A large cat arrived at a farm where many mice lived. None of them dared go outside for fear of being 1by the cat.

    The mice decided to hold a 2to find a way of stopping themselves from being in3.One day, when the cat was out, mice of all ages4into the meeting room.

    “Let's build a big trap,” one mouse5.When this idea was6,another said, “What about poisoning(毒死）her?” But7knew where to buy the poison. One young mouse, whose mother had become the cat's food,8said, “Let's cut her teeth, so she can do no more harm,” But the meeting did not accept his9. At last, one mouse,10than the rest, jumped onto a table. Waving a bell, he called for11. “Be quiet!” we'll tie this bell to cat's tail, so we'll always know12 she is! We'll have13to escape, and the slower and weaker mice will hear her coming and he able to14!”Hearing the words, everyone got15and they congratulated him on his good idea.

    We'll tie it so tightly(紧紧地）that it will never16!”

    “she'll never be able to walk17again! Why, the other day, she suddenly appeared right in front of me! Just imagine....”

    However, the wise mouse said, “We must18who is going to tie it on her tail.” There was not a sound in the room. Nobody was19enough to put the plan into action. The meeting ended without any decision being made.

    It's often very20to have bright ideas, but putting them into practice is a more difficult matter.

    My family and I were on our way to Pennsylvania and it was the middle of a snowstorm. We were almost there when we got stuck in a 1 traffic jam. Cars stretched (延伸)ahead of us and behind us as 2 as we could see. We sat in the same 3 without moving for seven hours. We 4periodically to see if the5 ahead of us were moving, which they had never been6there was a large 18-wheeler truck in front of us, my mom had to 7 the door to see around the 18-wheeler to get a 8 of the traffic jam in front of us. All we could do was sit and 9.At no time did any of us fall asleep or stop10 attention, because we were always checking up on the traffic. We sat for hours and heard11 about the cause of the traffic jam from the12and the only person we talked to was a truck driver13 us, who didn't know anything about it either.14after seven hours, the truck in front of us began moving slowly and we were happy to get moving, but when we15in front of the truck, there were absolutely NO cars to be seen, and NONE behind us16 one 18-wheeler. The only other vehicle besides those was the one of the trucker that had been next to us the 17 time. There were no signs of a traffic jam the entire 18 of our trip. It was as though the cars had all 19To this day we have no 20 as to how this could have happened.

    A town mouse and a country mouse were friends. The country mouse one day1his friend to come to visit. He wanted his friend to come and see him at his home in the 2. The town mouse came and they sat down to a 3of roots and corn. The country mouse 4the food and he asked his friend to eat more. But his friend didn't think the food was 5.

    After 6for a while, the town mouse finally said, "My 7friend, you live here no better than the ants. Now, you should just see8I live! There is plenty of nice food in my room. You must come and 9with me. I'm sure you will enjoy your 10there." The country mouse wanted to eat better food, so he11.

    When the town mouse12 town, he took the country mouse with him. He showed the visitor into his room which had a lot of nice food. The country mouse had 13seen anything like that and sat down to enjoy the food his friend 14. But right before they had15, the door opened and someone came in. The two mice 16and hid themselves in a narrow hole. After a while, when it was17again, they came out. But someone else came in, and they hid again. This was too much for the18. "Goodbye," said the country mouse, "I'm off. You have a lot of nice food to eat, I can see, but there is so much19 around you. Though I can only enjoy my simple dinner of roots and corn, I can live20in my hole. "

Happy Maggie

    During my childhood I experienced greater hardships than most people go through in a lifetime. In my short 17 years of life, I have been1five divorces of my parents. Having a new stepmother or stepfather every few years was2, but the constant moving was worse. My father's cancer diagnosis3 me apart, and his two heart attacks and4 with diabetes put a huge pressure on the family. By age 13, I was5and emotionally scarred. I felt like I had no one to6and that nothing would ever get better. Then I met Maggie, and my attitude towards life changed.

    For many summers, I 7 at a horse-riding camp for people with special needs. We taught children and adults specialized skills8their abilities. For example, we would teach a child with autism(自闭症)9skills, or a child with cerebral palsy(脑瘫) strength-building exercise. Each volunteer was10a specific child during eight weeks. A few weeks later, I was asked to11 another volunteer who was sick. That was the day my12 on life changed forever.

    As I began to work with her, I looked through her file to get more information, which was 13. She had been physically abused as a newborn and throughout her infancy. Her birth parents14her so badly that they caused her a serious brain injury by the age of two. Her skull had been broken, however, the amazing thing about Maggie was her15attitude.

    When I met Maggie, she was 12, and she would say16but "I'm happy!" If you asked her" How old are you?", "I'm happy" she replied each time. Everyone at the camp17her "Happy Maggie".

    My life growing up was a huge struggle, 18Maggie taught me not to get in the way of happiness. Nothing bad in life should be enough to change19I am. She gave me20. If I learned anything from Maggie, it would be, no matter what, be happy.

    A kind－hearted stranger donates kidney to save a mum's life after seeing Facebook plea(请求). Stacey Hewitt, from Redcar, received the kidney from donor Louise Drewer, of Scunthorpe, who became the first British woman to donate a kidney to a 1 as a result of Facebook. A mum suffering kidney failure has received a transplant 2 her dad's making a plea onFacebook. Stacey Hewitt, 26, was facing a bleak(暗淡的) 3 so her father Darren 4 the SOS in the search for a donor.

    Louise Drewery, 37, was so 5 by the message that she decided to go under the knife—becoming the first British woman to donate a kidney to a stranger as a result of a Facebookplea. The transplant was a(n) 6 and Stacey could feel the 7 immediately. She said: "It's amazing and I can't 8 Louise enough.

    Before the operation, Stacey was 9 tired and could only walk short distances as her kidneys failed. Without a transplant she would have become very sick and 10 lifelong dialysis(透析).

    Darren's Facebook message said: "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, is there anyone out there that would like to donate a kidney to help my daughter？" He added: "She has kidney disease and needs a transplant as soon as possible. She is the mother of our three－year－old grandson and finds it hard to 11 properly because of the illness."

    The message soon spread. 12 the reaction, Darren said: "Within seconds my inbox went mad." Mum－of－two Louise said one of the reasons why she 13 to help her was that she was worried about Stacey's son Alfie. "When I saw the message, I knew that 14 I could help, I would."

    After 13 months of 15, it was concluded that Louise, of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, could donate a kidney to Stacey, who lives 70 miles north in Redcar.

    Stacey's 16 parents visited Louise before the transplant, with Darren calling her "an absolute 17". The operation was 18 at the Institute of Transplantation at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

    Professor Derek Manas, director of the institute, said: "A lot of people just want to give to humanity and it has opened my 19. It's amazing that people are20 to do this."

    Little was road testing his mountain bike outside of Columbus, when his riding partner, Dixon, stopped suddenly. Something in the distance moving among the trees had 1 her attention. It 2 to be a five-month-old dog.

    "He was really thin and had a 3 leg," Little told CBS News. The cyclists fed the dog and 4 their water. They realized that the dog was coming with them, although they had no 5 how they could be. They were more than seven miles from downtown and riding bikes. "We couldn't 6 him," Little told the Ledger-Enquirer. "Out there, he was going to 7 others' food."

    Little had an idea. He carefully 8 up his new friend and slipped (使滑入) the dog's hind (后面的) legs into the back 9 of his cycling clothes. Then he put the dog's front paws (爪子) over his 10.

    "He was injured, so he wasn't trying to 11," Little says. "It was also 12 that we were there and ready to help."

    They came to a 13. There they got more water and food for the dog. That was when Shaw passed 14. The dog 15 her, licking (舔) her, Shaw found the dog was lovable and, after learning what had happened, 16, "I am keeping this dog. "

    Shaw named him Columbo 17 the town where they'd met and scheduled a (n) 18 on his broken leg. Today, Columbo is living on a farm with a horse and a six-year-old boy to keep him 19. As Dixon said, "He is the 20 dog alive."