A friend wrote me a letter a few weeks ago. He felt1at the time. He2his letter with this question: "We can't really change this crazy world we live in, can we?" I3to him and started my own letter with these words: "Yes, we most certainly can!"

    I can still remember someone who changed my world. She was the4teacher at my primary school. I liked her music class and I wanted to impress her.5, I didn't know how to play any instruments.

    One day, she let me try playing her guitar. I6my best, but could only stumble along(断断续续地弹奏). When I finished playing, I put my7down. "I guess I am not very good," I told her. She looked at me with her 8eyes, smiled at me and said, "We are all good at something. You just need to find out9you are good at. Then, you can share it10the world."

    11simple words changed me. They12a seed(种子)in my heart that continues to grow to this day. They made me realize that I had something good inside of me. I just had to find it and share it.

    Can you change the world? Yes, you can! You can change it13one choice, one person or one kind act at a time.14you have to do is to share your goodness. Mother Teresa once said, "God doesn't ask us to do15things, but small things with great love." So make your love great!

    Long ago, people did not need money. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    As time passed, people learned to raise animals and crops. Sometimes, families produced more than they needed, so they started to trade (交易) with other families. Later, people began to use money as a means of exchange. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}They used shells, rice, salt, large stones, etc.

    During the 600s BC, people began using coins as money. They soon found that coins were easier to carry than goods (货物) and lasted a long time. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The Chinese were the first to use paper money, probably as early as the eleventh century. The Italian traveller Marco Polo saw the Chinese using paper money when he visited China in the 1200s. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Today, we have many ways to pay for things. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Often, people prefer to pay for things by card. Paying with a card is easier and safer than carrying around a lot of "real" money.

On 18th November.1908, three men went up in a balloon (气球).They started early in London. The headman was Augusta Gaudron, and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland. They had a big balloon and they were ready for a long way.

Soon they heard the sea. They were carrying the usual rope, and it was hanging down from the basket of the balloon. At the end of the rope they had tied a metal box. This could hold water, or it could be empty. So they were able to change its weight. It was for use over the sea. They were also carrying some bags of sand.

After the sun rose, the balloon went higher. It went up to 3,000 metres, and the air was very cold. The water in the balloon became ice. Snow fell past the men's basket, and they could see more snow on the ground. The men tried to throw out some more sand, but it was hard. They tried to break the icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy. The work was slow and they were still falling, so they had to drop some whole bags of sand. One of them fell on an icy lake and made a black hole in the ice.

At last they pulled the box into the basket. It was still snowing, so they climbed to get away from the snow. They rose to 5,100 metres! Everything became icy. They were so cold that they decided to land. They came down in Poland heavily but safely. They had travelled 1,797kilometres from London!

Betty is a biologist. She studies brain diseases that come along with aging. Her 1 is not an easy one. She is trying to understand what goes wrong with the brain over time, and how people can age in a healthy way. It is very important, especially when people are living a 2 life now.

Betty does not have a natural gift (天赋) for math. She never 3 that she could be a scientist one day when she was little. Now, she has got a doctor's degree in biology and become a famous 4 researcher. Betty has made it partly because she is curious about everything. This is a very 5 quality for a scientist. Another 6 is that she is a creative thinker. "After all, science is all about problem-solving," Betty said.

Betty thinks the best part of her research is trying out an idea to see if it will work. Her heart is filled with joy when her idea is proved right and 7 by other scientists. But when things don't go 8 as she plans, she feels no disappointment. She says mistakes may 9 a new idea.

Few are born to be a 10 . According to Betty, curiosity and creativity play the biggest role.

When Tim Carter finished high school, he started to deliver(送) pizzas. But soon he found that he didn't want to do it for the rest of his life. He thought about he saw his uncle welding(焊接) the parts of his car and was really interested in it. So he took a night class at a local school to see if welding was a job that he was going to stick to(坚持).

After studying for some time, he found it was. Tim learned more about welding there and then he wanted to learn everything about it. He decided to make welding his career(职业). But one night class wouldn't be enough. Tim went to a welding school for real practice. He was quite sure he would stick to the job.

For the past 18 years, Tim has been a skillful welder. He now works for the EEW Group. It is a welding company and also helps to give away most of the profits(收益) to environmental programs. A day for Tim includes a number of tasks and skills. "There are a lot to deal with(处理)," he told Time for Kids. "It's not just welding."

Tim's favorite part of being a welder is "making an honest living". He also feels fantastic about helping the environment. "I'm glad to stick to what I really want to do." he says. "I'm working for a company. The company is helping the country to go green, and it's meaningful for me to be a part of that."

Lydia likes running a lot. She always runs, and picks up rubbish along the way. This activity{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (call) "plogging", an activity combining collecting rubbish with running. Last June, she first learned the idea of plogging{#blank#}2{#/blank#} the Internet and decided to plog. 

Lydia runs four or five times a week and takes{#blank#}3{#/blank#}walk with her two dogs every day. She often wears her{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (glove) and takes several bags when she goes out. Sometimes she spends half an hour{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (collect) rubbish. She says she{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (waste) the last few years of her running life.  Now she feels{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (good) to do plogging than just running by the litter. 

"It takes just a moment to stop and pick something up off the ground. {#blank#}8{#/blank#}, it makes a big difference to my community. Now my husband also joins me. " Lydia says{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (proud). "It doesn't matter{#blank#}10{#/blank#} much rubbish I pick up. It's a good way to protect our planet. "