When the man's wife died，their youngest baby was 2 years old．They had six other children一three boys and three girls．aged from 4 t0 16．

    The man's parents and his wife's parents came to visit them．

‘‘We've been talking about how to make this work，"they said．"There's no way you can take care of all these children and work to make a living．So，we've decided to place each child with a different uncle and aunt．"

     The man refused．Over the next few weeks，he moved the family to a tiny town and his business developed quickly．People came from far away to do business with him．And the children helped him both at home and at work．

The children grew up and got married．Five of the seven went off to college．The children's success was a source of pride to the father．

    Finally，the youngest daughter，who was 2 years old when the mother died，got married．With his life's work done，the father died．

This man's work had been the lonely but joyful task of raising his family．This man was my father．I was the 1 6-year-old，the oldest of seven．

    There was once a little orphan(孤儿的)girl who had no family and no one to love her. She felt sad and lonely(孤独的).

    One day, while she was walking in a garden, she noticed a small butterfly caught in a bush. The more the butterfly tried to free itself, the deeper the thorn(刺)cut into its body. The girl carefully helped the butterfly out. Instead of flying away, the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy(仙女).

    "For your wonderful kindness," said the fairy, "I will grant(保证)you any wish you like."

    The little girl thought for a while and answered, "I want to be happy!"

    "Very well!" The fairy leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. Then the good fairy disappeared.

    As the little girl grew up, she stayed happy. Everyone asked her the secret(秘密)of her happiness. She would only smile and answer, "The secret of happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl."

    When she was very old and on her death bed, her neighbors were afraid that her secret of happiness would die with her. "Tell us, please," they asked. "Tell us what the good fairy said."

    The lovely old woman simply smiled and said, "She told me that everyone, no matter how secure(安稳的)they seemed, how old or young, how rich or poor, had need of me."

    Everyone has need of you.

    Fred is a sports fan(迷). He likes all kinds of s ports games. He never plays football, but he knows much about it. When there is a football game on TV, he watches it. Sometimes he does not go to school.

    One day, there are two games on TV. One is at 8:00 in the morning, and the other begins at two in the afternoon. Fred decides to stay at home for the whole day.

    At 7:30, Fred's mother comes to Fred. She sees him still in bed.

    "Is there anything wrong with you?" she asks.

    "I am not feeling well," Fred answers.

    "Shall I take you to the doctor?" she asks.

    "No. Don't worry, Mum. I will be OK soon," says Fred.

"Then I'll go to work. My students are waiting for me," she says, "If you really feel bad, do call me. OK?"

    Fred's mother hurries out of the room. Now Fred gets out of his bed quickly.

    He turns on the TV and sits in front of it. How exciting (激动人心的 ) the game is! He forgets all about his lessons.

    To his surprise, his mother comes back for the key to her office.

    "Are you really ill?" she asks.

"Well, er … I'm all right now. Sports is good medicine (药),"Fred says.

Lifestyles of children around the world are very different.

In Colombia, family relationships are strong and children usually live close to their parents all their lives. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Colombian children like to play chess. They play the game well.

Children in Sweden experience a different lifestyle. Their school day begins at 8:15 a.m. and most of them cycle to school. After school, many of them go to clubs or take part in sport until their parents pick them up. In the summer, days are long and nights are short. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Traditional opinions influence the lives of many children and this is also true in Japan. Japanese children today are surrounded by the very latest and most modern inventions and technologies. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} They are also expected to study hard and succeed in life.

The children of Uganda also enjoy parties and special days but these parties are organized for them by the "Save the Children Fund", rather than by their parents. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Because of this, many children have lost one or both of their parents to the disease called AIDS. During the weekends, they join group meetings that are run by trained volunteers. These groups give children the chance to play with one another.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} However, whatever their lifestyles, children should be loved and supported, especially during the early years of their lives.

On the evening of July 31, 2024, a great moment happened at the swimming event of the Paris Olympics. Pan Zhanle, a Chinese swimmer, won the gold medal in the men's 100- meter freestyle(自由式).

Before the competition, the Chinese team faced a lot of 1 . The past results were not very good and many people didn't 2 they could win. But Pan Zhanle was 3 and ready to fight.

When the race started, Pan Zhanle jumped into the water 4 . In the first 50 meters, he showed 5 power and took the lead. His strokes(划水动作) were powerful and his breathing was regular.

In the second half of the race, it became very6 . Other swimmers tried hard to catch up, but Pan Zhanle 7 his lead with great skills and strong will.

Near the end, everyone was very nervous. Pan Zhanle swam as fast as he could and touched the wall8 with a wonderful time of 46.40 seconds. He broke the world record and won the gold medal.

After the race, Pan Zhanle was very excited. He said in an interview, " There were some unfriendly situations before,9 they made me more determined (决心). I wanted to show the power of Chinese10 !"

Zheng Qinwen, a 21-year-old Chinese girl who is talented in playing tennis, won the first gold medal in the women's singles tennis in Paris Olympic on August 3^rd.This is the first time that Chinese team has won the Olympic gold medal in women's singles tennis.

"Nothing can describe my feeling right now, it is unreal. I have always been hoping to get a gold medal for China. Finally, I made it." Zheng said excitedly after the last competition. She thinks national honor is the most important. She loves her country so much, playing for China has given her energy（精力）as well as power（力量）. Although she was very tired after 3 hours' competition, she always said proudly "What I can be sure is that I'm going to fight until the last moment, because I am not only playing for myself but also for my country. I'm so tired but I'd like to fight for another three hours for my country."

Zheng's journey to victory was filled with challenges but she faced these difficulties bravely and tried to do it better. In the end, she made the history. The whole world remembered her name.

She also encouraged young people to dream bravely because only by dreaming can they have a goal to achieve（实现）. "Be sure to enjoy the process（过程）and you will find that everything you did in the past are worth（值得的）it."