Dear Alice,
    I just received your letter. And I was very surprised to know that you decided to drop out of school and wanted to be a model（模特）.
Being a model for a living is not easy. In fact, a famous person like me has a lot of problems that you couldn't see. I can't eat what I like, even though I'm very hungry. Keeping thin makes me look more beautiful on the stage because no one would like to see a heavy model.
Besides, I have to wear a heavy coat in the hot sun, in a swimming suit in the cold air. And practicing walking nicely every day is tiring for me.
You might say I made much money from modeling. But my dear niece （侄女）, you have to know that money is nothing, knowledge is everything. School is important and everyone should go to school for a certain period of time. The longer they stay at school, the better they will be. Very often, I hope I can give up my job and continue my studies at school. But it is very difficult for me to go back to school again. I am too old to go back to school now.
    You are a pretty young girl with a bright future. You only have one year to finish your studies in high school. A year is really short. Please do consider my words carefully before you decide. Of course, there is only one thing I care about, and that is your happiness.
Love,
Emma

阅读理解

    Mick Polly，an owner of a toy store，lives with his teenage daughter Carolina in Kentucky．He is known as the Bike Man．Over the past five years，Mick has built hundreds of bikes for needy kids．

    One day in 2012，a 13﹣year﹣old boy with a broken bike walked by Mick's house．"I was working in my garage（车库），and he asked if I could fix it，"says Mick，now 53．

    The boy's bike had a broken wheel．Mick sent a post（帖子） on Facebook，asking his friends if they had the needed part．One friend saw the post and gave away two used bikes．Mick took parts from each to build a new set of wheels for the boy．

    Soon after，Mick repaired a bike for the boy's brother and fixed one for his sister．Word spread，and during the year，he had fixed up lots of bikes for local kids whose parents were not able to afford new ones ．

    "People are throwing away bikes day and night，"says Mick．

    Mick puts the bikes and bike parts in his garage．"I take off the good tires or the handlebars or the seats and use them，"he says．

    Up to now，the bike man has repaired hundreds of bikes and given away nearly 700newly repaired bikes．They're free，but the kids must agree to two things：They have to learn how to put waste things to good use and they have to try their best to study in school．

    If a kid's grades are low，Mick requires a teacher's note"saying that you're doing your best，"Mick says．Mick also hopes the bikes will get kids off the sofa．"When I was growing up，we all rode our bikes，"he says．"Hopefully these kids can get some exercise．"

    Imagine this. Somebody hides free books in the subway for you to find and read. Sound exciting? Well, British actress Emma Watson, 26, is doing it! She is known for acting as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies.

    Watson hid 100 copies of a book called Mom & Me & Mom (2013) in London's subway. The book is an autobiography（自传）from US writer Maya Angelou. It tells about the writer's relationship with her mother. These books were put in different places in the subway. People saw Watson doing the same thing in the New York Subway this month.

    With each book, there is a handwritten note by Watson. She asked people to "take special care" of the books if they find them. She also wrote that "when you are finished, please leave it on the subway again for someone else to find".

    Watson's work is part of a movement called Books on the Underground. It calls on people to leave their books on the subway so other people can enjoy them too.

    Hollie Belton, a woman in London, started the movement in 2012. She loves reading on the subway. She noticed that a lot of people shared her habit, so she got the idea. Over the years, Belton has left over 2,000 books of her own. The movement has attracted more and more people.

    Watson is a book lover as well. That's why she tried it. Earlier this year, Watson set up her own online book club Our Shared Shelf. She reads a book every month with others. Mom & Me & Mom is the club's book for November.

    "Why do I live? Why do I wish for anything, or do anything? Is there anything in my life that will not be destroyed by my death?" Like Leo Tolstoy, the famous Russian writer, many people ask these difficult questions. Tolstoy spent his whole life trying to answer these difficult questions.

    As a young man, he thought people could achieve perfection if they tried hard enough. So he worked very hard to be the best in everything. He thought that he would find meaning and truth in success.

    In 1850s. Tolstoy wrote his first stories. He wrote about his life in the army. He also told stories about his childhood. These works were published and Tolstoy became a well-known writer.

    He earned the respect he always wanted. Many rich and smart men met and talked with Tolstoy. Some of them were writers like him. They talked a lot about faith (信仰) and the meaning of life. But soon Tolstoy recognized that these men were not perfect. Now he knew they could not answer his questions about faith.

    So in the 1860s, Tolstoy tried a different way to find the meaning of life. He opened a school for the children of his serfs-the people who worked on his land. These workers were very poor. He wanted to help them because he thought they were more honest than the rich people he knew.

    Tolstoy learned a lot from his workers. He understood how they worked hard to support their families. He began to believe that marriage and family would give his life meaning. So in 1862, Leo Tolstoy married a young woman named Sonya Behrs.

    The next 15 years were the best years of Tolstoy's life. It was during this time that he wrote his most famous books-War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Many experts say that War and Peace is one of the greatest books ever written. In these books, Tolstoy believed humans should live a simple life and take care of their families. Tolstoy thought this would satisfy him and bring him happiness.

    Leo Tolstoy is still a very respected writer today. His faith and writings have influenced many people all over the world.

    Bob was only seven years old. One night Bob was at home alone while his parents were out for a party. He had often stayed alone before, so he wasn't afraid. As he waited for his parents to return home, he watched a film on TV. His eyes became heavier and heavier as time passed by.

    Suddenly Bob's eyes opened wide- what was the sound in the next room? Bob heard the window being opened slowly. For a minute, Bob was so frightened that he could not move, and his body felt like ice. He knew that he couldn't lose his head and began to think of the things he could do.

    Again he heard the sound of someone trying to climb into his home through the window.

    Bob's drums were standing in the corner near the TV. "Wait, maybe there is something I can do," thought Bob. He beat his drums as hard as he could. The sound was so terrible that Bob surprised even himself. He also surprised the man in the window, who ran away as fast as possible. How clever he was!