It's 10:00 on a beautiful Sunday morning in California. To my left is some of the most beautiful coastline. I'm walking along a road ordinarily packed with cars on days like this, but today, thanks in part to my $135 entry fee, it is closed to traffic.

    There's only one problem: I should be running, not walking. Over the past year, I've spent hundreds of dollars on running gear(设备) and race entry fees. I've jogged than 1,600 miles training for this event.

    Dozens of runners pass me on either side, each of them experiencing varying degrees of sadness similar to my own. Most of them, like me, have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to get here, spending $500, $1,000 or more to participate in this event.

    Actually I'm by no means a competitive athlete. My best finish ever was fourth place, in a 5-kftometer race with only 74 participants, many of whom were walking the entire course.

    Last year, over 500,000 runners completed a marathon in the U.S. alone. Nearly all of these runners had absolutely no chance of victory. The PR-personal record-is everyone's definition of a “good race,” whether he finishes in first or 301st.

    I should buy a new watch that not only tracks my location by GPS, but also by counting steps. This can more accurate and much more expensive. Finally, I have reached the finish line. I know that the official race photographers will be taking photos as I cross the line, so I raise my arms in “victory” I finish, in a time of 3:37:55, good for 354th place.

    A few days after the race, the race organizers email me a link to a site where I can preview my official photos 一 and download them, for a fee, of course.

    I wish I could say the feeling was unique; it's probably not Indeed probably a feeling most runners get in most marathons. Running a lot of marathons 9 in fact, may not even be good for your health.

    In America, marathoning is a rich person's sport.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings (缺点). Wee k by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn't a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

    He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn't you ever wonder what you're really like ? Well, you now have that girl's opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

    I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn't change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I went to a fairly clear picture of myself.

    I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That's just for you,” he said. “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you'll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don't shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”

    Daddy's advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I've never had a better piece of advice.

Dear Guests

    WELCOME TO PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL APARTMENTS--SYDNEY

    Now we are updating (更新) our information folders in the rooms in order to help you during your stay. Please notice the following:

    Phone number:

    Reception(接待处): Dial 7

     Housekeeping: Dial 4

    Apartment-to-Apartment: dial the apartment number ( except 1st floor apartments: dial the apartment number followed by the ＃key)

    Outside line: dial 0, wait for dial tone, and then the number required.

Please keep your key with you at all times. The main doors to the apartments are locked from about 10:30 pm ~ 07:00 am, and you will need to swipe (刷卡) your key to gain access (通道) to the apartment.

    If in the event of the fire alarm(警报) sounding please stay calm. If evacuation ( 疏散 ) is necessary, please go to the fire exits. DO NOT USE LIFTS. Remember to take your valuables and key with you. When you go down, please gather at the Wishing Tree and the Corner of Sussex and Hay Street and either the Fire Brigade. A staff（职员）member or Hotel security（安全）will issue necessary instructions. For future details on this, please dial 7.

    Please see reception for any advice on tours and Sydney's attention, and please dial 7 if you want any further information.

    We hope your stay with us is an enjoyable one.

    Kind regards,

Paul Williams

Guest Services Manager

    Night of the Living Zoo

    When: October 30th, 2016, 18:30-22:00

    Where: Lower Zoo

    Cost:

    Tickets now are on sale to FONZ (Friends of the National Zoo) members only! Not a member? Join now to get tickets at the member rate. FONZ members may purchase up to six tickets at the member price. Non-member tickets go on sale September 25th.

    General Admission: Includes live music, performance artists -including fortune tellers, fire breathers, as well as access to animal exhibits after hours, and interesting outdoor games. Also, all guests will receive free bottled water.

$ 20 FONZ members; $ 30 non-members.

    VIP Tickets: Include access to the VIP area, animal performances and private games, etc.

    $ 55 FONZ members; $ 80 non-members

    Details:

    It's back. Prepare to witness dangerous acts and amazing sights at the Zoo's annual Halloween event, Night of the Living Zoo. With live music, performance artists, and games, it's a special night of fun that you won't want to miss.

    FONZ encourages you to take public transportation and drink responsibly.

    Metro (地铁): The Zoo's Connecticut Avenue entrance is between the Red Line's Cleveland Park and Woodley Park Metro stops.

    Uber is Night of the Living Zoo's transportation partner this year! New to Uber? Sign up for $ 20 off your first ride (new users only).

    Parking: Parking at the event will be $ 22.

    Prateek Sharma was born into a family of farmers. After 10 years of being a chief manager of Kotak Mahindra Bank, he did a good job and earned a good pay. But Prateek couldn't continue the corporation life with ease, as his heart was always in farming. So he worked as a banker on weekdays and on weekends travelled 100 km to get to his 5-acre in Dhaba Khurd.

    By the end of 2015, Prateek had set up a house on his farm to grow offseason vegetables. Prateek thought he'd quit his job once he was able to earn enough from farming, but this wasn't an easy decision to make. This was because costs to grow these vegetables were very high, along with the fact that farmers weren't a part of the value chain and thus couldn't decide the price of their own vegetables.

    Fortunately, Prateek met Vinay Yadav, another educated farmer. They then decided to start their own value chain and sell their vegetables and grains, while skipping the middlemen. The variety of vegetables they grew wasn't enough, so they decided to form a group of farmers.

    Once the plan was ready, the group was registered by the name of Farmer Producer Organization (FPO). However, the trial failed in the first year as most of the farmers were grain growers and had limited knowledge of growing vegetables. However, the largest reason was the switch to organic from chemical.

    Luckily, once the soil was used to organic methods, the next round of crops were successful and the FPO had a good amount of produce. So at the end of 2017, Prateek finally quit his job and devoted all his time to farming. Now he's successful and recently his team has started two farmer resource centers at Dhaba Khurd and Nathrula Canj.

    We all long for friendship, but how to make a friend? "The best time to make a friend is before you need one." Joy Steven said. The following are some tips for you.

    People equal friends

    Friends usually begin with strangers. Getting in touch with other people is the first step to make a friend. Friends can't be made in empty air. Best friends take time to make.

    Friends understand friends

    Friends understand each other when talking. Many unpleasant personal quarrels can be avoided if you will take the time to understand others' feelings and points of view.

    Friends touch friends

    Touching is a warm from of communication between friends. When you see best friends communicating, you will notice them stand close together, touch each other comfortably and listen to each other. Sometimes a friendly touch is more powerful than words.

    Friends praise friends

    Praise is a powerful tool to make a friend. Honest praise can affect (影响) your friends' lives. So try to praise your friends, including your general ones.

    Friends can loyal (忠诚的) and trustworthy

    Trust and loyalty go hand in hand for friends. Friends can share secrets with you, because good friends never break confidence (信心) and are loyal forever.