I was said to be the worst student in my class, and my family thought I was hopeless. I had to 1 grade six. At that time a new teacher, Miss Sadia, came to our school.

    One day after class, she2 that I was staying alone during the lunch break. She came 3 to me and began to talk to me. It was just a normal conversation. After that day, she gave me particular4  and it made me feel special. I started to work hard because she gave me the feeling 5  someone believed me, and my6  started to improve in her subject.

    Months later, she moved into a house near my7 . We would walk home together after school. Her constant (不断的) support helped me, 8  in my studies, as I knew she would check my grades both in her subject 9  the other subjects. I finally 10 second in my class.

    Then, after grade six, she started to slowly drift away (疏远) 11 still kept a constant check on me. By the time I was in grade seven, we 12  spoke, but by then I had become the 13  in my class. When I left my school, I was 14 with her, as she never answered the15  when I called her.

    Then I graduated and went to a good university. One fine day, our paths 16  again. I met her at a wedding. I could not 17 asking her, "Why did you stop talking to me?"

    "You are a clever boy. I wanted you to be a tree 18  on your own roots, not depending on others. Now here you are and I feel 19  of you. You are your inspiration(灵感，鼓舞) and do not need to 20  a shoulder," she said. I could not say anything, but I smiled. I'll always thank her.

    Joe Simpson and Simon Yates were the first people to climb the West Face of the Siula Grande in the Andes Mountains. They reached the top 1 but on their way back conditions were very 2 Joe fell and broke his leg. They both knew that if Simon 3 alone, he would probably get back 4 But Simon decided to risk(冒险) his 5 and try to lower Joe down the mountain on a rope（绳）.

    As they 6 down, the weather got worse. Then another 7 happened. They couldn't see or hear each other and,8 Simon lowered his friend over the edge of a precipice（峭壁）. It was 9 for Joe to climb back or for Simon to pull him up. Joe's 10 was pulling Simon slowly towards the precipice.11after more than an hour in the dark and the icy cold, Simon had to 12. In tears, he cut the rope. Joe 13 into a large crevasse（裂缝）in the ice below. He had no food or water and he was in terrible pain. He couldn't walk, but he 14 to get out of the crevasse and started to 15 towards their camp, nearly ten kilometers 16.

    Simon had 17 the camp at the foot of the mountain. He thought that Joe must be 18 but he didn't want to leave 19 Three days later, in the middle of the night, he heard Joe's voice. He couldn't 20 it. Joe was there, a few meters from their tent, still alive.

    Stars guide the way for us in the dark. Some are 1, others are dim, but they all shine together as if they're 2 the ups and downs of life. Among them, I try to find Hazel's, the heroine of the novel The Fault in Our Stars, written by U.S. author John Green.

    Hazel is a 16-year-old girl who has cancer. In her 3 group, she wins a boy's love, who has lost a leg and he also has 4. They fight pain, fear and death together. 5 their lives are hard, Hazel has a strong will. She never 6, and even silently 7 the happiness of people around her, behind which, I believe, it is the inner spirit that makes her 8.

    Hazel isn't 9. She quarrels with her parents, like most teenagers. But most of the time, she's very 10, never letting cancer be an excuse to 11 her life. She regards cancer as a side effect of death, which everyone will 12 one day. She accepts the fact that "the world is not a wish-granting factory", so she13 every single moment in life, no matter if it's 14 or sweet.

    That's 15 I admire her. I don't experience the pain and the challenge that Hazel has faced, but 16, I come across many difficulties. When I'm in 17, I always wonder what I can do about it. If there's no more mercy I can beg for, then I try to find 18 in my heart. Hazel has taught me that we should love and appreciate life as it is, forget today's 19, and live life to its fullest. 20, tomorrow is another day.

    Zigfried, a little mouse, blew his breath on the frosty window of the farmhouse and rubbed it to see the outside. Still nobody came. Maybe today, he thought 1. It was only a few days before Christmas and he was watching for a miracle (奇迹).

    This farmhouse had been 2 too long. It needed a family. Zigfried's3 made a noise. He realized that he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. He jumped from the windowsill (窗沿), grabbed a4  from his home, and went next door to Farmer Mike's.

    Farmer Mike's house had been a great place for the little mouse5the farmer married a wife who had a cat. Zigfried6when he thought of it. He looked around cautiously as he7  into the room where grain was stored and was quite8as he filled his bag with wheat. He was turning to leave when suddenly he9 a hot breath about his ear. His heart beat10 , and without thinking he started to run and luckily11 the cat's paws (爪子).

    The next afternoon Zigfried heard some good news: a 12family would be moving into the farmhouse soon. Zigfried's granny would arrive on Christmas Eve to13with him. He hoped that the family would come before his granny came. Before long, a car came14 the road leading to the house, with butter sandwiches, cheese and chocolate.

    Zigfried's Christmas miracle did arrive!

    The house came15 the next few days. Zigfried16 every single hour of them.17 the day before Christmas when he was drinking hot chocolate with a 18 smile at the door of his home, he heard the19of the children of the family about what they might get for Christmas. What? A cat? The20 froze on his face; his mouth fell wide open. After a long while, he at last found his voice: "Hey! Whose Christmas miracle is this?"

Melbourne Girls' College is getting rid of all dustbins and asking students to take their rubbish home to encourage them to move towards zero waste.

Starting next Monday, the college will gradually1all the rubbish bins in five weeks in classrooms and the yard, 21400 students and 140 staff to find their own home for chip packets and juice boxes. Volunteer students will 3 daily non- compulsory food inspections in which children bringing "zero waste" lunch boxes will be 4. Students using only 5 packaging will receive a token (礼券) to win prizes such as keepcups.

The rubbish that students take home may still go to landfill(废物填埋场) via their home bins, 6the new policy will help persuade7to buy fewer packaged items and reuse containers. Most issues around carrying rubbish home, such as smell and mess, can be solved.8tuna (金枪鱼) in a tin, for example, can9 the school's compost（堆肥）bin and the tin can be 10 before it's taken home.

The college principal Karen Money acknowledges that some parents may not have the time or means to avoid  11 in single-use packaging," but it's12to get as many people as we can to avoid it. We talk a lot, 13 educators, about the bad problems the world 14, and if we don't start putting some actions 15 that beautiful idea, then it's just empty."

After getting married nine years ago, I moved to an absolutely new town.1as I was, with various new things to explore, I was still lonely. I was desperate to establish2.

This could explain my enthusiastic "Count me in!" when3to participate in a half marathon. Considering my usual 3 miles, I must have been4—13 miles seemed a（n）5task.

However, the initial6gradually wore off. I found comfort in burying myself in training. Though taking it slow, one mile, and then two, I gradually made7. Mile after mile, I managed to step beside my new friends. We talked about our favorite music and8funny stories about our children. At about mile 10, the conversations9. We shared our past and hopes for our future, our fears and regrets. By the time we were running 12-mile legs, I was10that I'd made lifelong friends.

11, the day of the race arrived. At the start line, armed with my friends, I already felt like a champion. My time training had12. I managed to hold a steady pace and kept up with my13. Finally, we crossed the finish line together.

Although it started as a14of building social ties, running not only provided me with friendships, but with a skill that would15me the rest of my life.