阅读理解

    Mick Polly，an owner of a toy store，lives with his teenage daughter Carolina in Kentucky．He is known as the Bike Man．Over the past five years，Mick has built hundreds of bikes for needy kids．

    One day in 2012，a 13﹣year﹣old boy with a broken bike walked by Mick's house．"I was working in my garage（车库），and he asked if I could fix it，"says Mick，now 53．

    The boy's bike had a broken wheel．Mick sent a post（帖子） on Facebook，asking his friends if they had the needed part．One friend saw the post and gave away two used bikes．Mick took parts from each to build a new set of wheels for the boy．

    Soon after，Mick repaired a bike for the boy's brother and fixed one for his sister．Word spread，and during the year，he had fixed up lots of bikes for local kids whose parents were not able to afford new ones ．

    "People are throwing away bikes day and night，"says Mick．

    Mick puts the bikes and bike parts in his garage．"I take off the good tires or the handlebars or the seats and use them，"he says．

    Up to now，the bike man has repaired hundreds of bikes and given away nearly 700newly repaired bikes．They're free，but the kids must agree to two things：They have to learn how to put waste things to good use and they have to try their best to study in school．

    If a kid's grades are low，Mick requires a teacher's note"saying that you're doing your best，"Mick says．Mick also hopes the bikes will get kids off the sofa．"When I was growing up，we all rode our bikes，"he says．"Hopefully these kids can get some exercise．"

B

    Most of us have ever imagined the life on a desert island. We sometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise(天堂) where the sun always shines. “Ripe fruit falls from the trees and you are free to sit around without any work. This is really a beautiful picture, isn't it? However, the other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Life on a desert island is awful. You either starve to death or live like Robinson Crusoe, waiting for a boat which never comes.

    Perhaps there is some truth in both these pictures, but few of us have had the chance to find out. We can only experience it in the story like the following.

    Many years ago, two men spent five days on a coral island and they wished that they could stay there longer. They were driving a badly damaged boat from the Virgin Islands to Miami to have it repaired. During the journey, their boat began to sink(下沉). They quickly put food, matches, and cans of beer into a rubber dinghy(救生筏) and rowed for a few miles across the Caribbean until they arrived at a tiny coral island.

    There were hardly any trees on the island and there was no water, but this did not seem to be a problem. The men collected rainwater in the rubber dinghy. As they had brought a gun with them, they had plenty to eat. They caught lobster and fish every day, and they thought they lived just like a king. Five days later, a tank passed by and saved them. However, they felt sorry that they had to leave

    Riley read so many stories about pirates (海盗) and treasure chests that he wanted to find a treasure chest of his own. One day, Riley went to the library and read a story about a man that buried expensive gold coins in his backyard in a chest. Riley was so interested in the story. "Mom, tell him that treasure chests are only in books and movies," said his old brother Ted. "It could really happen," said Riley. "Riley's right," said mom. "If you believe in something strong enough, it could happen."

    That night Riley's mom told Riley's dad how much Riley wanted to find a treasure chest. "I have an idea," said Riley's mom. "Saturday is Riley's birthday. Let's put his gift in a treasure chest and bury it in the yard for him to find." "That's a great idea!" said Riley's dad. They decided to put his new watch in the treasure chest. They would give him a map with clues (线索 ) to look for the treasure chest outside.

    After Riley left for school the next day, his mom wrapped the watch and went to the party store to buy a treasure chest. She came home and buried the treasure chest underneath the oak tree. She then drew a map with clues to where the treasure chest was buried. When Saturday came, mom and dad gave Riley his map, and told him that he would have to find his gift in the treasure chest using the clues on the map. Riley was so excited! He anxiously followed all the clues and found the treasure chest with his new watch. "Wow!" said Riley. "This is fantastic! I knew I would find a treasure chest someday!"

    "Happy Birthday!" they all shouted.

    "Why do I live? Why do I wish for anything, or do anything? Is there anything in my life that will not be destroyed by my death?" Like Leo Tolstoy, the famous Russian writer, many people ask these difficult questions. Tolstoy spent his whole life trying to answer these difficult questions.

    As a young man, he thought people could achieve perfection if they tried hard enough. So he worked very hard to be the best in everything. He thought that he would find meaning and truth in success.

    In 1850s. Tolstoy wrote his first stories. He wrote about his life in the army. He also told stories about his childhood. These works were published and Tolstoy became a well-known writer.

    He earned the respect he always wanted. Many rich and smart men met and talked with Tolstoy. Some of them were writers like him. They talked a lot about faith (信仰) and the meaning of life. But soon Tolstoy recognized that these men were not perfect. Now he knew they could not answer his questions about faith.

    So in the 1860s, Tolstoy tried a different way to find the meaning of life. He opened a school for the children of his serfs-the people who worked on his land. These workers were very poor. He wanted to help them because he thought they were more honest than the rich people he knew.

    Tolstoy learned a lot from his workers. He understood how they worked hard to support their families. He began to believe that marriage and family would give his life meaning. So in 1862, Leo Tolstoy married a young woman named Sonya Behrs.

    The next 15 years were the best years of Tolstoy's life. It was during this time that he wrote his most famous books-War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Many experts say that War and Peace is one of the greatest books ever written. In these books, Tolstoy believed humans should live a simple life and take care of their families. Tolstoy thought this would satisfy him and bring him happiness.

    Leo Tolstoy is still a very respected writer today. His faith and writings have influenced many people all over the world.