In a small room, Jenny was lying in bed waiting for an operation (手术), nervous and worried. To her surprise, a new patient was sent into the room. After a kind greeting (打招呼), they began to talk. The 80-year-old newcomer was named Susan. She had two children. Her son was boss of a big company and her daughter worked in a TV station. As her children were too busy to take care of Susan, she lived in an old people's home. Susan was proud of her children who had wonderful jobs and made a lot of money. Jenny really envied (羡慕)Susan. Compared with Susan, Jenny was nothing but an ordinary (普通的) woman from the countryside. Her children were just ordinary workers.

Soon, it was supper time, Jenny's daughter cooked several dishes which were her favorite. Jenny invited Susan to share her supper, but she did not accept the invitation. Susan was expecting her daughter when she received a call. Unfortunately (不幸), her children couldn't come to visit her. Worse still, Susan had missed the mealtime in the hospital. She lay in bed, disappointed and silent. Jenny's daughter offered to buy her some food but she had no appetite (食欲) at all.

The next day, Jenny and Susan would go through a series of regular medical checks (一连串的常规检查) before the operation. Jenny's daughter took care of her carefully while Susan was still alone. Out of sympathy (出于同情), Jenny's daughter helped to queue up (排队), fill in different forms and register (挂号) for Susan. For several days in hospital, even during her operation, Susan's children didn't come. Susan really envied Jenny as her daughter looked after her all the time until she recovered and moved out of hospital.

Care from the loved ones can really make one happy and encouraged, especially for old parents. So don't forget to look after your parents even while you are busy working.

Did you know that the Beijing Winter Olympic Village had a rooftop (屋顶) farm? It covered 4,620 square meters. To relax, athletes and coaches could try growing vegetables there.

It shows just how much Chinese people {#blank#}1{#/blank#} growing vegetables. China has a lot of available land for planting things. For {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, Chinese people made a living through farming. The Book of Songs《诗经》, written 2,500 years ago, records many {#blank#}3{#/blank#} of vegetables.

Nowadays, even though some Chinese people no longer have a lot of land, they still grow vegetables {#blank#}4{#/blank#} they can. Xue Ling, 35, is one of them. Since 2010, she has been planting vegetables on the balcony (阳台) of {#blank#}5{#/blank#} apartment in Jinan, Shandong province. "It's the only way to keep my food, at least the vegetables, clean and {#blank#}6{#/blank#}," she said. Caroline Ma from Hong Kong grows vegetables {#blank#}7{#/blank#} a hobby. In 2020, Ma started farming on her rooftop and {#blank#}8{#/blank#} planting seeds that she collected during her travels. For Ma, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} is a meditative (冥想的) experience. "I am in my own little world and I can forget about my problems," she said.

It seems that planting vegetables brings {#blank#}10{#/blank#} than just food for Chinese people.

 Once upon a time, many frogs lived in a pond. There was a king among them. One day, the king frog decided to have a competition." There is a tree near the pond. Whoever climbs to the top of this tree will be the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (win)." he said.

 All the frogs were excited {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (take) part in the competition. As soon as it started, they began climbing one by one. But many frogs fell down. Some frogs felt sad {#blank#}3{#/blank#} stopped climbing. And some continued. Those who didn't try said," No one can do it. It's impossible." Some frogs heard this, and they {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (lose) hope and stopped trying, too. But one frog didn't give up. He {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (successful) climbed to the top after some tries. All the other frogs were quite {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (surprise). They all wanted to know how he was able to do it.

{#blank#}7{#/blank#} frog who won the competition told them he was deaf and couldn't hear anything. He thought the frogs below were cheering {#blank#}8{#/blank#} him, saying," You can do it." The kind words made him try harder, and finally he could climb to the top.

 This story teaches {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (we)a lesson. We should stick to our {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (goal) instead of listening to negative(消极的) words from others, and then work harder to achieve them.

Once upon a time, there was a huge crab(螃) living in the mountains

One day, the crab decided to return to the ocean. While he was moving to the sea, the whole earth shook.

An old man felt the land shake. He shouted loudly to his villagers,"We must build a raft(木筏)! Quickly! Quickly!

"Why should we do that?" asked one of them

"Because he is so massive that when he dives into the ocean, it will cause a flood!" The old man replied, "We must build a raft big enough to hold all of us and many animals!"

The villagers accepted his warming and began working together. Some of them cut down trees, while others were busy building the raft. After seeing what villagers did, the animals of the forest sensed that danger was coming so they joined in the work as well. The monkeys and the water buffalo wove(编) ropes, while the horses and the tiny mouse deer helped to pull trees from the forest. Finally, the old man tied one end of the rope to the raft and the other end to a big tree.

"What is that for?"asked a child.

The old man smiled, "This will help us find our way home."

Finally, the raft was ready. Not long after, this big crab completed his journey and jumped into the sea! Suddenly, the huge waves flooded the land. The villagers and animals climbed onto the life raft, which was swept away by the rushing water. People and animals were all in fear!

But the raft suddenly came to a stop because of the rope which was tied to the tree. People and animals hugged together for warmth. They sang to keep their spirits when they floated(漂浮) on the raft

The crab finally settled on the sea bottom. Soon after, the sea level returned to its original position, and the passengers found themselves back on land. Both humans and animals were happy to be alive! They turned to the old man, "Thanks for saving us by getting us to build a raft!"

But he smiled, "Oh, it was not me that saved you. We worked together-the men and women and children, and the animals too. When we work together, there's nothing we can't do."

Table tennis is a popular sport in different {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(地区) of China and we have lots of excellent coaches and players. My{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(同学) and I are all big fans of this game. I often go to the stadium in the city centre to play with my friends. For me, it is one of {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(令人激动的) sports in the world.

Last week, there was a match in my school. I played {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(对抗) my friend, Tom. Many friends came to the playground to cheer{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(大声地) for us. The playground was very{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(拥挤的). I played well in the match, but Tom did better. So finally, he{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(打败) me and won the match. I was a little sad, because I practised hard at weekends and wanted to have a good end.{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(然而), it didn't matter. Nobody can win all the time. It was{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(自然的) to lose the match. And for me, the main thing was to enjoy the game.

Now, I understand why my mother always{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(建议) me to do more exercise. It can not only help me be healthy, but also make me happy and confident.

It was a fine day last Friday.

……