We spent this holiday with our uncle. He loved to go on walks to collect stones. One day, he bought us backpacks(背包） and asked us to go to the mountain with him and carry the stones.

    The whole day we walked around. Every now and then he put stones in our bags. To our surprise, he also took some stones out from our bags. But we thought he had just found better ones. When we returned to the house, we were very tired. The backpacks were so heavy that we felt relaxed when we put them down. Yet our uncle's backpack was half empty.

    “Why did you give us so many stones?” we asked.

    “I didn't. You did.” He said. “You didn't know it, but I gave you a test today. I listened to every word you said. Whenever you were complaining (抱怨), I added a stone to your bags. Whenever you talked about something with positive (积极的) thinking, I took out a stone. And now look at your backpacks.”Our backpacks were full of stones.

    “Your negative(消极的) thoughts are like stones. You carry them in your mind just like those stones in a backpack. Once you have more negative thoughts ,your mind will be heavier.”

    With great love, our uncle taught us one of the most important lessons in life.

    I recently gave up driving. I passed my test last year, but I stopped voluntarily when I turned 90, I thought that it was finally the right time. Needless to say, my family was relieved--they didn't have to have "that talk" with me. My doctor was relieved too. Compared to a serious illness, taking away a senior driving license is one of the hardest things to do. Since my wife passed away years ago, I made this decision alone, although I'm sure my wife would have supported me. I knew I couldn't move as well as I used to, and my eyesight was getting worse. It hurt to turn my head when backing up the car, and, after long shopping trips, I was always tired.

    As I handed over the keys of the car to my son, I thought of all the cars my wife and I had owned over the years. A car is freedom, independence, and an extension of your personality. Without one, you feel like less of a person.

    I have a son who lives close by and we shop together at least once a week. My neighbors also offer me rides, but the idea of being dependent on other people after a lifetime of independent is hard to get used to.

    I have learned to adapt and change. With my own car, I could go anywhere at a moment's notice. But now, my life is different and I must plan ahead for everything. No more going out for mill or bread or last minute afternoon drives. However, I found a solution to some of those problems. Last month, I decided to buy a nice new four-wheel electric motorbike. At the top speed of 12km/h, it takes 20 minutes to get from my house to the store. But now, my ride is free from traffic and noise, with trees and greenery replacing cars and street signs.

    Giving up driving is hard, and some of us never accept the loss. For me, however, it was just the end result of a long and lucky life. Life in the slow lane turned out to be so much fun-and so much cheaper.

A. By plane   B. By bike   C. By boat   D. By subway

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Wow! I am in a beautiful village. There're two rivers around the village. The restaurant is between the two rivers. How can I get there?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Look at the map. We can see a park. It's far from here. We can take the bus to get there. Let me see which bus we shall take. Oh, there aren't any bus stops near here. Look! A subway station! Let's go!

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}I love Beijing. I want to see different Hutongs, I don't want to take the bus or subway. I can borrow a bike. I can go around the city by bike by myself. That's great.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Guilin is famous for its water and mountains. I will visit it. It's about 3,000 kilometers away from here. It's so far.

    People burn coal, gas and oil to get energy But there are problems with these fuels (燃料). (A)________, these fuels cause pollution. Pollution makes the air and water unsafe for humans. Secondly, these fuels will not last forever. One day, we will run out of these fuels.

    Scientists are looking for new kinds of energy. One is heat from the Earth. We know that (B)地球中央非常热. We cannot reach the center of the Earth, but in some places the heat from the Earth's center comes to the surface of the Earth. Perhaps you know about some of these places One place is volcanoes (火山). It is very dangerous to go near an active volcano, (C) _______ we cannot use the energy from this.

    Another kind of heat from the Earth is hot springs (温泉). In these places, hot water comes to the surface of the Earth. If this water is near a town, the hot water can be sent in pipes (管道) directly to people's houses to heat them .In Iceland, this is a common way to heat houses.

    (D)In Australia, scientists are looking for ways to make energy using hot rocks under the surface of the Earth. They want to pump (抽水)water onto the hot rocks .When the water hits the rocks, it makes stream(蒸汽). The steam is piped to power stations where (E) it is used to make electricity. The electricity can then be sent all over the country.

    What a bad day today! Tom suddenly fell ill and was sent to hospital by my neighbors. The doctor said he has been suffering lung cancer and {#blank#}1{#/blank#}! Everybody was shocked and felt a pity for this good man.

    Tom, who is a famous writer about 40 years old, lives just next door. He is kind and warm-hearted and always ready to give a helping hand to others when in need, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    He often came to my house to tell me how to write stories and encourage me with his own experience. He told me he was born in a poor family. As a little boy, he had a dream to become a famous writer. He overcame thousands of difficulties to have entered a university. After graduation, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, and up till now, he is very famous around the country.

Unfortunately, when he was young, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} and became a heavy smoker, which has ended up as an invisible killer of his health.