Once there is a boy in London. His name is Jimmy. He starts painting when he is three years old, and when he is five years old, he is already very good at it. He paints many beautiful and interesting pictures, and a lot of people buy his pictures. They say, “This boy is going to be famous when he's a little older, and then we're going to sell these pictures for a lot of money.”

    Jimmy's pictures are different from others' because he never paints on the whole of the paper. He only paints on half of it, and the other half is always empty.

    “That's very clever,” people say. “No other painters have ever done that!”

    One day someone asks Jimmy, “Please tell me, Jimmy, why do you only paint on the bottom (底) half of the paper, but not on the top half?”

    “Because I'm small,” Jimmy says, “and my brushes can't reach very high.”

    This is Tom. He is a student. He is in Class Four, Grade Seven. There are 25 girls and 20 boys in his class. His English teacher is Mr. Zheng. He is about 31. He is a good teacher. The students all like him.

    Tom has a good friend. His name is Jim. He is from Canada. He is in Class Four, Grade Seven, too. Tom and Jim live in China now.

    On March 14, one of science's brightest stars went dark, Stephen Hawking, the world-famous British scientist, died at 76 in Cambridge, UK.

    Hawking is considered by many to be the greatest scientist in history since Albert Einstein. He came up with the theory that the universe began with the Big bang and will end in black holes. His theories became the base for a lot of later research. He also wrote books to help common people understand the universe. His most famous book is A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 1o million copies around the world, according to CNN. Besides his scientific achievements, Hawking was also someone who had a strong will. when he was 21, he got a serious illness that stopped him from walking and talking Later in life, he had to sit in a wheelchair and speak using a computerized voice. But this didn't stop him from living a meaningful and colorful life

    He celebrated his 60th birthday by going up in a hot-air balloon; when he was 65, he took part in a zero-gravity (=Ee flight to experience weightlessness. He hoped to travel into space one day. In 2015, Hawking spoke about how he felt life was unfair when he first knew about his illness. But now, 50 years later, I can be quietly satisfied with my life, he said

When I was about 14, I had a friend who liked to tell me my shortcomings(缺点). For example: I was very1 , I wasn't a top student, I talked too much. I was too proud and soon. I became so2 that I couldn't stand her at last. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

My father3 me quietly and asked, "Are the things she says true or not? Jane, didn't you ever want to know what you're 4 like? Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said." I did a she told me. To my great surprise, I5 that about half the things were true. Some I couldn't change, like being very short. But many I could and I wanted to change. For the first time, I had a better understanding of 6 .

I brought the list back to my father7 he refused to read it. "That's just for you," he said, "You know better than any other person the truth about yourself. When people say something true, you'll finally find it will be 8 to you. Don't shut your ears. Listen to them all, but only hear the truth and do what you know. It is the 9 thing to do.

Father's 10 have returned to meat many important moments. In my life, I've never had a better piece of advice.

There is nothing like chocolate. Just thinking about it can make your mouth water. September 13 is the International Chocolate Day, which gives us a good reason to celebrate the world's most popular sweet. 

Chocolate comes from a civilization（文明）called the Maya. They had a special food called cocoa. The word cocoa means" gift from God". About five hundred years ago, the Europeans found the Mayans and used cocoa to make chocolate. 

For centuries, only the rich could enjoy chocolate, and normal people could not get hold of it. All this changed when European companies started to produce chocolate bars in the 19th century. Chocolate comes in different colors and sizes. People often eat white, dark and milk chocolate. The biggest chocolate bar was ever made in Italy in 2011 and weighed almost 6 tons! That's as big as an elephant. 

There are also different shapes of chocolate and people often take them as holiday gifts. Chocolate bunnies（小兔子）and eggs are popular on Easter, chocolate coins are common on Christmas Day, and chocolate hearts are great gifts for Valentine's Day. At certain parties and wedding ceremonies(结婚典礼), chocolate fountains always surprise guests. 

Lots of people say chocolate is bad for your health. Not necessarily so! Scientists now say it is good for people's heart and can make the body release chemicals that actually make us happy and make us feel better. But don't eat too much of it. 

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 .