B

    Maria Montessori is a famous Italian educationalist, whose method of teaching has influenced people all over the world.

    Born in Italy in 1870, Montessori became the first woman doctor in her country after she graduated from medical school in 1896. Later, working with poor children, she set up a “Children House” in Rome in 1907. The rooms were bright and colorful. This was the place where she developed the Montessori Method, which was formed during 1908-1913.

    Maria thought that children must be free to learn without being criticized(批评) or limited. She let the children make their own choice of what they wanted to do and work with their own speed, not the rest of the class or the teacher. As a result, children enjoy learning and this gives them confidence and makes them happy. The Montessori Method also teaches children skills to help them become independent. Very young children learn to dress themselves, to cook and to put their toys and clothes away. It's a way of teaching which encourages children to learn by doing and experimenting. Children are encouraged to repeat activities as often as they wish, and they develop their observation(观察) skills by doing different activities. In addition, the Montessori Method thinks that teacher is a guide, not a leader of the classroom, helping to open students' eyes to wonder around them.

    A typical room in a Montessori school has many things children can use. The furniture is light so they can arrange it as they wish. Because the environment offers many activities, children like to work together and they develop a social life based on cooperation(合作)rather than competition.

    Maria Montessori travelled around the world to train teachers to use her method. In 1950, she received the World Peace Education Badges.

    She used to sleep on the sidewalk of the Fifth Street Post Office. I could smell her before I came close. She wore dirty clothes and her mouth was nearly toothless. I hardly saw her talk with others. If she was not asleep, she talked to herself. I always had sympathy for her. What a poor old lady! She must be desperate （感到绝望的）and hungry.

    One Thanksgiving, we had lots of food left over. I thought about the old lady. She might be still hungry. So I packed the food up and drove over to the Fifth Street.

    It was a cold night. There was hardly anyone out. But I knew she would stay at the same place and I would find her easily.

    There she was, squatted against a fence near the post office. She was dressed as she always was.

    I drove my car over to her, rolled down the window and said, "I've brought you some food. Would you like some turkey and apple pie?"

    However, the old woman didn't seem to be very excited about this. She looked at me and said quite clearly, "Oh, thank you very much, but someone has given me food earlier and I'm quite full now. Why don't you take it to someone else who needs it?"

    Her words were clear and her manners were gracious. Soon her head sank into her arms again. I was the only person who didn't know what to say. An old lady who was clearly down on her luck still thought about others. Why don't more of us do that?

In the forest there lived a rhino（犀牛） and a monkey. The monkey was not very friendly and he troubled the rhino every day. Sometimes he pulled the rhino' s tail. Sometimes he jumped onto the rhino's back. But the rhino didn't get mad. He could stand everything patiently and never complained （抱怨）. 

Other animals in the forest knew that the monkey always made fun of the rhino. They got angry with the monkey， They even advised the rhino to punish the monkey. 

The rhino smiled and said that sometimes the monkey was unfriendly， but he was thankful to him. He thanked the monkey for teaching him to be patient. Other animals just kept silent with their heads down， without saying anything. At that time， the monkey was sitting in the tree and heard the rhino's words. He felt sorry for what he had done. 

He came down from the tree immediately. Then he came up to the rhino and said sorry to him. After that， the monkey and the rhino became friends， and they got on well with each other. 

It was half past seven on Monday morning: time to get ready for school. Jay Stone rolled out of bed. He did a couple of quick wake-up exercises and then he went over to his mirror (镜子) and looked at himself.

"Not bad, Stone, not bad," he said to himself and smiled. Maybe he wasn't ready for Hollywood, but with his dark brown eyes and his thick brown hair, he had the looks that turned girls' heads. He moved closer to the mirror and smiled, checking his teeth.

"Perfect," he thought. "Good enough for a toothpaste ad."

As his eyes moved down to his strong arms, he smiled again. The hours he spent in the gym and doing sit-ups have paid off.

But suddenly, the smile froze. His eyes moved from the upper part of his body down to his legs. His legs were short. Not just short, but far too short for his body. He had the upper body of a six-footer, but because of his legs he was much less than six feet! Six inches less! Sitting, he was as tall as almost anyone. Standing, he had to look up at most of the boys and even many of the girls.

Why didn't his legs grow with the rest of his body? He was one of the shortest boys in his class. He was the shortest in his own family, he was even shorter than his "little" sister—by three inches! Where did his legs come from?

He certainly didn't get them from his parents. They were both quite tall. Looking through old family photos, he found the answer. It was his grandfather on his mother's side. His short legs were a gift from Grandpa Tuttle.

Thanks a lot, Grandpa!

Of course, the kids at school all noticed Jay's short legs and they had a nickname (外号) for him: Stubs! Almost no one called him by his real name; they all called him Stubs. Stubs Stone, Jay didn't like his nickname, but he had to accept it. He had no choice.

But Jay couldn't see in the mirror what his legs could do. They were quick and strong. He was the youngest player on the Brewer High football team. He could run faster than anyone else in the team and, like a rabbit, he kept going and going. Even at basketball, where the other players were much taller than him, they were still afraid of him because of his speed.

Jay shook his head. "Stubs, Stubs Stone, the kid with stubby legs. Yeah, that's me," he said to himself with a little smile. Suddenly, he heard his mother's voice.

"Jay! It's breakfast time!"

Mr. Smith looked at his watch at times. He 1 to go home as soon as possible. There would be a 2 football match in London but he could not do 3 in his office. He hurried home 4 work. Supper was ready and he went to his 5 after that. But he couldn't have a good 6 . He was afraid he would 7 the match though he had told his wife to 8 at once in the night. He had to 9 and began to read some evening newspapers. Finally the match began. His team lost the 10 half of the match. He became angry. He was so 11 , and he didn't know when he had gone to sleep. The next morning his wife brought some bread and milk into the sitting room. She 12 he was 13 sleeping on the sofa and called out, "Oh, dear! Get up, 14 you'll be 15 today. It is five to seven!" Hearing this, Mr. Smith jumped off the sofa and asked, "Who won? "

Some students are talking about ways of learning English in the English club. Paul from Class 2 thinks the best way {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(learn) English words is to make word cards. Most students agree {#blank#}2{#/blank#} him. Li Lin from Class 5 says she improves her English a lot by  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(write) to her American pen friends often. Zhao Guang from Class 8 is worried about his listening. Other students all advise him {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(listen) to tapes every day. Lucy couldn't pronounce {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(good) before. But she improves her {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(pronounce) by talking with her friends in the club. Once she thought, "How about {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(watch) English films?" She has a try and it turns out to be helpful (有用的). Lily from Class 1 is good at grammar. She thinks making {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (sentence) is a good way to learn grammar. Besides, it may be a good idea {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(ask) your American friends to check the way you write and give you some suggestions. Students here always say, "Let's {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(talk) about how to learn English well." So, why not come and join us?