George Stephenson was born in 1781 in a poor family. He had to start work when he was only eight. When George was fourteen，he became his father's helper. He spent a lot of time learning about engines. On holidays, he often took one engine into pieces and studied each piece carefully. Soon he became a very good worker though he could not read or write.

    He began to learn the English letters when he was seventeen years old. Every day after he did twelve hours of hard work，he walked a long way to have lessons from a young teacher.

    On his eighteenth birthday, he wrote his own name for the first time in his life. George invented many things in his life. The train was the greatest one among them. Today when we watch or take trains from one place to another, we will think of this great man—George Stephenson.

    I was 8 years old when I found out my father was ill. It was 1993, but I can remember my mother's words as if it were yesterday. “Jessica, I don't want you to take food from your father, because he has AIDS. Be very careful when you are around him.”

    AIDS wasn't something we talked about in my country when I was growing up. From then on, I knew that this would be a family secret. My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone. For a while, he could take care of himself. But when I was 11, his condition worsened. My father's other children lived far away, so it fell to me to look after him.

    We couldn't afford all the necessary medication for him, and because Dad was unable to work. I had no money for school supplies and often couldn't even buy food for dinner. I would sit in class feeling completely lost, the teacher's words muffled as I was thinking how I was going to manage.

    I didn't share my burden (负担) with anyone. I had seen how people reacted to AIDS. Kids laughed at classmates who had parents with the disease. And even adults could be cruel. When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside even though he was too weak to feed himself.

    I had known that he was going to die. But after so many years of keeping his condition a secret, I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days. Sad and hopeless, I called a woman at the nonprofit (非营利的) National AIDS Support. That day, she kept me on the phone for hours. I was so lucky to find someone who cared. She saved my life.

    I was 14 when my father died. He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me. He didn't want to call attention to AIDS. I do.

    I am a karate(空手道) player. I still remember my first karate competition. Like other players,

I was very excited about my event. I watched every player's skills so that I could carefully avoid their moves.

    Somehow, I got into the semifinals(半决赛). In the semifinals, I fell down and hurt myself. I still didn't give up, so I fought back and got into finals. After all, getting the gold medal was my dream.

    In the final competition, there were no supporters on my side, as I was a new face. Instead, the crowd was cheering for my opponent(对手). I could hear only my opponent's name.

    I didn't mind the crowd's cheering. I kept one thing in mind: focus, wait and attack. I had confidence in myself, and I knew that no matter how strong my opponent was, I had to give it my best shot and fight well.

    When the time was up, I was leading with a 3—0 score. One thing I learned from that event is, no matter how strong your opponent is, don't think you are weak or strong. Just give your best shot, and you will make your way to success.

    Win or lose, you will gain important experiences. Learn from every step you take.

    Mary is a housewife with two 1. She is not good at 2 and it has always been the target (目标) of family jokes.

    One evening, Mary got ready for dinner a bit too 3. The kitchen started to fill with smoke and the smoke detector (烟雾报警器) went 4. 5 both of Mary's children had fire-safety 6 at school, they did not react (反应) to the alarm. Mary 7 annoyed (恼怒的). She stormed through the house in search of the two kids.

    She found 8 in the bathroom, washing their hands. Over the loud noise of the smoke alarm, she asked them 9 the sound was.

    "It's the smoke detector," they replied.

    "Do you know what that 10 means?" she asked.

    "Sure," the oldest replied. "Dinner's ready."

    Max is one of my good friends. I first met him two years ago when he knocked on my door (敲我的门)."Hello," he said warmly. "My name is Max, and I've just moved in next door, so I'm your new neighbor."

    Max is a handsome, well-dressed young man in his twenties. He is quite tall and thin with brown eyes and black hair. He likes wearing sports clothes. He works in a hospital and goes to work early every day.

    He has a great sense of humor (幽默感). I love to listen to his interesting stories. What's more, he is a very kind-hearted person, and is always ready to help people in need. He often does volunteer work (志愿者工作) in an old people' s home. Because of him, more and more young people in our neighborhood want to help there.

    He enjoys dangerous sports such as bungee jumping (蹦极跳). He is a great dancer, too. He goes to the dance club every Tuesday and Saturday.

    All in all, life is never boring when Max is around. Who wouldn't be happy to have him as a friend and neighbor?

    It was raining heavily as I was walking up the hill towards the station at six o'clock on a Saturday morning. Just as I was crossing the road near the top of the hill, a car came around the corner. It was traveling very fast. Suddenly it hit a lamp post (路灯杆) and turned over.

    I ran to the car to help the driver at once. He was badly hurt and there was a lot of blood on his face. Many people came to see what had happened and there was nothing we could do. A young woman hurried into the station and phoned for an ambulance (救护车). A policeman arrived a few minutes later and asked me a lot of questions about the accident. After a while the ambulance arrived and the driver was sent to the hospital.

    On Monday morning I went to the hospital to see the man. The doctor told me that he was much better, and he would leave the hospital after a few days' rest.