U2 is the name of a band from Ireland. It's one of the most famous rock bands in the world.

    In l978, a l7-year-old high school student, Larry Mullen, looked for some musicians to make a band. Finally, he found another three boys and they set up a band. The four boys named their band U2.

    They travelled a lot and gave concerts in many countries. More and more people got to know them and love their music. Many of their songs, such as Beautiful Day and Walk On, were popular. In the l980s, the band became famous.

    Now the four members of U2 are still good friends and their music is still popular. People in the world still enjoy their music.

      More and more people think it necessary to study in an English-speaking country and it didn't take long at all for me to decide to come and study in UK.

      I have been used to school life since I came here two months ago, and I am starting to enjoy most of my time in here. School starts at 9 o'clock every morning, and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have long days, in which we have 9 lessons and school finishes at 4 o'clock. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we have short days, in which we have only 6 lessons and finish at 1 o'clock. After lessons, we have  hours of activity time, when you can choose from a number of activities, including many sports, such as rugby(英式橄榄球) , football, basketball and tennis.

As a boarder(寄宿者), the quality of food is something I consider very important, and Merchiston has not let me down. The school kitchens are run by a professional company, and the quality of food is excellent, and they are always trying to make the diet healthy. One of the obvious advantages of being a boarder is that we can have breakfast in the school, which means we don't have to pull ourselves out of bed as early as the day pupils!

Mary had a little lamb.

His hair was white as snow.

And everywhere that' Mary went,

The lamb was sure to go.

He followed her to school one day,

That was against the rule.

It made the children laugh and play,

To see the lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned him out,

But still he stayed near,

And waited patiently about,

Till Mary did appear（出现）.

And then he ran to her and laid,

His head upon her arm.

As if he said, "I'm not afraid—

You'll shield me from all hams."

"What makes the lamb love Mary so?"

The little children cried:

"Oh, Mary, loves the lamb, you know,"

The teacher did reply.

"And, you, each gentle animal

may bind（联合）,

And make it follow at your call,

If you are always kind."

    A student was going to spend his holiday in a cool mountain village. That evening he stayed at an inn (小旅馆) near the railway station (火车站). Before going to bed, he went to the boss of the inn and said, "Excuse me, sir. Will you please wake me up at a quarter to five tomorrow morning? I'll take the five o'clock train."

    "Oh, sorry, sir," the boss said in a hurry, "I'm afraid I can't. I won't be able to get up so early." The student was disappointed. When he began to return to his room, be stopped and asked, "Have you got an alarm-clock (闹钟)? Maybe it can help me."

    "Wait a minute, then." The boss said and brought out an alarm-clock. "Here you are, sir." "Thank you very much." The student said happily. But he found it was rusty (锈的) when he had a look at it. And it sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. He asked, "Will it ring in time?" "I don't know, either." said the boss, "But it doesn't matter. You just give it a good shake at a quarter to five. And it will ring on time."

Last Friday afternoon, my parents told me that they {#blank#}1{#/blank#} to take me to the countryside to enjoy the beauty of nature. I {#blank#}2{#/blank#} very happy about the trip. Before the trip, we prepared （把. . . . . . 准备好）everything for it. 

Then the next day, my father {#blank#}3{#/blank#}us to the countryside. Along the way, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery（风景）. The {#blank#}4{#/blank#}are taller（更 高）and greener （更绿）than those in the city. We stopped our car at times and went out to breathe （呼吸）the fresh air. It was so {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. We felt so relaxed. 

Two hours later, we {#blank#}6{#/blank#}the countryside. It was so beautiful there. We saw some farmers working in the fields. We went to help them and they talked to us{#blank#}7{#/blank#} . 

We had {#blank#}8{#/blank#}picnic in the fields. We enjoyed ourselves very much. We all thought the life in the countryside was more interesting than that in the city. We all hoped to live in the countryside one day. 

Do you believe that we can have an important influence on anyone we meet？The right words at just the right time could1 someone's life. 

When I was 3 years old，my parents found I was2 . After asking many doctors and parents of other deaf children，they decided not to put me in a special school. Although I seemed outgoing（外向的）my self﹣esteem（自尊心）was quite low. On my first day at school，the other kids3 me because of my hearing aid and the way I talked. I was hurt deeply and I saw myself as a（n）4 kid. 

Mrs. Green，my5 ，changed all of that with a simple three﹣word phrase. One morning，she asked the class a question. Sitting at my desk silently，I6 her tips（哦唇） and raised my hand right away. She called on me in front of the blackboard. I took a deep breath and7 answered Mrs. Green's question. 

I will8 forget what happened next. Mrs. Green pointed directly at me. With sparkling（闪光的）eye sand a big smile she cried： "That's right，Ben!"

For the first time in my young life，my confidence rose. At that moment，I decided that no matter how many9 I may face，I can overcome（克服）them. Thanks to those three10 words，my whole life changed from that moment.