A Father's Promise for a Daughter

By Roger Horsh

I promised I'd always love you.

From the day of your own birth.

I promise I will love you more

Than anything on Earth.

I promise I will be there

On the day you learn to talk.

I promise I will hold your hands

When you begin to walk.

I promise I will wipe your tears

At the times when you are sad.

I promise I will love you still

Even if I'm mad

Each and every day.

The joy （欢乐） you give to me is strong

But, there's one more thing to say.

You are the apple of my eye.

You are my little pearl.

I'll always hold you in my heart

Cause you're Daddy's little girl.

    The poem A Father's Promise for a Daughter was written by{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. In this poem, he sings high praises(赞扬)of a father's love to his{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    This poem clearly shows the great image(形象)of a father who promises to love his daughter from the day of her birth， and who is always there to {#blank#}3{#/blank#}her hands and {#blank#}4{#/blank#}her tears, Daughter is the {#blank#}5{#/blank#}of his eye.

    The poem is short, but the ideas it expresses are deep.

    One day, when Sunee reached her house, she saw a brown package(包裹). She ran inside the house with her package and showed it to her grandmother. Sunee opened the package. As she did, she noticed there was Thai writing on the box. This package had come from her aunt in Thailand.

    Inside the box, Sunee saw something uncommon. It was a red silk umbrella. She had never seen anything like it! Next to the umbrella she found a silk purse (钱包).They were both beautiful.

    "Shipping a package overseas used to take a lot of time," said Grandmother. "Packages traveled by train and ship. It could take many months to get a package from across the ocean. How long did your package take to arrive?"

    Sunee and her grandmother looked at the postmark (邮戳). It showed that the package had been sent eight days ago. "That's fast!" said Sunee.

    Her grandmother agreed. "We have resources (资源)now that we didn't have years ago. Now, packages are flown across the ocean. Because airplanes travel so fast, packages arrive very quickly. Now our economy (经济)depends on fast delivery (快递)!"

    Here are two old stories from Chinese history. The Chinese people have told them for many years.

    One is a story about Cao Cao's son, a clever boy named Cao Chong. One day, Cao Caogot a huge elephant from Sun Quan and he wanted to know the weight of it. Because there wasn't a scale large enough, some soldiers advised him to(A)it up. But Cao Cao didn't want to kill the elephant. Just then, Cao Chong came up with a great idea. He asked some soldiers to lead the elephant onto about. As the heavy animal walked onto it, the boat went lower into the water. After Cao Chong drew a line on the side of the boat to mark how low it went, the elephant was taken off the boat. (B)The boat was filed with rocks until the water reached the line on the boat. Cao Chong then weighed the rocks. The rocks and the elephant were of the same weight. (C)曹操对他的儿子生常满意。

    The other story is about a wise man named ZhugeLiang. He was asked to make 100, 000 arrows (箭)within 10days. He told (D) his soldiers to fill 20 large boats with many straw men. In the early morning of the third day, the soldiers said the boats towards the camps of Cao Cao's army on the other side of the river. They shouted and boat their drums loud. When Cao Cao's soldiers heard the sounds, they thought they were (E)attack. However, they could not see through the thick tog on the river. Cao Caoordered his soldiers to shoot arrows towards the sounds of the drums and the shouting. Zhuge Liang got enough arrows and then sailed back successfully.

    Is sleep important for children? A new study says yes.

    In America, most people don't get enough sleep. Children aged 5 to 12 are advised to sleep 10 to 11 hours every night, but most of them can't sleep that long. A study found that about 41 million American workers got less than six hours of sleep every night. Scientists worry that parents are passing their poor sleeping habits down to their children.

    In the study, Reut Gruber and some other scientists either added or reduced(减少) one hour of sleep for healthy children aged 7 to 11. They watched the children for five nights. They wanted to know if the amount of sleep can affect(影响) a child's behavior.

    Before the study began, students were asked to sleep the same amount of hours as usual. Their teachers were asked to record their behavior. After changing the children's sleep for five nights, the teachers had to record again. According to the two records, scientists found that those who slept one hour less behaved worse than those who slept one hour more. Students with less sleep were more likely(可能的) to feel sad and had more problems paying attention.

    The scientists chose to study children in their homes instead of in a laboratory, because they wanted to find out how everyday changes might affect children's behavior at school. "In the study, nobody became a talent, and nobody became crazy. But small changes in children can really make a big difference," says Gruber.

    Han Hong is mainly known for her strong voice and her famous song Heaven's Road. In fact she is not only a singer but also does a lot for charity. When COVID-19 hit Wuhan, Han felt she should do something. She called up famous people and the public to help Wuhan. "I want to call up my friends in the art circles to donate(捐款) and help people affected by this terrible virus outbreak," the 48-year-old singer said on her Sina Weibo, which has over 15 million followers. Within just a week, a large number of Chinese pop stars and the public went into action. Over 278 million yuan and lots of medical supplies(医疗物资) have been donated through her charity organization, Han Hong Love Charity Foundation, which she founded in 2012. Thousands of fans as well as other common people answered her call to help Wuhan. "When you're going through a situation like this, you would like to offer help. There are so many kind people out there," said a fan, who donated through Han's foundation. "It's good to know that there are trucks with medical supplies going straight to the medical workers." Han turned down interviews. Her friend said she was busy coordinating(协调) work in Wuhan. "Many people don't trust charity organizations to use their donations properly. We must make sure the donation process is open and clear. Also, we update(更新) and share detailed information online, so the public know which place the goods and money come from and go to, even a packet of instant noodles." said Han Hong.