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.

Two months ago, my husband's hand was badly hurt after an accident at work. Then we had to, drive to the hospital to do the physical therapy(治疗)for his hand three times a week.

Today while we were driving to the hospital. We saw a young man standing in the strong and cold winds. We stopped and asked if he needed a ride. He gladly accepted and jumped into the back seat. His name was Dan and he wasn't going far.

As we dropped him off, we noticed he had many large piles (堆) of cut wood in his yard. We asked if he was interested in selling any. He said," Oh, you can just come by anytime, even if I'm not here and take all you want." We asked how much it would cost for a trunk load (一箱). He answered," It's free. We have more than we'll ever use. So just come by and get it anytime. Thanks for the ride and have a great day!"

We still wanted to pay for it and would only get it when someone was home, but he just kept saying what he already told us.

Dan just wanted to repay (回报) us with the wood, never knowing how much that would mean to us because my husband isn't able to chop any wood for us this winter.

When I was in school, I volunteered to work in a hospital for some time.

On one visit, I carefully entered a dark room to find an elderly man {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (lie) in bed. I firstly thought he was sleeping. When I moved {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (close), however, I realized he was very much awake. He wanted to communicate something; but I couldn't make sense of what he {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (say). 0He seemed quite weak, and I couldn't tell if he was in pain, or just frightened. I knew nothing about him, and I felt totally helpless. He clearly didn't want me {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (leave) him, but I felt so lost and uncomfortable that I had to leave the room after only a couple of {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (minute).

The next time I was at {#blank#}6{#/blank#} hospital and saw him again, I was certain he didn't remember me. But he {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (immediate) said, "I remember you. , You gave me hope in my darkest hour that evening!" I was so {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(amaze) that I didn't know how to answer.

In the short moment of my staying there, I did nothing at all. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} surprisingly he found in me something he needed, just because I was there.

I have thought about this thing often over the past years. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} makes me want to offer whatever kindness I can to others, and I try to make it out and appreciate (赞赏) it.

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.

Lu Xun is one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th century. Besides his famous stories, he also wrote many influential(有影响力的) articles about the life of Chinese people. 

Born in a {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (wealth) family in 1881, Lu Xun had a happy childhood. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (unlucky), his father became seriously ill and died in 1896. From that tine on, his family were no longer accepted by their relatives and friends. These early {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (experience) deeply influenced his writing. 

When he studied at university in 1899, he already believed that Chinese society had to change and become modern. In 1902, he went to study in Japan. There, he began writing articles {#blank#}4{#/blank#} several Chinese student magazines to make a living. He showed a gift for writing and translating and he even wrote several books, though none was popular. He returned to China in 1909 because {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (he) family was in need of money. 

After working for several years as {#blank#}6{#/blank#} teacher in Beijing, Lu Xun again returned to writing. In 1918, he created his famous short story Diary of a Mad Man {#blank#}7{#/blank#} was the first Chinese novel to use the everyday language. So it came out to be a great success. And his other novels, such as The True Story of AhQ and Kong Yiji, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (read) by Chinese young people in that period. 

Although successful, Lu Xun still worried greatly about China' s future. In 1926, he moved to Shanghai and gave up {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (write) stories in order to focus on articles which could call on people to fight for a better country. 

Since his death in 1936, Lu Xun' s influence {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (grow) with time. Today, many of his writings are included in school textbooks and his works are valued by millions around the world.