May 31, 2017

    Jaden is a six-year-old boy. He experienced the unlucky things of life twice. First he lost his dad when he was four and his mom died unexpectedly in her sleep last month. Jaden's heart was broken. His parents' death hit him a lot.

    But things always go towards a good side. A few weeks later, Jaden told his aunt that he was tired of seeing everyone sad all the time. He'd like to see more smiles around him. He hoped that the number of the smiles could reach 100.

    Then he asked his aunt to buy him some little toys and take him to the center of the city. “I'm trying to make people smile,” said Jaden. At first, he was not sure if the people passing by would like to receive his toys. In fact, he was always successful and got close to his dream step by step, because no one could refuse such a little boy's giving and expecting.

    “I'm keeping a count of 100 smiles,” said Jaden. When asked if he could make it, he answered, “I think I can.”

Reported by Barbara

    Every child has a dream of what they want to be, right? When Rence Butts was little, her dream was to become a volunteer firewoman because her father was a fireman. Sadly, when she was fourteen, her father died(死)and she was never able to volunteer with him. Rence's story doesn't end there. She was strong and never gave up, at last she became a good firewoman.

    I think she's great. She's always glad to do anything for anyone in need. With 140 people in her station, Rence is one of the only three women. What's more, she is always glad to help others.

    What Rence did helps me believe that I can do anything. I hope someday to be just like her:

    To wake up and help people every day.

    ①If you don't have time to eat breakfast, why not take some money and get some on your way to school or work?

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} some food on the road if you have no time to eat breakfast at home.

    ②On New Year's Eve, people in Rome(罗马), Italy throw all the things they no longer want. You can find old chairs, beds, clothes and dishes...... everywhere in the streets.

    Throw {#blank#}2{#/blank#} things. You will see them here and there in Italy's streets on New Year's Eve.

    ③Our flat is not very big. There is a bedroom for my mother and father, one for me and one for my brother. There is a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. I like it very much.

    There are {#blank#}3{#/blank#}bedrooms in our flat. Although it is small, I like it very much.

    ④Before exams, I study very hard, too. I buy lots of books and do the exercises. I think if I practise more, I can do better.

    I do lots of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} because I think more practice can help me do better.

    ⑤Every Saturday and Sunday, she likes to spend time in a zoo nearby. She loves to watch the monkeys climbing around and the elephants giving a show.

    Amy likes spending time in the zoo. She usually gets there at {#blank#}5{#/blank#} and has fun with the animals there.

    To me, music is food and water. I can't live without it. I know this is not true for everybody. Usually lots of people go to concerts or listen to music records. Maybe some of you don't do these and you get along quite well, but music is everywhere in our life. For example when you watch movies or TV plays, will you find them interesting if there is no music? I'm sure you will find them boring. And when you are waiting for the train or the plane, you would like some music because it makes the time seem shorter.

    Some people like to sit by the sea and listen to the sound of the sea. Some enjoy listening to the singing of birds. Those sounds are some kind of music. So music has meaning for everyone in some way or others. Of course, it has special meaning for people like me. We spend our lives playing or writing music.

    Someone said, "Through music a child goes into a world of beauty, learns to take care of others and makes his mind and body strong."音乐真的在我们的生活中扮演重要的角色。

    English dictionaries which were written before 18^th century had only words which were not common, or words which were difficult to spell. Then, in 1755, Dr. Samuel Johnson, a great English writer, wrote a famous dictionary. This dictionary contained common words as well as unusual ones. It also showed how words should be used in sentences.

    In 1858, a group of people who study language started to write The Oxford English Dictionary (OED). They wanted to list all the words of the English language. They even included words which were not used any more. They also wrote sentences that show the meanings of words. They also described the history of words, saying when words were first used in English, and which languages they came from. The OED tells us, for example, that "algebra" comes from Arabic and was first used in English in the 16^th century. The dictionary took hundreds of people over seventy years to complete. It has been improved many times, as the number of words used in English has increased. The more recent dictionary gives the meanings of over one million words. It is put into twenty-one books: each one is over one thousand pages long.

    Although Americans speak English, they use some words that are not used in British English. For example, the season an English person calls "autumn", is called "fall" by an American. The first dictionary of American English was published by Noah Webster in 1828. He also decided to spell some words in a simpler way. For example, he wrote "colour" as "color", "centre" as "center", and "plough" as "plow". These spellings are still used in America today. Since 1828, Webster's Dictionary of American English has been improved and made bigger many times.

    A good dictionary is a very important tool for every reader. Many modern English dictionaries are now available. They give different kinds of information. It is very important to choose the best dictionary for your needs and to use it often.