Some time ago, an old businessman had a large store in Boston. He wanted a boy to work for him, and he put an advertisement in the newspaper. The next morning, many boys came to the old man's office, asking for the job.

 There was a post(柱子)by his desk, and there was a nail(钉子）in it. He took a walking stick and said, "Everyone has three chances. If anyone can hit the nail on the head with this stick more than once, I will give him the job."The boys thought it was easy. They all tried, but nobody could make it. So the old man said, "I'm sorry I can't take any of you."And they left.

  He kept the advertisement in the paper, and the next morning many more boys came, and among them he saw a thin boy who had been there the day before. The boy hit the nail successfully for three times. The old man felt surprised and asked how he did that. "Yes," said the boy, "I failed yesterday, but I thought that if I kept on trying a while, I could do it. So I went home and practiced hitting a nail with a stick till I could do it, and I got up very early this morning, and tried again."

 The old man said, "You are the boy for me." And he gave him the job. Whatever the boy had to do, he tried to do his best. It was not very long before he became the best clerk in the store.

Answer the questions according to the passage.

      Nowadays people are making themselves beautiful in Korean ways.

     “Thank goodness you have double eyelids(双眼皮). Your parents will save a lot of money.” said a family friend when I was five years old. Double eyelids, which almost all the white people have, are rare among Northeast Asians. Only 25% of South Koreans are born with double eyelids.

      I never quite understood how having double eyelids saved my parents money until this summer. When I came back to Seoul, everywhere I noticed cosmetic surgery clinics(整形诊所) and advertisements with South Korean women—tall, thin, with milky skin, long legs, nice big eyes and perfect noses. I found that South Korean beauty meant looking as “white” as possible.

      Cosmetic surgery has a kind of magical attraction(吸引) to women — the promise of beauty. Women are often sure that suffering is necessary and worthy in order to be beautiful. This suffering is not for nothing. It is believed that beauty leads to attracting a better-looking partner, which then leads to a better-looking child and a better life.

      Appearance is starting to be more important in work places. People with good appearance can have more chances .For example, my 29-year-old brother, who is slim and very tall, gets more job chances than his best friend, who is short and heavy, though both of them came from the same college, had the same good marks in their studies. In fact, many South Koreans believe that physical beauty equals happiness

I'm Lucy from New York. But now I'm in Beijing with my parents. They are doctors and they love their jobs. I am a student and I love my school, too. School is a good place for me. I can do many things there.

I can learn a lot at school. I learn Chinese, math, science and English every day. Also, I can have fun at school. I often listen to music with my classmates. Sometimes, I talk about favorite movies and TV shows with them.

But sometimes I am not happy at school because there are too many activities and they always make me tired.

School is like my second family, and my classmates are like my brothers and sisters. The school is really a big and happy family.

27- year- old Pei Haozheng is skilled in creating artworks by using paper. In his eyes, a single piece of paper can make a big difference. He can fold it into anything, from daily objects to ancient people. 

Born in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, Pei started folding paper when he was a little kid, because paper was cheap and easy to get. At first, he learned folding from his friends and parents, and later he copied the style from books. From cranes to planes, he was fascinated by（着迷于） the magic world made by paper. Every day, he spent hours folding paper. 

In order to improve his folding skills, Pei taught himself through origami（折纸工艺） books. As the number of his works grew, so did the quality. His hard work paid off（得到回报） and then Pei began to create more complex（复杂的） designs. 

Pei won the International Origami Internet Olympiad in 2017, combining the art with Chinese cultural ideas. For the event's final task, he folded an ancient Chinese woman holding a mirror from a piece of hand made xuanzhi, a kind of rice paper. The artwork caught the judges'（裁判的） eye with its special shape and Eastern style. In September2022, Pei even set the Guinness World Record for most origami flowers made from a single piece of paper. 

Although people might be amazed at the complexity of the designs and skills needed to produce the artworks, Pei is always willing to keep trying new artworks. He said, "I get inspiration from Chinese culture and of course, I want to help Chinese culture go global（走向世界）. "

"Have you had your dinner yet？Now, please listen to me. I'm Gao Gao, and I'll sing Shanghai opera for you. "

With this line, it is just three months after Gao began her online broadcast（直播）. Then the Shanghai opera actress attracted（吸引）, 000 new fans. She is happy about the growing number. But there is some even better news：Many of her fans are young people.

Most Shanghai opera lovers are grey﹣haired. As they continue to age, fewer and fewer of them are able to watch live（现场的） performances in theaters. Gao was concerned about it after her first public performance. "Are many young people born with a natural dislike for Shanghai opera？"Gao once asked herself.

This past summer, Gao started to broadcast Shanghai opera online. Few people took an interest in her shows. For two hours, only about 200 people went into her broadcast. Gao was a little sad, but she didn't give up. She thought hard about how to attract young people.

Gao hit upon a few good ideas. She sang some popular songs in the Shanghai dialect（方言）. She also performed some Shanghai opera classics online. Besides, she always reads the messages from her fans. They helped her to do better. Her hard work finally paid off.

After Gao's success, other Shanghai opera actors also started to bring their shows to the Internet. More and more young people are now enjoying Shanghai opera. 

Old Mother Wind was talking with the tall tree in the forest, "I've just passed by the grass, and there I saw the best thing in the world. "

Bobby Mouse happened to sit under the tree and heard those 1 . " The best thing in the world—What can that be?" he 2 . "Well, it must be plenty of delicious nuts! I'll go and find it. " Then Bobby Mouse ran 3 the grass. He was running so 4 that he didn't see Peter Rabbit until Peter Rabbit jumped out. He asked, "5 are you going in such a hurry?"

"To find the best thing in the world, " Bobby Mouse replied. 

"The best thing in the world? I really want to 6 carrots(胡萝卜). I'm so hungry. That must be lots of carrots. I'll go with 7 , " Peter Rabbit said to Bobby Mouse and ran after him. 

Before long, they met Johnny Chuck, who asked the same question as Peter Rabbit just did. 

"To find the 8 thing in the world! Would you like to join us?" they shouted. 

"The best thing in the world?" said Johnny Chuck. "9 is more enjoyable than my own little home, the warm sunshine and the beautiful blue sky. I will 10 go with you!" So he stayed at home and played among flowers with Old Mother Wind happily. 

When Bobby Mouse and Peter Rabbit finally reached the grass, they had run far and fast all day long but still they didn't find the best thing in the world. When the 11 came, they started going back home. Now they didn't hurry in the dark 12 they were very tired and hungry. 

They came across Old Mother Wind halfway home. 

"Did you 13 the best thing in the world?" asked Old Mother Wind. 

"No!" Their 14 sounded very sad. 

"Johnny Chuck has it, " she said. " It is being 15 with the things you have. The best thing in the world is already around you. "