As a student, I was most afraid to answer questions in class, and I found that the students around were just like me. At the beginning of each class, when the teacher asked a question, I always lowered my head because I was afraid the teacher saw me.

One day, in a foreign language class, Mr. Black gave us a lesson. He wanted us to be active in class, so he asked us some questions, but no one answered. "Let me tell you a story first," he said.

"When I came to the United States to study, the university often invited famous people to make speeches. Before the beginning of every speech, I found an interesting thing. The students around me always took a cardboard folded(折叠的) in half, wrote their names in bold(黑体) with the most eye-catching(引人注目的) color, and then placed the cardboard on the seat. So when the speaker needed the answers from the students, he could see it and call a listener's name directly."

"I couldn't understand that. My classmate told me the speakers were all top people, who meant chances. When your answer was to his surprise, it meant he might give you more chances. In fact, I really saw a few students got great chances because of that."

    After listening to the story, I understood that the chance will not find you itself. You must show yourself all the time so that you can find a chance on the card.

    Carmen is a twelve-year-old girl. She has a sister and her name is Kara. Kara is ten years old.

    Tonight, Carmen and Kara want to make dinner for the family. They want to make pizza because all their family like it. They need to buy the ingredients（原料）for the pizza. So, their dad drives them to the supermarket.

    When they get to the supermarket, Carmen and Kara look for the ingredients. Soon they get all of them and go to pay for them. They are 30 dollars.

    They put the ingredients in the car. Their dad drives them home.

    When they get home, Carmen and Kara take the ingredients out of the car. They take them to the kitchen.

    In the kitchen, they clean the vegetables. Then, they cut the vegetables. Next, they take out the crust（面包皮）. They put the ingredients on top of the crust. Finally they put the pizza in the oven（烤箱）.

    They take the pizza out of the oven in thirty minutes.

    "The pizza smells good!" says their mother.

    "We think so!" say Carmen and Kara.

    The family are happy, and they eat the pizza for dinner.

    Seven students live together in a large, bright room. The school wants students to learn to live together and think for others. Four counselors take care of them during the daytime. At least one counselor is on duty at all times.

    During the night, one counselor is on duty. In the morning, he or she helps the children get ready for school, have breakfast and go to their classroom.

    Young people learn to live together in the group. They learn about others, and they learn about themselves by watching others.

    Helen Keller lived in the U.S.A. She was a great woman.

    When Helen was a baby, she got very sick. After many weeks, the doctor said, "She is better, but now she can't see or can't hear." Her mother and father were very sad.

    After a few years, things got worse. There was no way for Helen to speak with other people. She heard nothing. She saw nothing. She didn't understand anything.

    Then one day a teacher came to live with Helen and her family. The teacher helped Helen learn about words. Helen was a very bright child and soon she learned to spell her first word. When she was older, she went to college.

    Helen was very famous. She helped many blind (盲) and deaf (聋) people. She traveled around the world and helped many people.

    Helen was a very old woman when she died. The world remembers her today as a brave and wonderful person. She was blind and deaf, but she found a way to see and hear.

For many children, their birthday is their favorite day. They like spending it with their parents and friends. All parents want to hold (举办) wonderful birthday parties for their children.

Last Saturday was Tom's fourth birthday. His mother, Mrs. Green, helped him to invite six friends to their house. She held a very nice party for Tom.

Mrs. Green prepared for the party for a long time. She thought about their ages, the activities, the time, the food, the cake and the gifts. She said,"Don't let the party last(持续) too long. For children's party, 90 minutes or two hours is enough. "At the party, Mrs.Green chose a nice cake for the children. She also prepared some gifts for them. They were very happy.