The Water City of Venice

    In 1980s, I went to Italy for business. One day, I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in a neighboring town of Venice(威尼斯), Italy, the city of lights and 1.

    As we enjoyed our coffee, a young man2 glasses entered and sat at an empty table beside us. He called the waiter and placed his order saying, “Two cups of coffee, one of them there 3 the wall.”

    We heard this order with interest and found that he 4 with one cup of coffee but he paid for two.

    When he left, the waiter 5 a piece of paper on the wall saying “A Cup of Coffee”.

    While we were still there, 6 middle-aged men entered and ordered three cups of coffee, two on the table and one on the wall. They had two cups of coffee but 7 three and left. This time also, the waiter did the same. He put a piece of paper on the wall saying, “A Cup of Coffee”.

    It was 8 and perplexing(困惑)for us. We finished our coffee, paid the bill and left.

    After a few days, we had a chance  9 this coffee shop again. While we were enjoying our coffee, a man 10 dressed entered. As he seated himself, he 11 the wall and said, “One cup of coffee from the wall.”

    The waiter served coffee to this man with the customary(惯常的)respect. The man had his coffee and left  12 paying.

    We were amazed to watch all this, as the waiter 13 a piece of paper from the wall and threw it into the rubbish bin.

    Now it was no 14 for us-the matter was very clear. The great respect for the needy shown by the inhabitants(居民)of this town 15 our eyes well up in tears.

    Many years later, when I went to Venice for business again, I did the same thing as my appreciation to this beautiful world.

    What will life be like in 2050? It's difficult to   1 . In the year 2050 everyone will have a   2at home. The computer will show people many things. There will  3  be machines in the future. They can do lots of things  4   people. Then people will work only two or three days in  5   week.

    Now let me tell you about my    6   in 2050. In the morning, robots are going to cook breakfast for me. Then I'm going to  7  to work. I can get to my office in my car soon. I'm going to 8 my work in three hours. In the afternoon, I will go home and talk with my friends through a cell phone. I can talk with 9at the same (同一的) time. In the evening, I'm going to fly to another (另一个) city and have   10 with my parents. It is Sunday tomorrow. I am going to fly to the moon to spend my weekend.

ABADA    BACAD

    It's very common to meet different people in public places.

    When I was  12 years old, I got a small job in a 1,On my first day at work, I didn't come home for lunch. When I came home at night, Mum asked, “How did you 2 your lunch, dear?" I answered, "I made some new friends in the supermarket, twin brothers, their mom and dad. They were my customers. They invited me 3 lunch."

    Mum was happy that I had made new friends but she wanted to know what kinds of 4they might be.

    Several days later, I asked my friends to come to the supermarket where l worked5let Mum meet them. Mum was very 6 to find out that the twin brothers were joined at the chest（胸部）.She felt very strange because I didn't tell her about that before.

    When Mum asked me about this, I said, "I know that too. But do you know that their mom has to make all clothes because it's 7 difficult to find anything to fit them? They're also good 8  .That day, Joe, the one on the right, made me noodles for lunch."

    When Mum saw the twins, she must have thought how strange they9But to me, what I cared about was that they had difficulty10clothes and they were good cooks.

    “Troublemaker” was the name given to my friend, Peter, by his teachers. They also said that he had no future and no hope! But now I suggest that anyone who said that should say “1” to him.

    Peter finished Grade Nine, and then went on to study at a technical college. He became the leader of a group of bad boys. After graduation he had2to do, so he just hung around with his friends.

    It looked like nothing could change his life until the day his father died. He3the bad boys and went to help his mother who sold food by the roadside.

    He really pitied his mother and wanted to do something to4her. He loved reading comic books and had been collecting them for years, so he decided that he should sell them. Soon he realized that his5were very popular. So he decided to6his own business. He went around buying comic books from other people. He bought them for 25% and then7them for half price.

    These days, he doesn't have to go around looking for comic books because there are8people coming to his shop to sell their old ones. Now he makes about 55,000 baht (泰铢) a month.

    Peter was a “troublemaker” to his teachers but he is a hero to me.9you are considered by others as a “bad student”, I suggest you ignore (不理睬) what they say. Just do your best in everything. Believe me, one day you can be10, too.

    It was a hot, sunny day .The waves(浪)off Santa Barbara were almost three feet high because of a strong wind. Surfers(冲浪者)were having fun. Then the fun 1. One surfer started shouting. Surfers on the 2 saw his arms going up and down. He went under water. Then he came back 3, shouting for help.

    "He was in big 4," said one woman. She called 911. He was still shouting and 5.

    They could not see a shark(鲨鱼), but they 6 the surfer was being attacked(袭击)by one. Again, the surfer went under. Four surfers jumped onto their boards and swam quickly out to the surfer. By the time they got to him, he was 7. The shark had given up on the taste of the swimwear and the fight with the surfer.

    The 24-year-old man was in great pain, but he was still alive. The surfers put him on a board and swim back to the beach. "I don't think he's going to make it," said someone on the beach. "Look at his 8."

    A helicopter(直升机)arrived quickly and doctors jumped out. They 9 the surfers and the woman for their help, and took the man to the hospital. An hour later, the hospital said that the surfer would keep on 10. The man lost one of his legs but he was still so lucky