Mike Tam is a 16-year-old boy. He has many good habits(习惯)－he 1 every morning and reads books every night. He does well in studies and his favorite 2 are science and history.

    Both of Mike's parents are good 3. When Mike was four years old, his father 4 to teach him how to swim. After two months of learning, Mike could swim 5 a fish.

    Each week, Mike has to spend at least 16 hours 6. He spends two 7 practicing swimming every day before school. After morning practice, he goes to school by 8. He likes riding bikes, 9 it is good for his health.

    On Saturday, he gets up at 7:00 a.m. He 10 in the pool for four hours. After that, he goes home to do his homework. He 11 watching movies, so he goes to the cinema(电影院) every Sunday. “It helps me to 12 to watch movies with my friends,” he said. His parents often go to the pool on weekends to encourage(鼓励) 13 when they don't have to 14.

    Mike doesn't 15 spending a lot of time practicing. “I love swimming, and practice can help me get good results in competitions(比赛),” he said.

    He was pleased to learn that Chibi knew all the places where the wild grapes and wild potatoes grew. He was amazed to 1how much Chibi knew about all the flowers in our class garden. He liked Chibi's black and white drawings and put them up on the wall to be 2. He liked Chibi's own handwriting, which no one but Chibi could read, and he put that up on the wall.

    Bu t, when Chibi appeared on the stage at the talent show of that year, no one could 3his eyes.“ Who is that?”“ What can that stupid do up there?”

    Until Mr Isobe announced that Chibi was going to imitate(模仿)the voices of crows. “ Voices?”“ Voices of crows?”

    4he imitated the voices of newly hatched crows. And he made the mother crow's voice. He showed how crows cry early in the morning. He showed how crows cry when the village people have some unhappy accident. He showed how crows 5when they are happy and cheerful. Everybody's mind was taken to the6mountainside from which Chibi probably came to school.

    Chibi made very special 7deep down in his throat(喉咙)to imitate a crow in an old tree in the end. Now everybody could imagine8the far and lonely place whe re Chibi lived with his family.

    Then Mr Isobe explained 9 Chibi had learned those calls--leaving his home for school at sunrise, and arriving home at sunset, every day for six long years.

    Every one of us cried, thinking how much we had been 10 to Chibi all those long years.

    He was a boy beyond our usual imagination!

    I graduated from college recently and moved to Washington by myself While I was in college, it was really 1 to meet new people. But "out in the real world", I was finding it really hard, so I called my sister for some advice.

    My sister is five2older than I am, so she's been through all this already. When I explained my problem, she understood3. She said, "Why don't you try 4 people online?"

    "Online? Are you kidding?" I asked. "A friend of 5 chatted with a guy online, and when she finally met him face to face, he was 6 like what he said."

    My sister laughed. "But you can find other people like you — people who have just moved to town and want to make some new 7. When I first moved to New York after college, I 8a book club and a football team online. I met a lot of people that way."

    "9 you don't even like football!" I said.

    "I know," she replied. "But that didn't 10. I still had a lot of fun. You played volleyball in college. Why don't you 11a volleyball team to join? Or an art class?"

    "Yeah! I saw a website12volunteering the other day." I said. "I could volunteer for an organization here in Washington. I bet I could meet a lot of really 13people that way."

    "Good idea!" my sister answered excitedly. "Hey, you14even meet the perfect guy."

    "Thanks a lot for the 15. I'll let you know what happens. Will you be home tonight?" I said.

"No, but I'll be here all day tomorrow, so give me a call," my sister replied. "Good luck!"

    When I was eight years old, my mother told me to put my coat on because we were going to go somewhere1. Usually, that meant we were going to see someone important. I would at least get a new toy. I asked which one it would be that day, and she told me that I would get something 2than a toy. She said I would get "access（通道）to a world of toys." I had no real idea what she meant. Did that mean we were buying a toy 3?

    But we did not end up at any toy store. Neither did we finally see anyone we knew.

    4, mother pulled her car into a parking lot in front of a building that looked like something out of the past. It didn't have a modern5at all.

    We took stone steps up to the entrance. Only then I found out what this place was, because there was a sign that 6"Marcy Public Library". We pushed the door open, and my mother led me to the front desk. "I'd like to get my daughter a library card", she told the man7the desk. He asked her to fill out a form. "What kind of books do you like to read?" he asked. I was too shy to 8. I only smiled. "Well, you'll find it out in time," he said. I do not remember9I picked out that day, but I know that in the years that followed I read through books on history, books of poetry, and books about art. The library opened up a world that I 10knew that day.

    So my mother was right. Getting a library card was like getting the access to a world of toys.

    Having brothers or sisters means owning the most expensive gift in the world. With them, we do not have to live a 1 life and we can also learn a lot from them.

I 2 in a blue-collar (蓝领的) large family a few miles into the countryside outside Chicago. There were four 3 in my family and my parents lived a hard life to bring us up. Among all my sisters, Cynthia, who is four years older than I, has 4 me the most. Cynthia has never 5 to be different. She has always dared to point the unfair things out and 6 the way things were around us, trying to change the negative (消极的) situations through her own efforts. She has always had the 7 to look at life from a different and unusual perspective (角度). That made me 8 her very much. Her example gave me the courage to question things like her and taught me to explore my own world 9.

    Now we're both old 10 we're still exploring. We 11 a lot together each year and this year we're going to visit a few African countries. After experiencing more and more, I realize that it's great to grow old because without work to 12, you have more time to take trips and have adventures, like we are now. Cynthia and I have always been 13, and now in our 60s, we still keep a good relationship as ever. I'm so grateful to have such a sister.

    Do you have any brothers or sisters? If you do, you're in 14. They will be your lifelong wealth. Please 15 your time together and be a positive role model for the younger ones.