Bill and Cathy wanted to go on a holiday. They chose a place called Maldives（马尔代夫）. And they decided {#blank#}1{#/blank#} there for two weeks in spring，because the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} there was perfect at that time. They thought they would have a {#blank#}3{#/blank#} trip. But their tip was more like a nightmare（噩梦）!

    The plane {#blank#}4{#/blank#} off twelve hours later because of the bad weather. And they couldn't fly to Maldives {#blank#}5{#/blank#} there was a storm. They had to fly to the capital city instead. There they stayed in a small hotel near the airport.

    The hotel was next to the sea, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the sea was so dirty that they couldn't swim in it. The food in the hotel was awful, too. For breakfast there {#blank#}7{#/blank#} only bread and milk! Because of the bad weather, they had to stay {#blank#}8{#/blank#} another night in the small hotel. And they had {#blank#}9{#/blank#} to do. It was so boring. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} , they arrived in Maldives three days later. And someone told them the weather there had been wonderful all the time!

An old farmer lived with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was always up early to read. One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! What good does reading do?"

Grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out(漏出) before he got back home. Grandpa laughed, "You'll have to move a little faster next time." This time the boy ran faster, but again the same took place. It was an impossible task.

The old man said, "You're just not trying hard enough." So the boy tried a third time and failed. He said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless? Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had turned from a dirty coal basket into a clean one inside and outside.

"You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read, you will be changed, inside and outside."

Justin was so good at basketball that he could beat any of the older guys at the court, and the younger guys didn't have any chances. But one day everything changed. When Justin was shooting around at the local court, some guys from another neighborhood appeared before him. The biggest one said that he had heard that Justin was the best and he wanted to see if it was true. Justin didn't want to play. But his cousin begged," Come on, Justin, beat this guy!" Justin decided to do what his cousin wanted.

Just as Justin was going to win, the big guy knocked him down hard. Justin broke his right leg. The doctor said he might never play basketball again.

During the first six weeks, Justin just lay in bed with his leg in a long cast. He watched TV all day and ate one bag of potato chips after another. Justin blew up like a balloon as he watched his future fade away as a basketball player.

Then Justin's sister Kiki came home from the university, bringing exciting stories of a far away land called college During those days, they talked and studied together, and Justin felt much better. Because of that, he realized he shouldn't give himself up. Basketball used to be his favorite thing, and he was good at it. But now there was only school, so he had to get good at that.

Justin worked so hard. By the time he got to senior year in high school, his GPA was high. The last thing that Justin had to do to get into college was score well on the ACT. Well wouldn't you know it?

Using the study skills he had learned from his sister, Justin made a score of 24 on the ACT.

Every university that Justin applied to accepted him. When the fall came, Justin had his choice in colleges.

    Karan Singh is just like any other five-year-old- except for the fact that he is 5 feet 7 inches tall! When he was born, he was 15 pounds- the usual1of a newborn baby is about half of this, and he was four inches taller than the usual baby.2his height and weight at birth, his father Sanjay thought there might be something wrong with him, but doctors found he was3and really fine.

    Before he could walk or talk, Karan was made into The Guinness Book of World Records in 2008 as the tallest and heaviest newborn baby. Karan clearly4his mother, Shweatlana, who is 7 feet 3 inches tall and one of the5women in South Asia! Sanjay is also quite tall at 6 feet 7 inches.

    Being so tall isn't always a great thing for Karan and his6. Karan used to get bullied about his height, but he doesn't anymore. "But they all say that I am cheating when we7 basketball," Karan said.

    Shweatlana also had trouble finding diapers that fit him when he was8and still has trouble finding children's clothes for him sometimes. "Now I just buy him adult size9. They fit him perfectly well," she said.

    She is also10about her health and that her son might have the same condition she has. "I used to get about 1.5 inches of height every year because of too much growth hormone. I sometimes feel afraid that my son has the same disease as I have. But I know he is doing well and he will grow up to be a nice and healthy person."

"Spell ‘champion,'" Scott told his elder sister.

"C-h-a-m-p-i-o-n."

Unsure about it, Scott still cheered, "You'll win the spelling bee (拼写大赛)!"

Lucy thanked, happy but worried, wondering if her dog Senator would be looked after well when she was away for a week.

"Dad and I will keep him perfectly!" said Scott, dreaming of getting his own pet if he could prove himself.

It was time to leave. Dad wished Lucy good luck.

"See you in a w-e-a-k," Scott said.

"W-e-e-k," Lucy corrected him and said, "Bye!"

Each morning Scott woke up early to feed Senator, leaving a note to remind Dad. After that Scott continued to sleep.

A week later, Lucy returned and told the family she failed. Then she found her dog sick. Scott felt sorry but confused, because he'd been a strict direction-follower.

They came to the animal hospital. After the examination, Lucy was angry, "A terrible stomachache! How could Senator put on two pounds in such a short time?"

Dad said, "I only fed him two scoops of dog food every morning."

Scott shouted, "Dad! You fed him again? Didn't you read my note? It says I've fed him!"

It took Lucy a while to understand before asking Scott how to spell "fed".

"F-e-e-d? Scott! ‘Fed' is spelled f-e-d. But your note says f-e-e-d, telling Dad to feed the dog!"

"So Senator was fed twice?" Dad asked.

Scott said sorry, "I just wanted to be responsible so I could get a dog for my next birthday."

"OK. I'll teach you how to spell correctly and train myself for next year's spelling bee," Lucy said.

"You have a few months to practice before you get one for your birthday," Dad added. 

Scott burst into laughter.

"Having a little brother isn't so bad," Lucy told Senator, "if he can help f-e-e-d!"

There is a very important place in my life. That is my grandpa's 1 . My grandpa lives in a small village (村庄). The village is far 2 the city. It is at the foot of a hill (小山)with all kinds of flowers, 3 it's very beautiful. There are many trees on the hill, too. The air in the village is very fresh.  There are many 4 , at my age in the village. When I go to my grandpa's home in the summer holiday. I always play with 5 . We often play football, sing and dance. The children are very 6 to me and I'm happy to be with them. Sometimes they come to my grandpa's home to visit me. We sit under a big tree in front of my grandpa's house to 7 my grandpa's interesting stories. Sometimes I take my computer with me to my grandpa's home. I teach them how to use the computer. They all like to watch soccer games on the 8 with me. We become very good friends soon. Now many workers are building(修建) a wide road through the 9 . The traffic will be very easy. I'm going to spend (花费) my summer holidays in my grandpa's home every year because I 10 my grandpa and my good friends. I also miss my grandpa's house very much.