When George was thirty-five, he bought a small plane and learned to fly it. He soon became very good at it and made his plane do ①all kinds of tricks.

    George had a friend. His name was Mark. One day George wanted to take Mark up in his plane. Mark thought, "I've traveled in a big plane several times, but I've never been in a small one. So I'll do."

    They went up, and George flew around for half an hour and did all kind sof tricks in the air.

    When they came down again, Mark was very glad to be back ②safely, and he said to his friend in a shaking (颤抖的)voice ,"Well ,George, thank you very much for those two trips in your plane."

    George was very surprised and said, "Two trips?"

    "Yes, my first and my last," answered Mark.

    Vienna is a beautiful old city on the River Danube in the center of Europe. It's the capital city of Austria and the center of European classical music. In the 18th century a lot of musicians came to study and work in Vienna.

    In the Strauss family, there were two composers called Johann Strauss: the father and the son. The father, Johann Strauss the elder, wrote and played music for traditional dances, called the waltz. His dance music made him famous all over Europe. The son, Johann Strauss the younger, was also very successful and popular. He wrote over 150 waltzes. In 1866 he wrote The Blue Danube waltz.

    Mozart was another very important composer. He was born in Austria in 1756. Before he was six, he played not only the piano but also the violin. His family took him around Europe and he gave concerts in many cities. He wrote hundreds of wonderful pieces of music. But he became very poor and died in 1791 when he was only 35. Like Johann Strauss, father and son, he was a great European musician, and many people still think his music is perfect.

Learn to rise again

    It is not always easy to discover yourself. From a(/an)1age, I had a strong sense of who I would become—but an accident changed everything.

    To me, skating was more2than anything else in the world. Nothing else filled my heart with so much3. I spent 24 hours a week developing my skills. I had no social life or interests other than4.But I was rewarded (回报) with first place medals in nearly every competition.

    5, during one competition, I fell and was badly injured. The doctor told me that I couldn't skate any more. The pain in my back was6to bear (忍受) and even basic daily tasks became difficult.

    My passion (激情) had been7. I lost heart and had no idea what I would become. After eight months of suffering, something had to8. Instead of sitting around and wasting my days, I began to work with local community service projects. By volunteering as a swimming teacher and summer reading assistant (助教) for kids, I got an idea of whom I wanted to become. After a few months, I9a new interest. Little by little, I stepped out of the shadow and rebuilt my confidence.

    Sometimes, challenges in life will get in the way. We can choose to stay behind or try to get past these challenges.  My10was a challenge that failed to stop me from reaching success. Today, I'm a very confident and optimistic (乐观的) person.

    NO matter what happens, I'll always be there for you!

    In 1989, an8.2 earthquake almost destroyed America, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the midst of utter devastation and chaos, a father left his wife safely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be, only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.

    After the unforgettably scare, he remembered the promise he had made to his son: "No matter what, I'll always be there for you!" And tears began to fill his eyes. As he looked at the badly damaged building that once was the school, it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his promise to his son

    He began to direct his attention to where he walked his son to class at school each morning. Remembering his son's classroom would be in the back right comer of the building, he rushed there and started digging through the ruins, As he was digging, other helpless parents tried to pull him off what was left of the school, saying," It's too late! They're all dead! You can't help! Co home! Come on! Face reality. Here's nothing you can do!

    To each parent he replied with one line, "Are you going to help me now?" And then he continued to dig for his son, stone by stone. The firefighter leader showed up and tried to pull him off the school's ruins saying, "Fires are breaking out. Explosions are happening everywhere. You are in danger. We'll take care of it. Go home." To which this loving, caring American father asked, "Are you going to help me now?" The police came and said, "You're angry, worried and it's over. You're making others in danger. Go home. We'll handle it!" To which he replied, "Are you going to help me now?" No one replied.

    He went on alone because he needed to know for himself "is my boy alive or is he dead?" He dug for eight hours … 12 hours ... 24 hours … 36 hours … then, in the 38th hour, he pulled back a large stone and heard his son's voice. He screamed his son's name, "Armand!" He heard back, "Dad? It's me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you would save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised, no matter what happens, you'll always be there for me. You did it, Dad!" "What's going on in there? How is it?" the father asked, "There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We're scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you're here. When the building fell down, it made a triangle, and it saved us."

    "Come out, boy!" "No, Dad! Let the other kids out first because I know you'll get me! No matter what happens, I know you'll always be there for me!"

Have you ever had lucid (清醒的) dreams? Recent studies suggest that the number of people having them is on the rise. Someone having a lucid dream realizes they are dreaming and may from then on" direct" the action, or they may simply " watch" the dream unfold. The sense of awareness (知道) makes it different from a dream that is simply very lively and true to life. And although the description may seem strange, the process is far from alien to many of us.

Studies suggest that the number of people in the Western world experiencing lucid dreams, which happen once in a while, has risen by between 10 and 40 per cent since the 1980s. Today, they are so common that about one in eight of us will have one in our lives. But still, little is known about what causes them or what is behind the rise.

Research carried out at the respected Harvard University in the US shows that the brain is working hard during lucid dreams. In fact, the level of the mental (精神

的) activity in some parts of the brain is similar to that of a person who is awake. Lucid dreamers seem to share certain personal characters. For example, in general they are quite creative. They are also good at digging deep into problems and going out of their way to solve them. Furthermore, they always believe in personal responsibility rather than letting society carry the can.

Our nightmares (噩梦) may show our waking worries, with the five most common ones-- falling, being run after, feeling disabled, being late and the death of a loved one. Men are more likely to have nightmares about fights or being fired while hair and tooth loss appear more in women's nightmares-perhaps showing worries about losing their looks. Research has also found that women have more nightmares than men. Their dreams are also scarier and more unforgettable.

I am very busy on school days but I have some free time on weekends. I like to spend time with my grandparents on Sundays. My grandma is an old woman with long straight hair and wears {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. She often {#blank#}2{#/blank#} the food I like. And I enjoy {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Chinese chess with my grandpa. He is very good at it! We also like to sit and talk with them. We sometimes watch the cat climb {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . It's {#blank#}5{#/blank#} to spend weekends like this. I love my grandparents.