A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held a sign which said, "I am blind. Please help me."

    There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took out a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by could see the new words.

    Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized(认出) his footsteps and asked, "Are you the one who changed my sign in the morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said, but in a different way."

    What he had written was, "Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it."

    Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

    Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.

    You may not realize it, but you are doing much more than just studying when you are at school. School is also the place where you learn to get on well with people. But this is not always easy. What can you do if you just don't like one of your classmates?

    If you discover that you have problems   ①   (get) on with your classmates or friends, the most important thing   ②   (learn) is tolerance(宽容) . Tolerance is the ability to realize and respect the differences in others. We cannot change the way that other people do, so it is important to learn to live happily with them.

    Tolerance will make everyone get on better with each other. Getting to know someone may help you understand why he does things differently. Something different does not exactly mean that it is bad. Tolerance teaches us to keep a temperate and open mind.

    You need to remember an old saying, (A)“Treat others how you want to be treated. ” If you tolerate something, it does not mean that you have to like it.

    (B)现在，没有人要求你改变自己。 Tolerance just means that you should respect the differences in others and not try to make them change.

    It is important to practice tolerance, because it will make everyone's life easier. (C)学会接受能力、兴趣与自己不同的人。The world is very different, and practicing tolerance in your own school and city can help make a difference.

    I like Africa very much. So my parents and I went to Africa last week. It was an interesting place. On Monday, I rode big elephants. They were big and friendly. I took many photos of them. On Tuesday, we went to visit Lake Victoria. At noon, my father and I collected wood(木柴)to make a fire. Then we had a picnic. We had a good time there. After that we went to the hotel. On Wednesday, we went to Tugella Fall by train. We had a long walk around it. All of us liked Tugella Tall very much. We took the plane back to Canada on Saturday. It was an exciting.

    I'II show you my photos there!

    My name is Jack. I am English. And I'm in Beijing now with my family. Let me tell you our life(生活) here.

    My parents are teachers. They like to work(工作) here very much. I have a sister and a brother. My sister and 1 are in the same middle school in Beijing. My brother is only three.

    We have a nice house(房子) in Beijing. My room is big and nice. You can see a bed, a desk, a chair and a sofa in it. I have a computer, too. My books and computer are on my desk. On Sundays, I like to play computer games. I love my room.

Why Live Near the River?

Imagine pioneers traveling west in the 1800s. In those days, it was hard to find running water and shops where to buy things. As time went by, most pioneers had to make their homes near a river so that they could get water easily.

How did rivers help people live in the past?

Back in the pioneer days, people grew their own food, caught their own fish, and collected their own water.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}People also used rivers as roads, traveling on boats. Traders shipped goods (货物) to people from other areas.

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When building many factories right next to rivers for the water's power to make machines work, some people choose to live near a river for working. They use the river to ship large goods, and some of them work at these factories where power factories provide electricity for homes and businesses.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Who wouldn't want to live near a river?

Some people are nervous about living near rivers because rivers can cause floods (洪水). Every once in a while, floodwaters rise higher than a house, ruining (毁坏) many things in the house.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Such waste causes water to smell bad and pollutes the crops (作物) we eat. Water and crops in polluted areas can make people very sick.

How do people decide where to live?

 {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Rivers can provide jobs and fun activities in a beautiful place. However, those living by rivers should be willing to accept possible problems as well.