Jack is 15 years old. He wants to take his family—his parents and his sister Jessica out to lunch, so he wants to make money (挣钱) by helping his parents do some things.  

    Jack gets up at 6: 30, and then he cleans the house. At about 7: 00, he eats breakfast and then goes to school. He has four classes in the morning and three in the afternoon. At 5: 30, Jack goes home and he helps his mom buy food, or cleans the car for his father. Sometimes, his sister helps him. Jack has 95 dollars now.  He still (还) needs 55 dollars. He is very happy. When he takes his family out to lunch, he will pay the bill.  

    There was once a King and he wanted to find out who could paint the best picture of peace. And he would offer a prize to the artist. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them.

    One picture was of a calm(平静的) lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with white soft clouds. Everyone thought that was a perfect picture of peace.

    The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged(崎岖的） and bare（无遮蔽的）.Above was an angry sky. And it was raining and lightening. Down the side of the mountain, a waterfall fell quickly. This did not look peaceful at all.

    But when the King looked carefully, he saw behind the waterfall a bush(矮树丛)growing in a crack（裂缝） in the rock． In the bush a mother bird had built her nest（巢，窝）, There, she sat on her nest… in perfect peace.

    Which picture do you think won the prize?

    The King chose the second picture."Because, "said the King, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the middle of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.

    It is a fine Saturday morning. Bob and his family get up later than usual, because he isn't going to school and his father and mother aren't going to work. They are all staying at home, but they are not free. Each of them is doing a different thing.

    Bob's father is in the garage. He is washing his car. His mother is in the kitchen. She is busy preparing a good meal for the family. Sometimes, Bob helps his mum with the cooking, and sometimes he goes to the garage and watches his father wash his car. His elder brother, Jack, usually stays in his study till lunchtime. His two sisters are listening to some beautiful music while they're cleaning the house. His younger brother, Tom, is training his puppy. He is having a lot of fun. Around 12:30, the whole family is seated around the table enjoying a wonderful meal.

    It's June 6. It's Jenny's birthday. She comes home and sees a card on the table. It says, "There is a present for you, Jenny. Go and look for it in your bedroom (卧室)." Jenny runs to her bedroom. She sees a red box on her bed. She opens it. There is another (又一) card in it. Jenny takes it out and reads, "Dear Jenny, I'm your present. My first letter is in 'some', but not in 'come'. My second letter is in 'have', but not in 'save'. My third letter is in 'live', but not in 'love'. My fourth letter is in 'for', but not in 'of '. My fifth letter is in 'take', but not in 'cake'. What am I?"

    Jenny thinks and then she says, "Aha, I know! But where is it?" Jenny finds (找到) it behind the door.

    Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17, he travelled along the Silk Road with his father, who wanted to trade with the Chinese. Finally, they arrived in Beijing. They were guests at the Emperor's Palace Marco was very clever and could speak four languages. The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends. He asked Marco to serve in his court (宫殿) and sent him to do many important jobs all over the country.

    Marco was amazed by how beautiful China was. He was impressed by Beijing and the Emperor's Palace, especial the Summer Palace which was described as "The greatest palace that I've ever seen". The walls were covered with gold and silver and the hall was so big that it could easily hold 6,000 people for dinner.

    Marco was also attracted (吸引) by the inventions and developments in China which couldn't be found in Europe at that time. Marco was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets. In Europe, people paid for goods(货物) with gold and silver. He could not understand how people paid for food and valuable things with paper! He was also puzzled by the black stones people used to burn to produce heat. The black stones were coal, but Marco had never seen coal before!

    After he served the Emperor for 17 years. In 1291, Marco returned to Italy. He was a very wealthy man then. A writer wrote down all the stories that Marco told him in a book called The Description of the World, which became one of the best-selling books in Europe.

    People enjoyed the book, but many of them thought that Marcos stories about China were too fantastic to be true. However, Marco always stood by his tales. Just before he died, aged 70, Marco was asked the question, "Was it all true?" And this was his answer, "I have only told a half what I saw!"

请根据短文内容，完成下列表格。

    Growing up in this fast world means we must make a lot of decisions in a short time. We must learn how to make right choices and decisions to make our lives better. There are some tips you can use when you make decisions.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Every day, we meet many people and things. You can learn from them. Whether they are big or small choices, they can give you examples of how to choose and what to do. They can help you understand how to make right decisions.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Making small decisions will give you chances to practice for making bigger choices later in life. Maybe you will do better and better.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} They are always staying with you and understand you better than anyone else. Asking them for advice can help you feel relaxed and clearer about whether you choose the right side.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You should know that the fast decisions may not always be the right ones. When you make a decision, the first step is to stay calm and think what you can get from every side of the choice. It may help you to make a right decision.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But remember that the right decision isn't always popular, and the popular isn't always right. Just do it the way you like.

A. Do it as your way when you make a decision.

B. You should not be rushed when making decisions.

C. You should not be worried.

D. You can start by making small decisions.

E. You can ask your parents or friends for some advice.

F. Learning from other people and their decision-making examples is a good way.