My father was 44 and knew he wasn't going to make it to 45. He wrote me a letter and hoped that something in it would help me for the rest of my life.

    Since the day I was 12 and first read his letter, some of his words have lived in my heart. One part always stands out. "Right now, you are pretending to be a time killer. But I know that one day, you will do something great that will set you among the very best." Knowing that my dad believed in me gave me permission to believe in myself. "You will do something great." He didn't know what would be, and neither did I, but at times in my life when I've felt proud of myself , I remember his words and wish he were here so I could ask, "Is this what you were talking about , Dad ? Should I keep going ?"

A long way from 12 now, I realize he would have been proud when I made any progress. Lately, though, I've come to believe he would want me to move on to what comes next: to be proud of , and believe in , somebody else. It's time to start writing my own letters to my children . Our children look to us with the same unanswered question we had. Our kids don't hold back because they're afraid to fail. They're only afraid of failing us. They don't worry about being disappointed. Their fear —as mine was until my father's letter —is of being a disappointment .

    Give your children permission to succeed. They're waiting for you to believe in them. I always knew my parents loved me. But trust me：That belief will be more complete , that love will be more real, and their belief in themselves will be greater if you write the words on their hearts："Don't worry; you'll do something great ." Not having that blessing from their parents may be the only thing holding them back.

    A little boy invited his mother to attend his school's first teacher-parent meeting. To the little boy's disappointment, his mother said she would go. This would be the first time that his classmates and teachers met his mother and he was embarrassed by her appearance. There was a serious scar (伤疤) that covered nearly the whole right side of her face. The boy never wanted to talk about why or how she got the scar.

    At the meeting, the people were impressed by the kindness of his mother with the scar, but the little boy was still embarrassed and hid himself from everyone. However, he could hear clearly the conversation between his mother and the teacher.

    "How did you get the scar on your face?" the teacher asked.

    The mother replied, "When my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught on fire.

    Everyone was too afraid to go in because the fire was out of control, but I went in. As I was running towards his bed, I saw a burning wood falling down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked to be unconscious (无知觉的), but luckily, a fireman came in and saved both of us." She touched the burned side of her face. "This scar will be forever, but until today, I have never regretted doing what I did."

    When the little boy heard this, he couldn't help running towards his mother with tears in his eyes. He hugged her and felt his mother was greater than anyone. He held her hand tightly for the rest of the day.

内容包括：1．你是如何得到它的？2．你拥有它多久了？3．为什么喜欢它？

要求：1．须包含以上要点，可适当发挥；2．不得出现真实人名和校名等相关信息；3．词数：80～100词。

My Favorite ...

Eva and Norman are both 80 years old. 

They are1 to animals. In December, 2021, they went on a mountain near their house to look after poor birds. They 2 a bad snowstorm. On their way home, the heavy 3 stopped them. And it was terribly 4 . Eva thought they couldn't get home any more. She thought they could 5 because of the bad storm. They were in great 6 !

But 7 , their dog, Shana, was with them. Shana was only two years old, but she could understand people very well. When she found Eva didn't have a coat to keep 8 , she walked around to get a good idea. Then Shana 9 to dig(挖) under the snow. After some time, Shana dug a 20-foot-long tunnel(隧道) home. 

At first, Eva and Norman didn't know what Shana wanted 10 to do. Shana walked into the tunnel, and then went 11 . She walked to Eva and bit(咬) her jacket to let her go 12 the tunnel. 

After the snowstorm died down, the little dog took the two old to 13 all the way back to their home. Finally, they got to their house. They felt tired 14 they were safe. 

How 15 the two- year- old dog was! How lucky the two old were!

National parks are large areas of public land. They provide a safe home for local plants and animals. They help keep the air and water clean. They also provide us with the best trip. Forbes has listed 12 of the most beautiful ones in the world that will surprise you with their amazing landscapes, geographic wonders and colourful plants and animals. 

The Grand Canyo n National Park of the US is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. It is best known for its size and depth. It is about 446 kilometres long, up to 29 kilometres wide, and 1. 8 kilometres deep. The immensity of the canyon makes people think big. Every year, about 5 million people visit there. The South Rim offers visitors the park's full view, while the North Rim shows beautiful wild flowers. 

If you love animals, you'll like the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The "Big Five" live there. They are the lion, the African elephant, the African leopard, the black rhinoceros and the African buffalo. The name "Big Five" comes from the five animals that are the hardest to catch. Now they are what people most want to see in the wild. If you visit the park, you should never miss the migration(迁徙) of tens of thousands of wildebeests and zebras every year. This is the most famous site of the park. 

"Are you listening, Simon? " Simon's teacher asked. It was a pretty usual question. Simon shook his head, smiling. He hardly listened or tried hard in class. Talking was so much fun. He wanted to be heard rather than listen.

"Listen, and you' ll learn something." Mrs. Jacobs tried every day, but Simon never paid attention.

 That evening, his throat really hurt. The next morning, when he opened his mouth to say"Good morning", nothing came out but a croak(低沉而沙哑的声音).

 Simon's mother looked at him. "Honey, you' ve lost your voice "

"Can I stay home?" He tried to ask, but words didn't come out. Instead, his mother checked him for a fever and decided it was good for him to go to school, even if he couldn't talk.

 When he got to school, Mrs. Jacobs said"Hello" to him, and he just nodded. When his friends asked him what TV shows he watched last night, he just shrugged(耸肩). By the time the bell rang for class, almost everyone was looking at him as if he'd grown a third eye.

 Penny raised her hand. "Mrs Jacobs, why isn't Simon talking?"

"He never stops talking," Richard said worriedly. Everyone started talking at once. They were excited, worried, and surprised.

 Simon sat in class, bored. He watched them talk to each other as if the teacher wasn't there, but he couldn't even do that. In math class he could hold up fingers if the answer was less than 10, but that wasn't fun. He decided to try to pay attention.

 He could do his homework that night. It gave him TV and game time with his work all done.

 The next day, even though his voice was coming back, he stayed quiet again. The third day, he could talk fine, but he listened and raised his hand to speak.

 What a difference that one day made!