When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I would make it home for the holidays. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have the three-day holiday posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers. It was Christmas Eve when I arrived home, and a little snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood, there were lights, all colors, and ornaments (饰品) shining against the green of a pine.

    “Where did it come from?” I asked.

    “I asked the Gates boy to cut it,” my mother said. “I wouldn't have had one just for myself, but when in great need…such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon.”

    The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the Tree Top Crystal Star was in its place. A few green branches reached out a little awkwardly(难看) at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with the pleasant smell of Christmas.

    “It's not like the one you used to find,” my mother went on. “Yours were always in good shape. I suppose the Gates boy didn't know where to look for a better one. But I couldn't be fussy because he had tried his best.”

    “Don't worry,” I told her. “It's perfect.”

    It wasn't, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time: all Christmas trees are perfect.

    Jerry, 30 years old, owned a pizza restaurant. He lived in a flat about one mile north of the restaurant. He walked to and from work. When it was raining, he took the bus.

    Jerry loved gangster（匪徒）movies. When a new on came out, he would go to the theater and watch the new movie three or four times. Then, when it went to video, Jerry would buy the video at Tom's Video Store. Jerry had a home collection of over 1, 000 gangster videos. Old ones, new ones; coloured, black and white; English, Spanish, Japanese-he loved them all. He could tell you the name of the movie, the director, the stars, and the story.

    Jerry finally decided that he would like to own a gun, just like the gangsters. So he saved his money and one day he went to a gun store and bought one for $300. On Saturday morning, he went to the gun club to practise shooting 射击）. He was in the club for only 10 minutes when he accidentally（偶然）dropped his gun. The gun went off, and the bullet（子弹）went into Jerry's right knee（膝盖）.

    Jerry now walks with a walking stick, just like some gangsters.

   The Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui, known in the country for the "walking expression package", appeared at CCTV's annual Spring Festival Gala, the

   Most watched television program in China.

   Fu Yuanhui is a China's swimmer. She came third in Women's 100-meter backstroke(仰泳) finals at Rio Olympics in 2016. People became crazy about the 1996-borm girl, not because of her performance or her achievement, but because of her cheerful answers.

   Finishing the 100- meter backstroke with 58. 95 seconds, Fu thought it was 59 seconds, and she was quite surprised with the result. This was the first moment when she impressed Chinese audience(观众) with her surprising look and body language in front of the camera. The second time was her honest and direct answer to the question: "We know that your body condition was not that good in the past year and it's not easy to have such a result. Do you think you are now as good as before?" "It is my best score ever. I have worked for three months on the recovery(康复). Only the ghost knows, what I have come through," said Fu. "It was so painstaking that sometimes I felt like I was going to die."

   In the interview, Fu used a phrase "Hong Huang Zhi Li" to describe the great efforts she had made. The word soon became a popular word on the Internet.

    Facebook says it is working on technology to allow us to control computers directly with our brains. It is developing "silent speech" software to allow people to type at a rate of 100 words per minute, it says. The project, in its early stages, will require new technology to detect brainwaves without needing invasive operation. "We are not talking about monitoring your random thoughts," assured Facebook's Regina Dugan. "You have many thoughts, and you choose to share some of them. We're talking about monitoring those words. A silent speech interface(界面) — one with all the speed and flexibility(灵活) of voice. "

Ms Dugan is the company's head of Building 8, the firm's hardware research lab. The company said it intends to build both the hardware and software to achieve its goal, and has employed a team of more than 60 scientists and academics to work on the project.

On his Facebook page, Mark Zuckerberg added, "Our brains produce enough data to stream four HD(高清) movies every second. The problem is that the best way we have to get information out into the world-speech can only send about the same amount of data as a 1980s modem. We're working on a system that will let you type straight from your brain about five times faster than you can type on your phone today. Finally, we want to turn it into a wearable technology that can be produced in quantity. "

Technology is going to have to get a lot more advanced before we can share a pure thought or feeling, but this is a first step. Other ideas detailed at the company's developers conference in San Jose included work to allow people to "hear" through skin. The system, comparable to Braille, uses pressure points on the skin to pass information. "One day, not so far away, it may be possible for me to think in Chinese, and you to feel it instantly in Spanish," Ms Dugan said.

Every girl dreams and Lisa is no exception. She has read dozens of books on how to be a ballerina(芭蕾舞女演员). "Swan Lake" is her favorite. She hopes one day her dream will come true. She has taken ballet lessons and all her teachers are sure she is a good student.

One day she saw a poster that a famous ballerina group will be performing in her hometown. Confidence filled her heart and she was so excited. Her thoughts soon ran wild. "I must meet up with the leader of the group and show him my skills," she whispered to herself. When the troupe(舞团) arrived, Lisa put on her ballet outfit(芭蕾舞装) and hid in the dressing room. To her luck, the leader entered and she timidly(胆怯地) knocked at the door. She bravely approached him and handed him a bunch of red roses. The thorns(刺) hurt her hand but she did not care about the pain. The leader watched her action as she told him her dream. "Alright, you dance and then I will give you my conclusion." But half way through the dance he stopped her and said, "I'm sorry you're not good enough!" On hearing this Lisa ran as fast as her legs could carry her and was upset. She decided to give up her dream.

Many years later, she heard that the same ballet troupe was performing in her town again. Bitter memories of the leader's unfriendly words came flooding back to her. This time she decided to find out why the leader had told her she was not good enough. This was his reply, "I tell this to every student." Then she got a further shock from the leader, "I remember your gift of roses and how the thorns had hurt your fingers but you carried on bravery. If you had treated ballet like that and did not give up so easily, therefore, you still deserve my conclusion!"

Every student knows the importance of taking notes in class. But the skill of note-taking isn't only used in school. Adults also need to take notes in meetings or training courses for work. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

At the beginning of a class or meeting, write down the date and topic in your notebook. It will help you keep your notes organized.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Trying to write down everything the speaker says will only make you angry. Instead, listen for the key ideas the speaker wants to communicate.

If the speaker uses a PowerPoint, you don't need to copy the slides ( 幻灯片) {#blank#}3{#/blank#}If so, you can just write the key words the speaker says. Or you can take pictures with your mobile phone. Sometimes, the PowerPoint is provided before the class or meeting {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Review your notes as soon as possible. In this way, you can add any information that you didn't t write down. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Note-taking is a useful skill, so you need to practice more to do it well.

A. Pay attention to the most important points. 

B. If so, print it out so that you can write notes on it.

C. You can also review the material while it' s still fresh on your mind.

D. Here are some ways to help you develop this important skill.

E. Ask if the PowerPoint will be provided later.