Title: To be a {#blank#}1{#/blank#} student

                                                                                                                                                                       Jim.
    P.S. it's hot here.

A.You should let your cat inside.

B. Going outside is bad for cats, too.

C. Keeping a cat is good for you.

D. The birds are fewer and fewer in America.

E. Cats can bring illness.

F. Cats kill many birds and small animals every year.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Many kinds of birds live in the United States，but the number of the birds is becoming smaller every year. One of the leading reasons is the growing number of pet cats. By keeping your pet cats in your home，you can help give birds a better possible chance to live.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Of the 90 million pet cats in this country，about two­thirds are allowed to go outside. It is said that these cats kill hundreds of millions of birds each year as well as billions of small animals such as rabbits and field mice.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}They can also bring illness to the animals that live in people's yard(院子)，and further weakening(变弱)the health of the natural populations.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Allowing pet cats to go outside is not just bad for birds and wildlife(野生动物). It is bad for the cats themselves, too. Outdoor cats can get sick very easily. They may be in danger from traffic and attacks(攻击)from other animals. In fact，outdoor cats usually don't pass the age of five, while indoor cats often live to be 17 or older.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Keep your pet cat inside！If you raise a young cat, it's your duty to let it play inside.

    Mr. Beynolds, my teacher, handed us a list of thoughts, and asked us to write a paper on one of those thoughts. I chose the topic “I wonder why things are the way they are.”

    I wrote down all the questions that puzzled(困扰) me about life. I realized that many of them were hard to answer, and perhaps others could not be answered at all. When I handed in my paper, I was afraid that I might fail because I did not answer the questions.

    The next day, Mr. Reynolds handed me the paper and asked me to read it for the class. The other students became quiet as I began to read my story:

    Mum, why are the roses red? Why is the grass green and the sky blue? Why do I have to graduate(毕业)? Why do I have to grow up? Why do I have to be called “Grandma” on day? ...

    Dad, why can't I stay out until 12:00? Why do I miss my old friends? Why do I miss being at home? Why do you love me so much? ...

    Mum, Dad, why did you have to leave me? I need you.

    At the end of my story, I looked at Mr. Reynolds, and I saw a tear slowly coming down his face. Then I realized that life is not built on the answers we receive, but on the questions we asks.

    While you are at the bookstore, you may be faced with a difficult decision: e­ books or paper books? Each one has its advantages and disadvantages. Making the best decision depends on a number of factors(因素).

    An e­ reader can carry a whole library wherever you go, which is great for travelers or those who always want a choice of reading materials. Although e­ readers are convenient, high levels of screen brightness from an electronic device(电子设备) can cause eye problems. A study in the Information Science Research found that young people preferred e­ readers, like smart phones or iPads. That's why most teenagers are short­sighted.

    Many book lovers prefer paper books and value the feeling of them. Paper books are very well designed, they look and smell good, and they carry with them a more human touch. Avid(热衷的) readers prefer reading on paper .Perhaps this is their choice because paper books give them a sense of ownership .It is reported that reading on paper rather than an electronic screen is better for memory and focus .But paper books are heavy and they are not convenient to carry.

    Which is your decision, an e ­book or a paper book?

    Bobsledding (雪橇运动) is a fast and exciting winter sport. A bobsled has a two-person team or a four-person team and it goes at about 100 kilometers an hour. When a bobsled team goes down the course, the other teams wait and watch. Then each team tries to go down faster than the others. Each team can try several times. In the end, the fastest team wins the. prize.

    This is a true story about a bobsledder, Eugenio Monti from Italy. The year was 1964. The place was the bobsled course at the Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. The two best teams were Eugenio Monti's Italian team and Tony Nash's British team. After their first two runs, these two teams were equal (同等的). Then the Italians made their third run, and it was the fastest of all. The British team got ready for their third run, but suddenly a bolt (螺栓) on their bobsled broke. The British bobsled could not go down.

    When Monti heard this, he took a bolt from his bobsled and sent it to the British team. The British team put the bolt on their bobsled. They went down very fast and won. The British team got the gold medal (金牌), but everyone talked about Monti. They called him a great sportsman. He also got a special prize, the 1964 International Fair Play Trophy ( 国际公平竞赛奖杯). Many people think this trophy is a greater prize than a gold medal. It was new then, but now it is given every year to a great sportsman or sportswoman.