A poor farmer had a friend who was famous for the wonderful apple trees he grew.

    One day, his friend gave the farmer a young apple tree and told him to plant it. The farmer was pleased with the gift, but he did not know where to plant it.

    He was afraid that if he planted the tree near the road, strangers would steal the fruit. If he planted the tree in one of his fields, his neighbours would come at night and steal some of the apples. If he planted the tree near his house, his children would take the fruit. Finally he planted the tree in his woods. But without sunlight and good soil(土壤), the tree soon died.

    Later the friend asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in such a poor place. "What's the difference?" the farmer said angrily and then told what he had thought.

    "Yes, "said the friend, "but at least someone could have enjoyed the fruit. Now you not only have robbed everyone of the fruit, but also you have destroyed(毁掉) a good apple tree!"

    Today is Saturday．It's also the Teachers' Day, Lily and Tom's mother's festival．They get up early in the morning and want to help their mother do the housework．They first clean the room and then wash the clothes．And then they make breakfast for their mother Lisa．

    It takes Lily and Tom a long time to make the breakfast．They make a chicken hamburger and some salad．These are Lisa's favourite food．They also prepare(准备) a glass of milk．They think it's healthy for their mother．Then they go to their parents' room with the food and drink.

    Dad sits on the sofa and reads a newspaper to Lisa．There is much interesting news(新闻) in it．Lisa also thinks it is fun．They seem very happy．“Good morning, Mum and Dad,” say Lily and Tom．Then they walk to their mother and say: “Mum, Happy Teachers' Day!”

Lisa looks at the children and the breakfast．“Thank you so much!” Lisa feels very warm now.

    Wendy is manager of customer service at ABC Products. She received the following letters from customers. Read the letters and answer the questions.

    In English, people use many expressions(表达) with the word "dog". People in the west love their dogs and treat them well. Dogs without owners to care for them lead a very different kind of life: The expression' to lead a dog's life" means living an unhappy life.

    Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing the same things, like good jobs. They say if a person wants to be successful he has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, this situation would be even worse if they became ill as a dog.

    Sometimes we should let a sleeping dog lie, which means we'd better not trouble a person who may cause problems. And if someone says you are a lucky dog, he is just saying you're very lucky.

    Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people Often have to learn new skills(技能) . Yet, some people say that it's always impossible to teach an old dog new skills. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.

    There are also some other dog expressions. The dog days of summer are the hottest of the year. A rain in summer may cool the weather. But we do not want to have a very heavy rain. In other words, we do not want it to rain cats and dogs.

    The Old Man and the Sea is a short novel written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba. It tells the story of a fight between an aging fisherman and a giant marlin (枪鱼). The novel opens with the fisherman, Santiago, who has gone 84 days without catching a fish. He is so unlucky that his young apprentice (徒弟), Manolin, hasn't been allowed by his parents to sail with the old man. On the 85th day, Santiago sets out by himself, far onto the Gulf Stream. He sets his lines and by noon, a big marlin takes his bait (鱼饵). After three days' struggle with the fish, Santiago manages to tie the marlin to the side of his boat. While Santiago sails back to the shore, sharks are attracted to the blood left by the marlin in the water. Though Santiago makes a great effort, they have almost eaten up the marlin. Santiago knows that he is defeated (打败) and tells the sharks of how they have killed his dreams. Once home, he is so tired that he goes straight to bed and falls into a deep sleep. Manolin feels much worried. The next day he brings him newspapers and coffee. When the old man wakes, they promise to fish together once again. The old man doesn't feel well and also coughs up blood a few times towards the end of the story. Readers think that the story is about man's fight against the natural world. In the story, Santiago and the marlin show similar qualities of pride, honour, and bravery, and both have to obey the same natural law—they must kill or be killed.

    The novel has received so much praise and is considered to be one of Hemingway's most famous works. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.

How to be a friend of yourself?

We often pay attention to developing relationships with others. However, we forget the basic step: being friends of ourselves. How can we have good relationships with others if we don't even have good relationships with ourselves?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

First, forgive(原谅) yourself. It's true that you are not perfect, and neither is everybody else. It's normal for everyone to make mistakes.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

Second, accept things you can't change. There are many things you cannot change, such as your background and past.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}If you face the things you can't change, just smile and move on.

Third, focus on(聚焦于) your achievements. You can try making a list of your achievements, which do not have to be big things. There are a lot of small but important achievements in our life.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Last but not least, stop comparing yourself with others. You are unique.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Your success is not determined(决定) by other people. Instead, it is determined by your own life purpose.