Different people have different skin（皮肤）. Some have black skin. Some have yellow skin, and some have white skin. There was a woman in Alaska. Her skin was orange. It was almost the color of orange juice.

    How did her skin become orange? She ate lots of tomatoes, carrots, and squashes (南瓜). She ate too many orange things. That's why her skin turned orange.

    The woman didn't want her skin to be orange, so she went to see the doctor. The doctor said. “Stop eating orange things. Eat some green things.” The woman did so, and her skin wasn't orange any more.

    In life, everyone once struggles for a dream, whether it's successful or not. I still clearly remember one day when I was in high school. I saw on a website that China's. Got Talent's mass-election（海选）for the best singers was going on. I was very excited and decided to go and try out. But it wasn't as easy as I had thought. When I got there, I saw at least 100 people already waiting in line. My hands started to sweat and shake as my turn got close. I got up and started singing, but I sang so badly that I stopped before I even finished the song. Afterwards I quickly said goodbye to my friends and walked home crying. I thought that I would never be able to show my face in public again.
    However, after about a year, that terrible experience became a funny memory. I realized that I didn't need to care about losing that dream, because I made a new and more realistic one. I'm good at English, as well as other subjects. I made it my goal to get accepted into Columbia University. Columbia is hard to get into, and about 1,300 students from all over the world are accepted every year. Though it is hard to get into, I think my dream will come true someday by working hard.

    A farmer had a cow. He took very good care of this cow and one day when it was ill, he was very worried. He telephoned the vet.（兽医）

  “What's the problem?” The vet asked him when he arrived.

  “My cow's ill” the farmer said. “I don't know what the matter with her is. She's lying down and won't eat. She's making a strange noise.”

The vet looked over the cow. "She's certainly ill," he said, "and she needs to take some very strong medicine."

    He took a bottle（瓶子） out of his box, put two pills（药丸） into his hand and said, "Give her these. The pills should make her better” How should I give them to her?” the farmer asked.

    The vet gave him a tube (管子)and said, "Put this tube in her mouth, then put the pills in the tube and blow. That will make it."

    The next day the farmer sat outside his house and looked more worried.

   “How's your cow?” the vet asked.” No change,” the farmer said, “and I am feeling very strange myself. I did what you said, I put the tube(管子) in the cow's mouth and then put two pills down it.” And?” the vet asked.” The cow blew first, and blew the pills to my mouth.” the farmer said.

    Stephen Hawking was born in England in 1942. He is one of the most well-known scientists on space and time in the world. Hawking is researching how the universe began and how it ends. He is called the King of the Universe.

    When he studied math and science at Oxford University, he became seriously ill, which made him unable to speak or breathe without the help of machines. Till now, he can't move or feed himself and he is helped to dress, eat and wash by a nurse. However, he has a wheelchair with a special computer, with which he can communicate with others.

    In spite of all these difficulties, he refused to give up his hope of living and went on to study at Cambridge University after graduating from Oxford University. In 1965, he got a Doctor's Degree of philosophy(哲学). Because of his serious illness, it was difficult for him to draw diagrams or to write. So he started to think in pictures. With this new way of thinking, he is respected by people in the world. Then in 1988, he wrote his first important book, A Brief History of Time. It has been sold more than 5.5 million copies in 33 different languages. He was once invited to China to give lectures. His self-confidence and humorous conversations impressed us deeply.

    From Hawking's unusual experiences , we learn that nobody should lose hope, no matter how bad the situation is .As he once said, “Life is not fair, you just have to do the best you can in your own situation.”

It was about two o'clock in the early morning {#blank#}1{#/blank#} 21 September, 1999. Tommy was sleeping when the earthquake started. He felt a slight shake, then he {#blank#}2{#/blank#} a loud noise like thunder. Soon the real noise came, like bombs under the ground. The earth started to {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . People screamed in fear. Some ran out of the building. He tried his {#blank#}4{#/blank#} to run out too, but he couldn't.

Outside, people were running in all directions while pieces of glass and bricks were falling down. Then the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} began to come down too!

Finally, the noise and shaking ended. It was dark and silent around him. He could not see anything at all, and he did not know if anyone else was near him. He felt {#blank#}6{#/blank#} and his heart was beating fast. A moment of fear went through his mind, but he told {#blank#}7{#/blank#} to calm down since he was still alive. He shouted for {#blank#}8{#/blank#} , but no one came. He started to move slowly in the darkness. Luckily, there was just enough space for him to move.

Hours later, Tommy heard {#blank#}9{#/blank#} noise above him. He screamed, "Help! Please help! I'm here!" Then he heard shouts from excited people. They {#blank#}10{#/blank#} moved away the bricks. At last, Tommy was safe.

Betty wanted to see the Beijing Opera. So Lingling {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (提出) to take her to Lao She Teahouse. They {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (喝) tea and watched an opera. It was {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (困难的) to understand the words, but the actors and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (女演员) were excellent. They only {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(计划) to watch for an hour, but in the {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (末尾), they stayed there for three hours. Betty thought it was interesting— that was the {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (主要的) thing. However, Betty had no {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(主意) who Lao She was. Lingling said Lao She is a great {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (作家). He is {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (特别地) famous for his play Teahouse. Betty and Lingling had a great time there.