Droughts (干旱)are common in Kenya. Before, they came every 10 years, but now they seem to be hitting us more often and for a longer time.

    We gave the droughts names :“longoza”was the drought when many animals died ; there was the drought of the “planes” because food was dropped from the air by planes; and one particularly bad drought was called “ man who dies with his money in his fist (拳头)”，because, even if there was money, there was simply no food to buy.

    I was born in 1951 in Machakos. From what my mother tells me, when I was 7, there was a serious drought. I clearly remember the terrible weather and the hunger. I can't tell you how many times I went to bed without eating. “ I slept like that, ” is how we described it. I can't count the number of days when “ I slept like that,” or describe the feeling of going to sleep hungry, knowing I'd wake up and there would still be no food for breakfast.

    My father would leave early in the morning carrying a little basket to ask for food on credit (赊欠). Each night he would return home around 10:00p.m. My mother would try to encourage me by telling me to keep the water in our pot boiling so that when my father arrived we could quickly cook any food he brought in the already prepared water. I would keep the fire burning and the water boiling, along with the hopes that we would eat that night. But my father would arrive frustrated and empty -handed. And I would sleep like that.

    One Sunday evening, it was quite dark when old Stanley went for his walk. He was walking along the sidewalk. Suddenly, he saw a white car coming around the corner at high speed. It was going too fast and crashed into a red car in the street where he was walking. He rushed up to the cars to see if anyone was hurt and needed help.

    The two drivers were arguing.

    "You came around the corner too fast," one man said.

    "No!" said the driver of the white car, "That's not true! Your car was parked in a wrong place."

    Stanley listened to their argument and then said the white car driver was wrong to drive too fast. The driver of red car asked Stanley to prove he was right in court(法庭). Stanley gave the driver his name and telephone number.

    Next Thursday morning, Stanley was asked to go to the court. The lawyer for the driver of the white car asked him a lot of questions about what he had seen. Then he asked Stanley how old he was.

    "I'm eighty-two," answered Stanley.

    "Do you usually wear glasses?" asked the lawyer.

    "Yes, I do," answered Stanley.

    "Were you wearing them on the night of the accident?" the lawyer asked.

    "No," replied Stanley.

    Then the lawyer said, "Why should the court believe you? You are eighty-two years old, you were not wearing your glasses, and it was dark. How far can you see in the dark?" Stanley thought about it for a minute. "Well," he said, "when it's dark, I can see the moon. How far is that?"

Donna Brown, a 14- year- old girl, was very ill. She had a bad heart. "Donna must have a new heart. " Her doctor said, "or she will die soon. " Felipe Green, Donna's good friend, heard the news, he was very worried about (担心) Donna. He didn't want her to die. He decided to give his heart to her because he knew he was going to die. 

Then he talked to his mother about his idea. But his mother didn't pay much attention to him. "Felipe is just playing a joke (玩笑), " his mother thought. In fact, Felipe often had terrible headaches(头疼) and never told his mother about them. 

One morning, he woke up with great pain and he couldn't breathe (呼吸). The Greens hurried to send him to the hospital. The doctors had bad news for the Greens. "Felipe's brain is dead. " The Greens were very sad. But Felipe's mother remembered (记住) his words. She told the doctors to give Felipe's heart to Donna. The doctors did several tests (测试). They said they could give Felipe's heart to Donna. 

Everything was successful. Felipe's heart was beating (跳动) in Donna's chest (胸膛), but Donna didn't know it. The doctors and her parents didn't tell her until (直到) she was stronger. Donna was very thankful to the Greens. Every time the Greens saw Donna, they thought of Felipe. Donna has Felipe's heart in her. That gives them great peace. 

A boy helped save the life of his friend from choking(窒息) in the dining hall at school while having their lunch there. Many people watched the video of the accident on the Internet. 

In the video, the new student Jackson just got a seat and ate his chicken sandwich. Suddenly the food stuck(卡住) in his throat and his face turned red. Hunter Olsen sat across from Jackson. He thought that Jackson was just joking and laughed at it along with his friends. But soon it became clear that Jackson was really choking and tried to cough the food out. He pointed to his throat to tell Hunter that he was not playing. Hunter realised that he had to do something and used the Heimlich manoeuvre(海姆利克急救法). Finally, Jackson coughed the food out and could breathe again. 

Ms Howa, who taught them the Heimlich manoeuvre during her health class, said she couldn't believe her ears when she heard what happened. But she was over the moon to know that her student put what she taught into practice.She was so proud of Hunter. 

Hunter said he wasn't interested in Ms Howa' class because he thought he would never use it in his life, but her great teaching helped him know what to do when in trouble. Then he said, "I just thought that doing something was better than doing nothing. "

 There once was a king. He decided to do an experiment (实验) like a scientist. He made someone put a big rock right in the middle of the road to see who would move it out of the way. 

 First, some rich people walked by. They walked around the rock, complaining (抱怨) that the king didn't look after the road very well. 

 Then a farmer came over. He was going home with his arms full of food for his family. When he saw the rock, he put his things down and went to move it away. The rock was heavy. It took him some time to move it, but he made it at last. 

 When the farmer was about to leave, he found a bag lying near his things. He opened the bag to find that it was full of money, along with a letter from the king. It said that the money was a reward(报酬) for him because he spent the time and energy moving the rock out of the road. What he did helped others. 

 If you see a job in front of you, don't leave it to the next person. Instead(代替, 而不是), get the job done to help the people who come after you. 

 Have you heard of"choubaguai"? Do you know its meaning? Do you think it is a kind of fruit or it refers to(指) ugly people?

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(在……期间) the Qing Dynasty(1644—1911), Yangzhou was a center for business and {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(文化). Many artists lived there. Among these artists was a special group of eight painters. They were all from poor families but they were truly {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(有才能的). They had their {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(自己的) styles(风格) and their paintings were mirrors of {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(普通的) lives. Their paintings touched many people's{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (内心). They became quite famous and {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(百) of rich traders went to buy their paintings. So the other painters disliked them and called them"Yangzhou baguai". Some {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(甚至) called them"choubaguai". Although it wasn't a nice name, people {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(相信) their paintings were great.

 Today, "Yangzhou baguai" is still used to refer to the eight painters, but"Choubaguai" now {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (失去) its original meaning and just refers to ugly people in general.