort. I try to make the fish more comfortable. Yet there's so little that I can do. The fish just remains still (一动不动的) at the bottom of the bowl.

③"Come on! Eat something!" I say. And suddenly I realize that somebody said the exact same sentences to me before. Many times.

④I think of the banana pancakes that my mother would serve me every time I became sick and stayed in bed. They were my favorite treat and always made me feel much better. "Come on! Eat something! Your body needs to be strong!" My mom would always say. What made me even warmer was the idea that she would always, always be there when I needed her.

⑤Many years later, I tried to do the same when my mother became sick. She was only 61 but seemed to get weaker every day. "Would you like some green tea?" Again and again, I would ask, "What about some cake? Hot chocolate? Strawberries?" I gently encouraged her to eat because I didn't know what else to do. "Please, Mom! Eat something! Your body needs to be strong!" But she would not. There she was, lying still on the bed, with her eyes closed. That was the last time I saw her.

⑥The fish is still lying at the bottom of the bowl. I stare at it and suddenly a familiar (熟悉的) face comes into my mind. Then I say in a low voice, "Mom, ▲ ."

The octopus(章鱼) usually has eight legs.But Ollie, the octopus, has only seven ones. Ollie's mum always feels 1 about it.

At home, Ollie's brother and sister 2 her. "Ollie has only seven legs so she is not our family," her sister Olivia says. But it isn't true. 

"Go away. I don't want to play with 3 ." her brother Oscar tells Ollie.

Ollie is really sad. She swims away and starts 4 . Then, a sea fairy(仙女) comes out, " Don't cry, little octopus, "the fairy says. "You can make three wishes."

Ollie thinks for a minute, and makes the 5 wish. "I hope my mum can always be happy." She says.

 "OK. Now you have two more wishes." the fairy says.

 "I hope Olivia can be honest(诚实的). And I hope Oscar can be 6 ."

 "You are so kind, little octopus. I 7 you all the best." the fairy says and swims away.

When Ollie gets home, her mum gives her a big smile. 8 Olivia and Oscar say "Come and play with us, little sister." Ollie is happy. Her wishes 9 .

On Ollie's birthday, she makes a wish for the 10 leg. The next day, she has the same number of legs as her sister and brother! Great!

You want to know about my stay in the UK, right? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really 1 fantastic experience to study here. I came to Woodpark School in London two months ago. Since then, I 2 in this school. I find that school life in the UK is very different from that in China.

In China, the first lesson begins at about eight o' clock and there are 3 lessons a day. The first lesson in the UK begins an hour 4 than that in China. Before the first lesson, students all wait in a special classroom. Then a teacher calls the roll(点名) to check if 5 has arrived on time. After that, students change classrooms. Everybody has his or her own course schedule. They go to different classrooms for different lessons instead of 6 in the same classroom. For example, if one's first lesson is Maths, he or she should go to the classroom for Maths.

Besides languages, Science, art, British students learn many 7 courses such as cooking and gardening at school. The boy in my host family once cooked Chinese soup for me. It really surprised me because it tasted as 8 as what my mum cooked.

How time flies! I have been in the UK 9 two months. I will study here fo another month. I am sure I 10 find out more differences in the future. Believe me!

Charlotte volunteered in a store that sold secondhand goods. People brought in things to1 . Some of them were stuffed toys(毛绒玩具). Charlotte could tell that the toys held sentimental(情感的) value. So she felt sad when they were sold 2 at a low price. Sometimes without any buyers, they were just 3 .

One night when she got home from work, Charlotte started doing research. She4 this wasn't happening only in her town. Worldwide, she learned, millions of stuffed toys become 5 é very year.

Day and night, Charlotte was 6 thinking about the problem." If we can change the 7 in people's mind that stuffed toys are useless once they are not loved," she says," then we can show people the toys don't lose their 8 if they are given to others." That's 9 the Loved Before toy- adoption program began.

People can donate toys 10 the mail, or by taking them to the company in the United Kingdom.

The 11 owner writes down the toy's name and a story about it, including the 12 favorite things to do and an adventure it has been on. Charlotte and her team like to share what makes the toy 13 . They think it helps the buyers understand its value.

Every Monday, toys are posted for adoption on the website. The company makes a14 donation from each sale. Nowadays, Loved Before has sold lots of stuffed toys. But the company's15 is more than" just trying to save some toys from landfills(垃圾填埋场)," Charlotte says. She explains that Loved Before hopes to teach kids" about the value of loving secondhand things again, in the hope that it will go far beyond the idea of teddy bears."