Bruce shook his money box again.

    Nothing! He carefully counted the coins that lay on the bed. All that he had was $24.52. The 1 which he wanted was at least $ 90. How on earth(究竟) was he going to get the rest of the 2?

    He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was hard to hang out(闲逛) with people when you were the only one 3 a bicycle. He thought about 4 he could do. He couldn't get money from his parents, because he knew they had no extra(额外的) money.

    There was only one way to get money, and that was to earn(挣钱) it. He would have to find a job. He decided to ask Mr. Clay for 5.

    "Well, you can start right here," said Mr. Clay. "You see, my windows need cleaning and my car need washing."

     That was the beginning of Bruce's part time(兼职) job. For the next three 6 he worked every day after finishing his homework. He took dogs for walks and cleaned rooms.

     The day finally came when Bruce 7 his money and found $ 94.32. He wasted no time and went down to the shop to 8 the bicycle he wanted. He rode home proudly, looking forward to 9 his new bicycle to his friends. Bruce liked his bicycle very much because he had bought it with his own money. At last, his dream came true, and his parents were 10 of him.

D

    "My dear lady," says Holmes. "You're shivering. Are you cold? Do you want a cup of hot tea?"

    "I'm not cold," the woman replies, "I fear for my life!"

    "We are here to help you. Don't worry about anything. I don't know you. But I know many things about you. For example, I know how you travel. You came to London by train. You also ride to the train station on a horse-drawn wagon(马车)."

    "Why, yes. You're right. But how do you know these things?"

    "I see a return ticket in your glove. I see fresh mud on the left arm of your dress. Now tell us your problem."

    "My name is Helen Stoner," she states, "My mother and father are dead. I am living with my stepfather, Dr Grimesby Roylott. He comes from a rich family. But they are no longer rich. They have nothing except a small piece of land and a huge old house. We are living in the house. Dr Roylott is using my mother's money for expenses(开支). Part of it was for my sister and me. It was for our marriages."

    Holmes is sitting in his chair. His eyes are closed. He is listening carefully to Helen's story. He hears every detail(细节).

    Helen continues. "My stepfather has no friends. He fights with everyone. He is strong and gets angry quickly. Everyone is afraid of him."

    "He has no friends at all?" asks Holmes.

    "No. He talks to no one except the gypsies. They are poor people who travel from place to place. A band of gypsies is staying on our land right now."

    "Are you and your sister afraid of the gypsies?"

    "My dear Mr Holmes. You are making me so sad. My sister is dead. That is why I am standing here in this room."

    Pat McGee noticed her daughter hadn't returned to the dentist's waiting room just before her surgery (外科手术). She walked to the bathroom and found Jessica McDaniels, 32, in there, crying.

    McGee took her daughter into her arms, "We're going to say 'goodbye' to the old Jessica," she said. "And 'hi' to the new Jessica."

    McDaniels, from St. Louis, US, had been wishing for this day since high school, when the bullying (霸凌) about her teeth started. Now that it was finally happening, she was worried and afraid.

    It was a social media post two months ago that got her there. Someone posted a photo of McDaniels with a comment about her overbite (龅牙). The post was shared many times, with many people making unkind comments on her appearance.

    The bullies didn't know the road McDaniels had traveled. She had nine operations on her ears from age 2 to 12 years old. She was almost deaf in her right ear. Her adult teeth didn't start coming in until she was 11 or 12, and doctors couldn't figure out why they were pushed outward. It got worse as she got older. McDaniels had been trying for years to get her teeth fixed, but it was always too costly.

    When her story got out, dentists wanted to help her. One of them, Maryann Udy, got in contact with McDaniels and offered her a new smile - free of charge. McDaniels wasn't sure at first, so she called her mother. The mother told her that Udy was her angel. "You need to do it," she told her daughter.

    The surgery was long and complicated (复杂的). It took weeks for the swelling (肿块) to go down, and several more months before McDaniels' new smile was ready. Later that year, she looked at her old photos online and smiled. "I loved her," she said. "She's thankful to be in less pain, to be on the way to a new smile. Sometimes, though, it feels like something is missing from who she was." Still, she loves taking selfies and admiring her new appearance. "I looked good before," she said. "I look even better now."

You must have heard of me. I'm Li Bai. I'm famous for my poems, but looking back on my fall and exciting life, I'd say friendship has been just as important as poetry.

One of my friends is He Zhizhang who is forty-two years older than me. Once we were having such an interesting conversation that we decided to continue it over dinner. After finishing the meal, we realized that neither of us had brought any money. He immediately took off the golden tortoise (龟) decorated on his waist and used it to pay for our dinner. I knew the golden tortoise was given to him by the Emperor. His generosity touched me. This showed how much he valued our friendship.

A letter started another of my friendships. The letter was from Wang Lun. He wrote to invite me to enjoy the ten-li peach blossom (桃花) scenery and the ten thousand restaurants in his area. I was expecting to see the special scenery and taste all kinds of food and wine so that I accepted this invitation at once.

But when I arrived to my surprise, I found that this clever man had used word-play to trick me into visiting him! The ten-li peach blossom referred to a lake named Peach Blossom Lake, which was about ten li away. The ten thousand restaurants were just a restaurant named WanJia, meaning "owned by Mr. Wan"! I was impressed by his cleverness, and we enjoyed a good laugh together.

Although my friends and I don't have many opportunities to get together, we keep one another in mind.

This is a story about a storm in Moscow. It happened several years ago. It was my first time that I had seen such a 1 storm.

It was a sunny day in July, and I was at home watching TV. The window was open 2 the weather was so hot. Suddenly, I felt a strong wind from outside. I looked out of the window and saw a black sky and trees 3 over because of the strong wind. I tried to 4 the window, but the wind made me fall down. I was afraid that the glass might break. I stood up and tried to close the window again. 5 , I made it.

Then I looked outside. I found that the big tree in front of my house was going to fall to the ground and its 6 had broken off. There was frequent（频繁的）thunder and lightning. I started to 7 all the appliances as quickly as possible.

After a while, the wind stopped, but it began to hail （下冰雹）. After about ten minutes, everything stopped, and the Sun came out again. How 8 the weather was! A few minutes later, the phone began to ring. It was my friend. We asked each other how it was and how we felt after the storm.

In the streets, many trees died because of the 9 . For a few days, people helped clean parks and gardens. Some people's cars were damaged by trees' falling branches on them. The 10 tells me that in the face of natural disasters, human beings are insignificant（微不足道的）. We can't stop them, but we must protect ourselves from them.