One summer, Aunt Betta and Uncle Bill invited me to travel with them back home to Pennsylvania. I had never been1Los Angeles and was eager to meet our relatives.

    Our first night, we drove through the desert, and then through roads cut through hills. The next day we went through the Rocky Mountains. It was2driving up long inclines（斜坡） with abrupt U-shape turns on the steep hillsides, then driving3slowly with great caution. Beyond Colorado, we drove through miles of 4, where I saw actual food being grown. I5some of the crops.

    In one small town we passed through, Aunt Betta decided I needed new6and took me to a country 7. I was used to8dresses and skirts. Now I had my first pair of jeans, a flannel shirt, shorts and a T-shirt. I loved them all.

    9 we reached our destination. Uncle Bill's aunt had a perfect little two-story house. The first thing I 10was a bed in a cute little room — for me! I looked forward to that. It would be like sleeping in a dollhouse. In the backyard, I saw red things11the back fence. Uncle Bill's uncle said, "I think you never ate a 12tomato in L.A." I hadn't. He 13picked one for me.

    I met all my new aunts, uncles and cousins. My cousins taught me how to do cartwheels (恻手翻) in the big front yard. Country people have more14, I thought.

    All the adults cried when we 15, but I took home all the 16of everything I'd seen. Back in L.A., my lungs hurt when I took a deep breath. I 17 the fresh air. I dreamed of homegrown tomatoes. My country clothes seemed out of 18, but I wore them anyway.

    I was two weeks late starting19, but I told my teachers only that I'd been in Pennsylvania and decided to 20all the rest to myself. If only they could have experienced everything that I did!

    George Springer helped his team Houston Astros win the World Series in 2017. He was awarded the Most Valuable Player1 his struggle is mostly hidden. His 2 is not in trying to hit a fastball, but in 3it. He stutters(口吃).

    Growing up in Connecticut, Springer was the kid who would 4 raise his hand in school, the kid 5 every time he opened his mouth.

    “I was the guy who didn't talk,'' he said. “I would6 speaking at all costs.''

    He was often 7 Sometimes he was bullied(欺侮). The phone was suffering to him.8were worse. If he wanted a dish that he knew would be tough to say, he would 9 If he was with his family, his sister Nicole would10 for him.

    He remembers a couple of attempts at speech therapy(治疗), but he said he was 11 with encouraging parents, an ability to 12 himself in sports, and a small group of friends who 13

    “If therapy works for you14But for me, I also developed my own 15 to handle it,'' he said. “Besides, when I was around all my friends, it didn't really seem to 16them. If I did it, they would17until I was done, then finish the conversation.''

    To help other kids 18 the same issue, Springer frequently appeared in interviews and even agreed to wear a microphone 19 during the 2017 All-Star Game. He then added "I can't let anything in life I can't20 slow me down or stop me from being who I want to be." These 22 words proved it.

    The news of Stephen Hawking's death came a great shock to the whole world. To his family, he was “a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy（遗赠）will 1 for many years”.

    His parents, both Oxford graduates, placed a high  2 on education and family members were often seen reading books at dinner. 3 known at school as “Einstein”, Hawking was not 4 successful academically. With time, he began to show talents for scientific subjects and decided to read  5 at university. As mathematics was not  6at Oxford then, Hawking chose physics instead.

    Diagnosed with a rare motor neurone disease, Hawking eventually 7 a wheelchair. Though shocked and bitter, Hawking continued his work in physics  8. After the loss of his  9, he communicated through a speech-generating device, which  10 him to produce A Brief History of Time with the help of an assistant.

    Hawking once  11how he felt when first informed of his disease,  12 that he would never realize his potential. “But now, 50 years later, I  13 be more satisfied with my life,” he said.

    Hawking also gained popularity  14 the academic world and appeared in several TV shows. He was featured in the film The Theory of Everything, which  15 his rise to fame and relationship with his first wife, Jane.

    Prof James Hartle, who once worked with him ,praised his unique ability to see through all the clutter（混乱）in physics and get to the  16.” My 17 of him would be…first as a scientist and, second, as a human being whose story is a victory  18 misfortune, which inspired a lot of people.” Prof Jim Al-Khalili pictured Hawking as a  19 person. “He was a fun loving guy. Inside that paralyzed body was someone full of  20 for life,” he said.

    Several years ago, our “Mommy and Me” time began. My next-door neighbor and fellow 1, Christie, and I were out in our front yards, watching seven children of about age 6 ride their 2up and down. “I wish I could take one of my children 3alone，”said Christie.

    Then we4a plan: When Christie takes one of her children out, I'll 5 her other three. And when she takes care of two of mine, I'll take 6out.

    The children were very quick to7the idea of “Mommy and Me” time，Christie's daughter, McKenzie, went first. When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of 8. McKenzie was smiling9. Christie looked refreshed and happy. “She's like a 10child when there's no one else around,” Christie shared wife me quickly. With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn't have to make an effort to gain 11. Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also12something different in each of ray "children during our13times. For example, If am always 14when my daughter, who is15close to me, holds my hand frequently. My stuttering(口吃的）son, Tom, doesn't stutter once during our16since he doesn't have to struggle for a chance to speak. And the other son, Sam, who's always a 17when around other children) shines as a leader during our times together.

    “Mommy and Me”time18us to be simply alone and away with each child — talking, sharing, and laughing, which has been the biggest19. Every child20to be an only child at least once in a while.

    Last year, I was lucky enough to work at an office near my mother's house.1, I stayed with her for a month. During that time, I 2 her out with the housework and contributed to the groceries.

    After a week, I started to 3 the groceries were running out pretty quickly.4, I began observing my mother's daily routine for two weeks. To my 5, I found she would pack a paper bag full of canned goods and 6every morning at about nine. She took the food to the slums（贫民窟）and distributed it to street 7.

    I asked around and 8 my mum was popular in the area. The kids looked up to her as if she were their own mother. Then it hit me — why didn't she want to tell me about what she'd been doing? Was she 9 that I would stop buying the groceries if I knew the truth?

    When she got home, I told her about my discovery and 10 she could react, I gave her a big hug and told her she didn't need to keep it a 11 from me. She told me that 12 of the children lived with an old lady in a makeshift home while others13on the streets. For years, my mum had been helping out by 14 whatever food she could 15. I was so moved by how 16 she was. She used what was17for her to help others in need. And I was so 18 of her.

    I 19 to buy groceries for my mum. But now, I always add a(n) 20bag for her other children.

    5- year- old Lucy Green is from California. She didn't 1 to become a(n) hero when she went for a walk with her mom recently. But when some strangers called out for 2, Lucy and her mom ran to their side.

    It turns out that some ducklings(小鸭子) had gotten stuck and the people who found them were unable to 3 them. But luckily for the ducklings, Lucy had just what it took to bring them to 4. Now the 5-year-old's 5 act is being talked about.

    It all 6 when a family found a mother duck 7 with only one duckling. The father duck was nearby, but strangely, there were no 8 ducklings following them. 9 the family knew that ducks often travel in flocks (群), they 10 that something was probably wrong.

    Then suddenly, there were strange sounds coming from a drainage pipe (排水管). They were the 11 of ducklings. It turned out that the other ducklings had 12 into the pipe and gotten stuck. Unluckily, no one in the family had 13 enough arms to reach down and pull out the ducklings but 14, there was a hero nearby.

    The family 15Lucy and her mom, who rushed to them in a hurry. The family filled Lucy and her mom in on what had happened, and Lucy decided to take 16immediately and try to bring the ducklings out.

    Lucy put her arm down into the 17 and carefully 18out the first duckling. And the next…until she had brought all eight ducklings out.

    After Lucy saved the little creatures from 19, the 20mother duck went off with her beloved ducklings.