A horse fair is an interesting place. There were young horses from the country, little Welsh ponies and many beautiful horses too. But there were also a lot of poor, thin horses, tired from hard work. I was very sad to see them.

    At the horse fair there was a man with a gentle voice and kind grey eyes. He offered 23 pounds for me, but they refused. Then a man with a very loud voice came. I was afraid he was going to buy me, but he walked off. Then the grey-eyed man came back again and said:

    "I'll give 24 for him."

    "Done," said the salesman. "He's a quality horse and if you want him for cab (出租马车) work, he's a bargain."

Half an hour later we set off for London, along country roads, until we came to that great city. There were streets to the right, and streets to the left. We went into one of the small streets, and then into a very narrow street, with small, old houses.

    My owner stopped at a house. The door opened, and a woman, a little girl and boy, came out.

    "Is he gentle, father?"

    "Yes, Dolly, as gentle as a kitten; you can pat him."

    Dolly, the little girl, patted my shoulder without fear. It felt so good! They led me into a comfortable, clean stable, and after a delicious meal I lay down to sleep, thinking "I'm going to very happy here".

    My new owner's name was Jerry. His wife was called Polly and they had two children, Harry and Dolly. The next morning they came to see me. I loved it when they patted me and spoke in gentle voices.

    "Let's call him 'Jack', after the old horse, shall we, Harry?" said Dolly.

    "Yes, let's," said Harry.

    The first week of my life as Jack, the London cab horse was very hard. The noise and the people and the traffic on the streets scared me. But Jerry was a very good driver, and that helped a lot Jerry soon found that I was ready to work hard and do my best, and he didn't whip (鞭打) me.

    He kept us very clean, and gave us as much food as we wanted. But the best thing was that we had Sundays off.

To: Cory

From: Daniella

S{#blank#}1{#/blank#}: Our friend Lee

Dear Cory, 

Don't forget that Lee is moving to a new school next w{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Art class is his f{#blank#}3{#/blank#}, and I think we can make a painting for him as a g{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Do you think this is a good i{#blank#}5{#/blank#}?

I do not have any paint at home, so I am {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (go) to the art store tomorrow after school {#blank#}7{#/blank#} my mom. We can work on the painting together. Lee's l{#blank#}8{#/blank#} day at our school is Friday, so we have to f{#blank#}9{#/blank#}it before then. Let me k{#blank#}10{#/blank#}what you think.

Daniella

Back in the 15th century, in a small village in Germany, lived a family with eighteen children, Eighteen! In order to keep food on the table, the father, a poor man, worked almost eighteen hours a day. Despite(尽管) their 1 conditions, two of the eldest children had a dream. They both wanted to make a success in art, 2 they knew well that their father would never be able to 3 either of them to study at college. 

After many long discussions at night in their 4 bed, the two boys finally reached an agreement. They would toss(掷) a coin. The 5 would go down into the nearby mines(矿井), and, with his money, 6 the winner for college. Then, in the next four years, the winner would support(资助) the loser. Then Albrecht Dürer won the toss and left for college. His brother Albert went 7 into the dangerous mines. 

Four years later, when Albrecht Dürer, the young artist 8 home and said to his brother, "And now, Albert, it is your 9 . You can go to college to achieve your dream, and I will 10 you. "

Albert rose and wiped(擦) the tears from his cheeks, "No, brother. I cannot go to college. It is too 11 for me. Look...look what four years in the mines has done to my 12 . They cannot make beautiful lines on pictures 13 a pen or a brush. They can net even hold a glass. "

More than 450 years has 14 . By now, Praying Hands is the one that can 15 the world's hearts among Albrecht Dürer's hundreds of wonderful portraits. 

Most of us like to know where we are and where we're going. It can feel strange to be 1 . The words "being lost" make us think of a dark and scary wood or street, 2  that's not always the case. 

Once we were on holiday in Venice. Dad planned to go out to take photos early the next morning. Mum wasn't 3 , but I would go with him. That's only because he 4  I could have the biggest bowl of Italian ice cream if I did. 5  else would I get up so early?

We left the hotel and started walking in the 6  streets the next day. When the sun came up, Dad started taking photos and I 7  him. 

After about an hour, I turned to Dad and asked, "Where are we?" He said, "I have no idea. "I immediately felt a bit 8 , but Dad just laughed and said, "We're lost!"I told him to 9  his map or phone. He said, "I only brought the 10 . Come on, let's enjoy being lost!" He laughed again. 

His laughter 11  me and made me feel safe. I began to 12  that we were lost, and just started watching and taking in everything that was happening around me. 13 , after about four hours of walking around, we were back. Mum asked anxiously(担心地), "Where have you been?"I said with a big 14 , "We got lost!"

These days we 15  get lost with so many things around us — maps, GPS, apps on our phones and so on. But Dad showed me that being lost can sometimes simply be something to enjoy. 

People usually hate mice, but one mouse has won the hearts of people all over the world—the famous Mickey Mouse (米老鼠).

Ninety years ago, most movies were silent. A man called Walt Disney made a cartoon mouse that could talk in his movies. He named his mouse Mickey Mouse. People both young and old were very excited at the talking mouse. Children loved to see their friend, because he brought joy and laughter to them. Mickey was a clean mouse right from the beginning. Perhaps this is one reason why people hate real mice and love Mickey Mouse. In his early life, Mickey made some mistakes. People were angry. They wrote to Disney and said that they didn't want Mickey to do silly things. So Disney made a new animal named Donald Duck. He also made a dog called Pluto. This dog does stupid things and makes mistakes wherever he goes. Now our Mickey Mouse is not only clean but also important. He appears as a beautiful and clever star. He has his friends in almost every country.