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."

Mum and Dad have always tried their best to make sure I grow up happily, and I wanted to do something for them. I decided to help them to wash the dishes. But I didn't want to do it in a simple way. I was going to be the best washerup(洗盘子的人) in the world!

At first, I found it was not easy to be the best washer­up. Sometimes, a plate would fall from my hands and break on the floor. Mum had to come to help me and it made me feel ashamed(羞愧的). Soon I had another problem. I couldn't get those bowls and plates as clean as I wanted. But I wasn't going to stop. After trying more than five bottles of washingup liquid(洗洁精), I finally found the best one that was just right for the job. After weeks of practice, I finally became what I wanted to be—the best washerup in the world. Looking at the shining plates, glasses and bowls, I felt so proud.

And then one day, I came home from school, thinking about washing up all the plates after dinner, but to my surprise, a big new machine was standing in the middle of the kitchen—a dishwasher(洗碗机)!

My name is Evelyn Glennie. I am a solo(独奏的) drum player. Here I'd like to talk 1 my story. When I was about 12, I 2 interested in percussion instruments(打击乐器) and began to play them. At that time I lost all of my hearing. I remember when I learned 3 the tympani (定音鼓), my teacher said," Well, you know, mu- sic is about listening. How are you going to hear the sound?"I asked," Well, how do you hear it?" He pointed to 4 ear and said,"I hear it through here." Then I told him,"I think I do, too, 5 I also hear it through my hands, my arms, my eyes, my legs and so on."I mean that I 6 feel the music, see it and touch it. That's why I can experience every kind of music, from classical to pop, even though I can't actually hear it.

Now I 7 ' invited to travel around the world for concerts. I like to go to other people's concerts in different countries. I also like to find new instruments. Now I have 8 instruments. They often remind (提醒) me of how excited I was when I first saw local musicians playing them. These experience was such 9 beautiful memory to me. And10 thing is that every time I play instruments, I really enjoy my time with music.

 Nick can't find his watch. It is blue. The watch is from his uncle Tom.

 Nick makes a telephone call to his father. He says," Dad, I can't find my watch. Do you know where it is?" Mr. Smith says," No, I don't. Is it on your desk?"" No, it's not on the desk."

 Nick calls his mother at 879-9904. He asks," Mom, do you know where my watch is?" Mrs. Smith says," Oh, I think it's in your room." But Nick's room isn't tidy. He doesn't want to look for it everywhere. Nick puts down the telephone and sits on the sofa. And just when he wants to call his uncle at 879-0994, his brother Rick says," Nick, I …"

Nick says," Rick, I am busy now."

" Yeah? Busy looking for your watch? It's on my wrist (手腕) ," says Rick.

My friends have different interests. Lily has a {#blank#}1{#/blank#} voice. Singing has become her hobby. She often sings Karaoke and {#blank#}2{#/blank#} many music videos every day. John likes watching {#blank#}3{#/blank#} in nature. He also reads books about them. Many people are interested in {#blank#}4{#/blank#} model planes. Bobby is one of them. He thinks it is fun and relaxing. All in all, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} can make our life colourful and bring us knowledge.