Dragons are not real animals, but look like a combination (组合体) of many animals such as snakes, fish and deer. They have two horns (角) and a long moustache (胡子). With fantastic powers, they fly in the sky or swim in the sea. They can make rain, too. The Chinese dragon is a symbol of strength and goodluck. The emperors of ancient China loved dragons. Their clothes were covered with pictures of dragons.

    We are proud to call ourselves the “descendants (传人) of the dragon”. In Chinese, “excellent”people are often called “dragons”. A number of Chinese sayings and idioms talk about dragons, for example, “Hoping one's child will become a dragon,” which means hoping he or she will be successful.

    It is said that people born in the Year of the Dragon have certain characteristics. They are creative, confident, brave and quick-tempered. There are some famous “dragons”who have done excellent things, for example, Deng Xiaoping, the famous businessman Li Jiacheng and the movie star Zhao Wei. They are all very successful.

    There are also some traditional festivals about dragons in China, such as Dragon Head – Raising Day and Dragon Boat Festival. We have different kinds of activities to celebrate them. These two festivals come every year, but the Year of the Dragon comes every twelve years. It was the year of the Dragon in 1976.

    The dragon is very important in Chinese culture. As the“descendants of the dragon”, it is necessary for us to know the views on dragons in our culture. It can help us understand why our parents always want us to be“dragons”.

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    Hayao Miyazaki(宫崎骏) was born in Tokyo on January 5, 1941. As a boy, he liked to read and draw cartoons. After graduating from university in 1963, Miyazaki joined the Toei Animation(动画片制作) Company. At Toei, he worked on many animated movies, like the famous Puss in Boots. In 1984, he made Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (《风之谷》), which was based on a comic book he wrote. Because this movie was so successful, Miyazaki was able to start his own animation company, Studio Ghibli.

    One of Miyazaki's most loved movies is My Neighbour Totoro(《龙猫》), made in 1988. It is a children's movie, but many teenagers and adults like it too. The movie is about two sisters who become friends with a big supernatural (神奇的) animal named Totoro. It is a very warm-hearted story, with many strange and interesting characters such as Cat Bus, a cat which is also a bus. Miyazaki's 2001 movie, Spirited Away, was even more popular than My Neighbour Totoro.

    All of Miyazaki's movies have strange but charming people and creatures. Many of his stories happen in worlds that are different from ours. However, they still show his ideas about real life. He often points out how humans hurt the natural world. He thinks people should change the ways.

    A few years ago national attention was fixed on a deep, dark cave in the mountains near where I live now. A team had entered the cave to do some research. Although every precaution had been taken to make it safe, one young man was separated from the team and lost in the depths of the cave.

    For several days a rescue team worked around the clock, searching almost everywhere in the underground cave. With each passing hour chance of finding the young man inside the cave became smaller, and people had a lot of guesses. Perhaps he had simply run away. Or maybe he had stumbled out some other entrance and was now lost in the mountains. Or perhaps he was already... well, nobody wanted to say it. But everybody thought it. Everybody, that is, except the young man's parents.

    "That wasn't a choice in our opinion," the young man's mother said." Finally we would find him—safe and alive. We were certain of that."

    There was little reason to those who were familiar with the cave said it had been completely searched-several times. Common sense suggested that time was running out and that other choices needed to be considered—like when to say "enough".

    But like Kris Kringle says in his famous book A Miracle on 34th Street, "Faith is believing in something even when common sense tells you not to do." And the young man's parents had faith. They wouldn't give up, and they wouldn't let anyone else give up, either. And sure enough, the young man was found—hungry, thirst and afraid, but healthy.

    How did the young man manage to stay a live in the cave?

    "I've never stopped believing that someone would find me," said the young man.

    Helen Keller was born in 1880 in the USA. When she was about 19 months old, she got very ill. After many weeks, the doctor told her parents, "Your daughter is better, but now she can't see and she can't hear." Her mother and her father were very sad. After a few years, things got worse. There was no way for Helen to speak to other people. She heard nothing. She didn't understand anything.

    Then one day a teacher came. Her name was Anne Sullivan She lived with Helen and her family. The teacher helped Helen learn words. Helen was a very clever child and soon she learned to spell her first word. When she was older, she went to college.

    Helen was a very famous woman when she died. The world remembers her today as a brave and wonderful person. She was blind and deaf, but she found a way to see and hear. It helped many people in the world.

    Long ago in Germany, there was a little boy named George Frederick Handel and he loved music very much. He wanted to learn how to play the piano. But his father wanted him to become a lawyer (律师) and would not let him take music lessons.

    There was a little and old piano up in the attic (阁楼). At night, when everybody was asleep, the little boy climbed up the stairs and played softly.

    When he was about 7, he went to visit a rich duke (公爵) with his father. There was a wonderful organ (风琴) in his house.

    Little Handel walked up to the organ and began to play. His little hands moved over the keys and the sweetest music came out.

    When he finished, he saw his father and the duke looking at him. The duke asked him where he had learned to play, and the boy ________.

    Then the duke persuaded (说服) Handel's father to let him study music. A few years later, young Handel became a famous composer.