John was a very strong man. Once he got a job of cutting wood in a forest. His boss gave him an axe(斧子) and showed him the area where he should work.

    The first day, John cut down 18 trees. "Good," the boss said, "keep it up!" John was encouraged by the words of the boss and tried harder the next day, but he could only cut down 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only cut down 10 trees. Day after day he was cutting down fewer and fewer trees.

    "I must be losing my strength," John thought. He went to the boss and said that he could not understand what was going on. "When was the last time you had sharpened(使锋利) your axe?" the boss asked. "Sharpened? I had no time to do it. I have been very busy trying to cut more trees." said John.

    The moral of this story: While John was working hard, he didn't think about how to do his job better.

    Sixteen years ago a boy gave me an important gift. It was a smile.

    It was the early autumn of my first year at a middle school, and my old school was far away. As a result, no one knew who I was. I was very lonely, and afraid to speak to anyone.

    Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart break. I couldn't talk with anyone about my problems.

    Then one day, when my classmates were talking happily with their friends, I was sitting at my desk unhappily as usual. At that moment, a boy entered the classroom. I didn't know who he was. He passed by me and then turned back. He looked at me, with a smile.

    Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy and warm. That smile changed my life. I started to talk with other students and made friends. Day by day, I became closer to everyone in my class. The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now.

    One day I asked him why he had smiled, but he couldn't remember doing so!

    It doesn't matter because all the dark days have gone. I believe that the world is what you think it is. If you think it is lonely, you might always be alone. So smile at the world and it will smile back.

    There was once a farmer. He lived near a road. It was not a busy road, but from time to time cars passed the farm. Near the farm gate, there was a large hole in the road. The hole was always full of water, and the drivers of the cars could not see how deep the hole was. They thought that it was not deep. Then when they drove their cars into the hole, they could not drive out of it because it was so deep. The farmer didn't spend much time working on his farm. He spent most of it watching the hole. When a car drove into it, he pulled the car out with his tractor and asked the driver a lot of money for doing this.

    One day, the driver of a car said to him, "You must make a lot of money by pulling cars out of this hole day and night." "Oh, no," said the farmer, "I don't pull the cars out of the hole at night. At night, I fill the hole with water. "

    Dave is my good friend. He1in a small village. His home is far2his school and the roads are not good, So it is3for him to get to school. He4at about six o'clock every day and has breakfast quickly. Then he leaves for school at about six twenty. First, he5his bike to the bus station. It takes about forty minutes. Then he takes the No. 12 bus. It usually takes6about fifty minutes. Sometimes he has no time for breakfast at home,7he has some food on the bus.

    "I dream of taking8, It must be9." says Dave. He hopes (希望) he can go to college(上大学) in a big city some day,10? Because then he can take a train to the big city!

One weekend, my husband suggested we cook together. I had spoken to my mother earlier that day on the phone. I had told her about our life. She yawned(打哈欠) and we said 1 to one another. 

I didn't know then that just 16 hours later, my mother would die. 

My mother was my best friend. After she died, I felt 2 . She was the only person I wanted to 3 . The only person who could help me was the one who was missing. 

My mother gave me many things, 4 she had never taught me how to cook. She liked to eat more than cook. She loved to eat fish pie and 5 it to us for dinner. Almost every week, she would 6 a prepared fish pie. Then she would bring it home and make her own white sauce. 

My mother 7 taught me how to make a white sauce, and I never wanted to ask her. Since she was gone, I would have to teach 8 .

So this became my focus. For the first few weeks, I survived (生存) on cheap food. But one night, a fish pie mix 9 my eye at the store. 

When I got home, I 10 myself in front of our electric stove. Armed with a 11 , I tried to teach myself to make a white sauce. 

Halfway through the recipe, I couldn't believe it- I had made a white sauce on my own! Then I remembered: I had always 12 fish pie. 

Admiring my sauce, I wondered13 I wanted to make a dish I had hated for 25 years. Why was it suddenly so important?

I poured the sauce over the fish. Then I ate the pie. I realized that the act of 14 calmed me down. 

It helped me find15 .

Hi, everyone. I'm Li Zihan. I'm a {#blank#}1{#/blank#} in No. 2 Middle School in Beijing. I have two English friends. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} names are Paul and Mary. 

Paul and Mary both study at Green High School. Paul likes {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. He can swim, and he can {#blank#}4{#/blank#} most ball games. He played soccer {#blank#}5{#/blank#} than Mary and he is a member of the {#blank#}6{#/blank#} team （队）. He is really strong and {#blank#}7{#/blank#} . Now he wants to learn Chinese Kungfu, because he thinks it's {#blank#}8{#/blank#}. Mary is Paul's sister. She likes music very much. She can play three {#blank#}9{#/blank#} of instruments（乐器）: the violin, the guitar and the piano. And she wants to join the music club. Paul and Mary often help me. We talk with each other in English. 

I want to {#blank#}10{#/blank#} them one day.