When Justin Tong was a child, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him doing lots of housework such as carrying out the rubbish and sending newspapers. But when he grew up, he was better off than his childhood friends and lived a happier and healthier life.

This is the finding of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 children in London. It showed that the children who had worked hard in childhood had a richer and a happier future. "Children who worked in the home or community gained competence(能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society," said Daniel Brown, the psychologist(心理学家) who made the discovery. "And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them."

Brown's study followed these children in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Brown, the researchers compared the children's mental-health scores with their childhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

    Working at any age is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence — the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this.

    Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, "One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work."

Last Saturday, Tony went to see Benny. But he didn't know1Benny lived.2the way, he stopped in front of a yellow house, and asked an old woman the3to Benny's house. "His house is not far from my house," said the woman.

"It's behind the trees. But you can't get there4. You can go there by bus. It'll5you hours to get there6foot."

"What's7with her?" Tony thought." "I can see Benny's house from here now. It's behind the8."

Then Tony walked to the other side of the trees. He found the old woman was9.There was a river in front of him, and he couldn't see a boat. The house was on the other side of the10.

AFamily Bakery

It's 3:00 in the morning. Angela is ready to start the day at the family bakery(面包房). Vincent and his wife, Angela, are its owners(主人).

Everyone in the family works in the bakery. The oldest daughter, Claire, is good at making cakes. Maria is the middle child. She works at the counter(柜台),and sometimes she makes cookies. Paul, the youngest, is 14,and he makes bread. Vincent says, "Paul has good hands for bread." All the family work in the bakery ,but the children only work there before or after school.

The bakery is open every day. The bakery sells cookies, cakes and bread. Mr. Martin is a regular customer(常客) ． He goes to the bakery every morning. He always takes the round loaf of bread with no butter. He says it's good. Mrs. Salerno is also a regular customer. Every Friday, she buys two loaves of Italian bread and a large box of cookies. Her six-year-old daughter, Laura, always gets one free cookie. Mrs. Salerno says Vincent's bakery is the best in the city.

How do you get to school?Do you walk or r{#blank#}1{#/blank#}a bike? Do you go by bus or by train?For many students，it is easy to get to school. But for the students in one small village in China，it is difficult. There is a very big river between their school and the village. There are no b{#blank#}2{#/blank#}and the river runs too quickly for boats. So these students go on a ropeway to cross the river to school. 

One 11﹣year﹣old boy，Liangliang，crosses the river every school day. But he is not afraid because he loves school. "I love s{#blank#}3{#/blank#}time with my classmates and teachers. "Many of the villagers n{#blank#}4{#/blank#} leave the village. They wish that they could find an easy way to go out. Can their d{#blank#}5{#/blank#} come true?

Sometimes, I wonder whether there was any love between my parents. They were busy trying to 1 their new business. They didn't act romantically. They didn't 2 their feelings. They just got used to the company of each other, and I 3 it as kinship (亲情), not love.

One day, my mother was sewing a quilt (缝被子) I sat down beside her and asked, "Is there any 4 between you and Dad?" She didn't answer at once.

I thought I had hitt her. At last my mother said, "Susan, look at this thread(线). Sometimes it 5 , but most of it disappears in the quilt. It makes the quilt 6 and durable (耐用的). If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can 7 be seen anywhere or anytime, but it's really there."

I listened carefully but I didn't understand her until the next spring. My father suddenly got seriously 8 and he had to stay in hospital for at least one month. My mother took really good care of him without any 9 . 

After they returned home, my mother helped my father walk slowly down the country road every day for rehabilitation training (康复训练). They two, hand in hand, supported each other. Once, I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But the 10 is that love is just a thread that holds a family together.

Kuang Heng was born in a poor family. He liked reading books very much. He needed to work at daytime, so he had to read books during night. But he was too poor to buy candles. 

One day, he found his neighbor had candles, but the light couldn't go through his room. So he dug a small hole on the wall so that he could use the light to read books. From that day, he read books every night until the light went out. 

However, he finished reading all his books and there were no books for him to read. Then he went to a rich man's house and worked for him without payment. The rich man asked: "Why don't you want the money?"

Kuang Heng said: "Because I only want to borrow your books." The rich man agreed. Kuang Heng read the books one by one. 

Because he tried to get over difficulties and worked hard, he became a great scholar（学者）at last.