“All our class must hand in compositions tomorrow. We must write 12 linesat least. But I can never write one. I'll have to go to school without acomposition, for I won't copy one from a book, or ask you or papa to write onefor me.”

    “That's right,” said her mother. “You'll be happier with a poorcomposition, if it's your own, than with a fine one written by somebody else.But cheer up. Run into the garden and play. I'll call you in half an hour.Don't think about your composition now. Just have a good time.”

It seemed just a few minutes to Susie before she heard her mother calling her. She wentinto the house immediately — her hands full of sweet flowers, and her face redwith exercise.

Then her mother asked her to sit by the window with a nice piece ofpaper and a pencil, and write something about what she could see. “Never mindyour composition; do this to please me, and we'll talk about that later.”

    Although Susie thought her mother's request was strange, she knew shealways had a good reason for everything she did. So she did as her motherrequested.

    As she looked out, she first saw the western sky and some bright, sunsetclouds. “Oh, mother, what a sunset!”

“Don't talk. Just write.”

The pencil began moving rapidly across the paper. She wrote about the sunsetclouds, the look of the distant hills, the streets, the river, the garden withits flowers, and the birds flying past the window. She forgot all about theterrible composition!

    Just as she had reached the bottom of the page, hermother came in and said with a smile, “Well, Susie, how does that compositioncome on?”

   “Composition! You told me not to think about it, and I've never thoughtof it once. I've had such a nice time writing about what I could see from thewindow.”

    Mrs. Smith took the paper and read what Susie had written. She said,“There, Susie, that's a very nice composition,really.”

   “A composition! Is that a composition?”Susie asked in surprise.

   “Yes, my dear, and a very good one, too, if we find a title for it,”replied her mother. Then she added, “I'm sure it will please your teacher, asit does me. You see, it's easy enough to write a composition if you have anything interesting to write about.”

    She was a poor child, but proud and arrogant（傲慢的）, and people said she was nothing but rude and impolite. When but a very little child, she had pleasure in catching flies to pull off their wings, stick them on a pin and watch them try to get off it.

    As Inger grew up she became even worse instead of better. She was very pretty, and that increased her arrogance. "You'll bring misfortune down upon you," said her own mother to her. "As a little child you often used to break things, and when you're older, I fear you'll break my heart." And she really did. Then she was sent into the town to be in the service of a rich family. They treated her as kindly as if she would have been their daughter and dressed her so well that she looked more beautiful.

    When she had been there for about a year, her mistress（女主人） said to her, "You are supposed to go back and visit your parents, little Inger." So she went, but only because she wanted to show them how fine she had become. When she reached the village, and saw her poor mother resting herself on a stone nearby, with a number of firewood. Inger turned away.

    Another year went by. "You must go and visit your old parents," said her mistress." Here's white bread for them." So Inger put on her new shoes, and walked carefully so that her shoes would stay clean and neat. When she came to somewhere dirty, she threw the bread on the ground and use it as a steppingstone to get across. But once she stepped on it, the bread went down quickly, carrying with the girl into the deep.

    Soon nothing could be seen but a black pool!

    In 1978, I was working as a nurse in a small town about 270km away from Sydney, Australia. I was looking forward to having five days off from duty. Unluckily, the one train a day to my home in Sydney had already left. So I thought I'd get a ride.

    I waited by the side of the highway for three hours, but no one stopped for me. Finally, a man walked over and introduced himself as Gordon. He said that although he couldn't give me a lift, I should come back to his house for lunch. He noticed me standing for hours in the November heat and thought I must be hungry. I was doubtful as a young girl but he promised me I was safe, and he also offered to help me find a lift afterwards. When we arrived at his house, he made me sandwiches. After lunch, he helped me find a lift home.

    Twenty-five years later, while I was driving to a nearby town one day, I saw an elderly man standing in the glaring heat, trying to get a ride. I thought it was another chance to repay(回报) someone for the kindness I'd been given many years earlier. I pulled over and picked him up. I made him comfortable on the back seat and offered him some water.

    After a few moments of small talk, the man said to me, "You haven't changed a bit, even your red hair is still the same."

    I couldn't remember where I'd met him. He then told me he was the man who had given me lunch and helped me find a lift all those years ago. It was Gordon.

    Frank was a very talkative little boy. He never saw a new thing without asking a great many questions about it.

    His mother was very patient and kind. When it was proper to answer his questions, she would do so. Sometimes she would say, "You are not old enough to understand that, my son. When you are ten years old, you may ask me about it, and I will tell you." When his mother said this, Frank never bother(烦扰)her any more. He knew she always liked to answer him when he asked proper questions.

    The first time Frank saw an hourglass, he was very much interested, but he did not know what it was. His mother said, "An hourglass is made in the shape of the figure 8. The sand is put in at one end and runs through a small hole in the middle. As much sand is put into the glass as will run through in an hour."

    Frank watched the little stream of sand. He was impatient, because it would not run faster. "Let me shake it, mother," said he, "it is lazy, and will never get through."

    "Oh, yes, it will, my son," said his mother, "The sand moves by little and little, but it moves all the time. When you look at the hands of the clock, you think they go very slowly, and so they do, but they never stop. While you are at play, the sand is running, grain by grain(一粒粒). The hands of the clock are moving, second by second. At night, the sand in the hourglass has run through twelve times. The hour hand of the clock has moved all around its great face. This because they keep at work every minute. They do not stop to think how much they have to do, and how long it will take them to do it."

    Now, Frank's mother wanted him to learn a little hymn(赞美诗), but he said, "Mother, I can never learn it."

    His mother said, "Study all the time. Never stop to ask how long it will take to learn it. You will be able to say it very soon."

    Frank followed his mother's advice. He studied line after line, very busily; and in one hour and a half he knew the hymn perfectly.

Troye Sivan looks very handsome. He is a famous singer, songwriter and actor. He comes{#blank#}1{#/blank#} South Africa.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(he) family moved to Australia when he was 2 years old. Now he lives in Perth, Western Australia{#blank#}3{#/blank#} his parents. Troye didn't go to school when he was young. He{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(study) at home.

Troye likes{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(sing) very much. When he was 12 years old, he put his {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(one) singing video on the Internet. Now he{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(have) millions of fans. He is already one of the most famous singers in the world today.

As{#blank#}8{#/blank#} actor, he played the young Wolverine in the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He also played in many other films.

Troye once came to China in 2012. He joined a popular TV programme and sang the song I'm Yours for his{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(China) fans. Also, Troye is very kind because he cares about{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(child) from poor families around the world.