I am Steve. I was born and grew up in South Wales. My favorite place to play was out on the hills where my imagination had plenty of space to expand(拓展).

    My family moved out of Wales when I was thirteen. I went to a new school. One of my subjects was French. Because I had never learned any French， my teacher told me to sit in the corner and write anything I was interested in. That's the time I started writing， just for myself， and I've been writing ever since.

    I have always loved BIG IDEAS， and so I enjoy writing fantastic stories. And I also write horror(恐怖的)stories. I think they are like the old fairytales(童话故事)， and can teach you important things.

    I am in my forties on the outside， twelve on the inside. I like rock music， Indian and Chinese food， and I enjoy drinking. I live in a small village with my wife Mary， ducks， cats， goats， hens and lots of rabbits. If you'd like to find out more about me and hope to buy my books， go to www.sbowkett.freeserve.co.uk.

Cake with friends

    On the first day of July, 2019, everyone was amazed. Our teacher held a birthday party for 23 students. Most of the students' birthdays are in July. Our teacher gave them birthday cards. The cards' covers were printed with a group photos of our class. The teacher wrote birthday wishes to the students on the back. It was really sweet!

    Then, we sang a birthday song for the birthday kids. In addition (另外), all of us got to share cream（奶油） cakes, even if our birthdays weren't in July. I thought this was nice. I watched everyone eat their cake together and have some fun talks. It's nice to have good friendships(友谊) like this.

    Then, something funny happened! We started throwing the cake to each other. Some of us drew pictures on the birthday kids' faces. It was a really fun time.

    I was happy to be at school on that day. I watched all of my friends have fun together. I felt like it was one of the happiest times I've ever had in junior high school. I wished that I could stop time or make the best time lest just a few minutes longer. This isn't possible of course. But I do hope that all of my friends can cherish(珍惜) their friendships forever and enjoy friendships, just like I am now.

    I'm looking forward to the future. I hope I can make more good friends in high school.

    It was the summer before my third grade. Our girls' softball team was facing real pitchers (投球手)1the first time. Before that, we could just hit the ball on the tee (球座). When the coach started pitching, hitting became2for me. I missed every single pitch. From the side, I heard my teammate Emily laughing at3. My face got hot and my throat felt like it had a softball stuck in. At that moment, I was starting to4playing softball.

    The next afternoon, when Mum said it was time to play the game, I told her I was5. She allowed me to lie down for a while. So I went to my room and6myself in bed. This was difficult for me because I was fine and just7to avoid softball.

    Soon Mum came in and said, "Time to go!" She didn't even ask if I felt8. I imagined Emily laughing from the sideline, and9I really did feel sick to my stomach. I began crying loudly. Still, Mum pulled my team T-shirt over my head. She said, "You have to10for the rest of the season, and only after that we can talk about 11you'll continue next year." She added that practice was what I needed, not12. She promised to practise with me.

    I got two hits that afternoon, and Emily didn't make a13. Every week after that, I practised at home14I got to be one of the best hitters on the team.

    That15taught me that being afraid is part of life, and I can do whatever is expected of me if I keep working and practising.

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.