In the mid 1990s, people started doing business on the Internet. At that time, there were two kinds of companies. First, there were traditional companies which sold things in shops. Then, there were Internet companies which didn't have shops; they sold things only over the net.

    Traditional companies didn't want to lose any business. Quickly, they created their own website and began selling things over the net. These are the so-called "brick and click" companies. Many shops are made of brick, and you click on your mouse to buy things with your computer. That's where the name "brick and click" comes from.

    By the late 1990s, e-businesses like Amazon.com and Buy.com were in trouble. Their profits were not very high, and there was a lot of competition. Many of these businesses lost a lot of money, and in 2000, many e-businesses went out of business.

    Why are "brick and click" companies, like Barnes & Noble, Toys "R" Us, and Walmart so successful? First, many customers know and trust their names. Their websites, like walmart.com, are easy to remember. These companies also have a lot of experience. They know how to run a successful business.

    In the world of e-commerce, companies are fighting for every dollar and every customer. Will "brick and click" companies win the war? Only time will tell.

Thereare many interesting stories between Father and Son.

Oneday, Father and Son were walking slowly1 a river, suddenly Son cried, "Daddy,look, there is a woman falling into the river!"Without thinking too much,Father jumped into the water and2tothe woman, "Don't worry, lady. I'm a good swimmer and I will try my bestto save you." Father pulled the woman on to the bank (岸边). He was3but happy. But the lady was not thankfulto Father at all; instead, she slapped Father heavily. She jumped into wateragain. Oops! This was a4competition !

Itwas snowing5, but Son was very happy. He spent a lotof time making a snowman with Father. It was tall and big. Son liked it verymuch. But at night, someone6the snowman down. When Son saw this thenext morning, he cried sadly. Father was angry and decided to find out who didthis. He was dressed as a snowman and stood by the road. One man came here andwanted to push the snowman again. Bang! The snowman kicked his ass. "Oh,my god! I met a ghost! "The man ran away quickly.

Onemorning, Son told Father he didn't7well.Father brought some warm water to Son and asked him to have a good rest, andthen Father hurried out to8some medicine; but on his way to themedicine shop,he found that he9hismoney at home. When he opened the door, he found Son10thecat happily .Father was so angry that he told Son to go to school at once.

Dong Yuhui is the most famous live streamer (主播) of East Buy. He used {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) an English teacher at New Oriental (新东方) Group. As a live streamer, he became popular thanks {#blank#}2{#/blank#} his insightful (富有洞察力的) and humorous hosting style (主持风格). He soon had {#blank#}3{#/blank#} huge number of fans. And the number of them on Chinese short-video platform (平台) Douyin is {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (surprise). They bought products from East Buy just because {#blank#}5{#/blank#} him. Dong was born in Tongguan, a small town in Shaanxi province. He said his father was his role model. He always tries his best to buy and read newspapers although he is a busy {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (farm). "I am just a common person selling vegetables on Douyin (China's TikTok). I {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (real) hope that people do not pay too much attention to me. More attention should {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (give) to many of the common people like street vendors (街头摊贩) and designated drivers (代驾司机)," Dong said. In December, 2023, he {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (make) a speech in Tsinghua University and shared his experience of learning English. If you want to be {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (success), you need to work hard and stay active.

When is your favorite time? Lily 1 to school from Monday to Friday. And lunchtime is her 2 time. 

Lily loves the school lunch. Some students don't like the school lunch,3 they think it's not good. They bring（带来） their 4 to school. Their mothers make hamburgers or salad for them for lunch. Some students bring leftovers（剩饭菜）for lunch. But Lily doesn't!She thinks the school lunch is 5 . Her lunch is only ＄1. 35. She can 6 good and healthy food. She has lunch 7 her friends. Boys can have lunch with girls. They like to talk about（谈论） their favorite subjects（科目）, their favorite 8 and their favorite days. After lunch,9 like to play games. 

At school, Lily likes lunchtime. For Lily, her school days are very10 . 

Friends are a part of our lives. In my life，I have a best friend named Lucy. She means a lot to me. My life would be less colorful without her. Although we sometimes argue，we still treat each other as best friends. 

We met each other four years ago. She said hello to me with a sweet smile. I guessed that she was a gentle girl. And she really was. When I was in trouble，she always stood by me and made me feel better. 

This winter holiday，we went to the amusement park Happy Valley together. We had fun together on the roller coaster （过山车）. We held each other's hands and shouted loudly when we were riding the roller coaster. It was so exciting. The ride made me feel a little sick, so she bought a bottle of water for me. This experience left me with a lot of good memories（回忆） and made our friendship stronger.

There is a line in the movie Soulmate that says， "If you step on someone's shadow，you will never leave each other. " So I will try my best to "step on her shadow". Many adults think that children can't be friends forever. But I don't believe this. 

Maybe we won't always spend all of our time together. But I will enjoy the time I spend with her and the good memories she has given me. 

She Zhongqi is a student of Grade 8 in a middle school in Hubei Province. He was highly {#blank#}1{#/blank#} （赞扬） for his brave act to save an old man，a local newspaper reported. 

On April 13th，2023，when She Zhongqi was riding to school，he saw an old man lying on one side of the street without any {#blank#}2{#/blank#} （意识） . At the beginning，Zhongqi had no idea what to do. He just crouched（蹲下）worriedly {#blank#}3{#/blank#} （在旁边） the man and tried to wake him up. But it didn't work. All of a sudden，he remembered what he had learned at school--CPR（心肺复苏）!Immediately，he did it on the old man at a controlled{#blank#}4{#/blank#} （速度） for about 5 minutes. Luckily，the man started to breathe again before doctors arrived. 

Several days later，She's story quickly {#blank#}5{#/blank#} （传播） around the town and a reporter came to interview him. "Zhongqi，you're so {#blank#}6{#/blank#} （乐于助人的） !But what inspired you to do CPR to save others？"With a smile，Zhongqi answered，"Actually，I {#blank#}7{#/blank#} （不常） use the skill，but my teacher always {#blank#}8{#/blank#} （教导） us that in a crash situation，time is as {#blank#}9{#/blank#} （珍贵的） as life. "Then the reporter put what Zhongqi said in the newspaper and he soon became one of the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} （英雄） in his hometown.