What do you think a hero is? In this story, a brother and a sister have different ideas.　　

It was on Apri1 10. Kwan was excited. The newspaper was 1 a writing contest(比赛). The winner's story would be printed in the newspaper!“It says to write about someone2 you think is a hero,” Kwan said. “I will write about my favorite soccer player. He's 3 hero.”

 Kwan's sister, Cho, asked,“Can I enter the contest?”

“No. You're too little,” Kwan said.“You won't win." He4his soccer ball and went outside.

 Cho knew what to do.5 , she took the newspaper. Next, she read the contest rules. Then, she began to write. “I believe that I can win,” she said to herself.

 When Cho had finished, she found her mother. She told her mother6  the contest. “Who did you write about?”asked Mother.

“I chose Rosa Parks,” said Cho. “She was a true 7. She believed everyone was equa1 (平等的). She wanted all people to be treated the same.”

On tht morning of June 3, Kwan ran outside to get the newspaper.“The contest winner's story 8 in today's newspaper!” he shouted

Two minutes 9 , Kwan came back inside.“I guess I need to reconsider(重新考虑) what I said to you, Cho. You are not too10  . You won the contest!”

“Your story taught me a lot,”Kwan said, "Rosa Parks was a true hero."

Black or White

    When I was in elementary school, I got into an argument with a boy in my class. The teacher  1 to teach us a very important lesson.

    She brought us up to the front of the 2 and placed him on one side of her desk and 3 on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could 4 see that it was black. She asked the boy what color the object was. "White," he 5.

    I couldn't 6 he said the object was white, when it was clearly black! Another

    7 started between my classmate and me, this time about the 8 of the object.

    The teacher told me to go 9 where the boy was standing 10 told him to come stand where I had been. We changed 11, and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I 12 answer, "White."

    It was an object with two 13 colored sides, and from his viewpoint (视角) it was white. Only from my 14 it was black.

    I have never  15 the lesson I learned that day. Sometimes we need to look at the problem from the other person's viewpoint in order to truly understand his / her view.

    Last July, my 12-year-old car died on California's Santa Freeway. It was an hour before sunset, and I was 25 miles from home. I couldn't reach anyone to pick me up, so I1to take a bus. Not knowing the routes(线路), I thought I should just go east.

    A bus stopped. I got 2and asked the driver how far she was going. "Ten more miles, "she said. There was3bus I could take from there. This clearly was going to be a long night. I got off at the end of the route and she told me which bus to look4.After waiting for 30 minutes, I began to think about a very expensive taxi5home. Then a bus came up. There was no lighted number above its windshield(挡风玻璃).It was out of service, but the door opened. It was the same driver." I just can't leave you here, "she said." This isn't the nicest place. I will take you home." "You will drive me home on the bus? "I asked in 6. "No, I will take you in my car," she said. "It's a long way, "I insisted." Come on, "she said." I have nothing 7to do." She began telling me a story 8we drove from the station in the car. A few days9, her brother had run out of gasoline(汽油).A kind man picked him up, took him to a service station and then back to his car." I'm just passing the kindness along," she said. When I offered her money as a thank-you, she refused." Just do 10nice for somebody. Pass it along, "she said.

My family is from Berlin.We moved to Boston because my father went to teach in a middle school in Boston.

At that time，I already knew English very well but I still felt1 when I thought about being in a strange place.For one thing，I would not have a friend in Boston.For another，as the oldest of the three children in my family2 by setting a good example to my younger brother and sister.

With this weight（负担） on my shoulders，I3 my new life here and made a list of goals for myself.l put this list on my bathroom mirror and reread it before leaving for my first day of school.

At that time，the list seemed reasonable（合情合理的） to 4 .But my mother thought differently.After reading it，she called out， "Mikhail5 wanted to stand out （杰出） in every possible way.

How did I do with the goals on my list？Not so well.First，I did not make anew friend every day，because good friendships 6 time.You can't make friends the way you play baseball.Second，I worked hard but found that some subjects were easier for me than others.And that was OK.Third，I tried my best in all sports7 a leg while running.And as for goal number 8 .I learned that my brother and sister wanted to live their own life in Boston without their older brother's intrusiveness （干扰）．Actually，they've probably adjusted（调整）better than I have.

So I decided that I needed a new list.

Mooncakes are an essential(重要的)part of the Mid-Autumn Festival.Each year, bakers create millions of these desserts so people can share them with friends and family. But where did this tradition come from?

About 650 years ago,the Mongols ruled(统治)over China.The Han people wanted to get back control.However,they did not want the Mongols to catch them.So,they began passing secret messages inside of mooncakes,saying that they were going to fight the Mongols on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.When the evening arrived,the Han people fought hard and were successful.

Each year after that,people celebrated the victory by eating mooncakes.It is a good way to remember the history.The practice spread quickly throughout China.Gradually, eating mooncakes became a cultural tradition.It is also a good chance for Chinese families to get together for family reunion(团聚).

Today,people can buy all different types of mooncakes.They come with different fillings and in different prices.People enjoy filling up with these tasty treats,but many of them don't know the history of the simple mooncakes.