The cowboy without a horse

    A cowboy rode into a town and stopped at a cafe for a drink. When he finished his drink, he 1 his horse was stolen(偷窃). He went back into the caf6.held his gun up into the air and fired a shot(开枪)  2 even looking. "Which one of you 3 my horse?" he shouted loudly.

    4 answered. "Alright," the cowboy said, "I'm going to have 5 beer, and if my horse isn't back outside by the time I finish, I'm going to do 6 I did in Texas! And I don't like to have to do it. "

      Some of the people in the town were very 7. After the cowboy had one more beer, he walked outside His horse was back! He   8 his horse and started to ride off.

    The waiter went  9 the café in a hurry and asked, "Tell us, 10 you go, what happened in Texas?" The cowboy turned back and said, "I had to walk home."

    This is a   1 of my family.  2   Frank, I am twelve. I study(学习) in No.2 Middle School. This is my father.  3  name is Dale Brown. He is a teacher in my school. He teaches English. And this is my mother. Her name is  4  . She is a  5 , too. Who's that woman  6my father? Oh, she is my aunt. She is a nurse. My grandparents aren't in the photo.   7 are in the USA. I  8  a dog.   9name is Dick. I love my  10 very much.

    Even though she's quite young, Drew Barrymore can be a Hollywood legend (传奇). She was born on February 22, 1975, in California. Being from a family that produced great actors, she quickly found her way into the spotlight (聚光灯).

    When she was 11 months old, she made her first advertisement（广告） on TV. She made her first movie at the age of 2. Five years later, she acted Gertie in Steven Spielberg's famous film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). However, it wasn't all roses and sunshine when Barrymore was growing up. Most kid stars in Hollywood can't become stars as adults. And once they're out of order, their lives are in the darkness, smoking and drinking. So does Drew Barrymore

    As she was growing older, Barrymore started to realize that life is more meaningful than dangerous actions in the films. She started to build a career in 1997. She has made a series of successful films since then, including Charlie's Angels (2000) and 50 First Dates (2004).

    “In my life, there is darkness and drama（有刺激）, and I have yet to explore some of that in my work life. I just want to challenge (挑战) myself and prove that I can do more.”

    Actually, anyone who's not familiar with her disordered childhood might find it hard to believe she's such a sweet person now. Like many of the characters she plays in her comedy, Drew is easy-going and laughs a lot. In 2007, she was on the cover of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People issue.

    “Life is very interesting … in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths（力量）,” Drew said.

    I grew up in a poor family where none of us kids believed in Santa Claus. My parents refused to let us believe in him. They couldn't provide us 1 expensive presents. And they didn't want us to think we weren't as good as other kids who, on Christmas morning, found all kinds of toys under the tree that were 2 to be left by Santa Claus.

    That year when Christmas came, we had no money at all. On Christmas Eve, Dad took us three kids out into the night one after 3. I had a blanket (毛毯) with me, and when it was my turn, I offered to share it with Dad, but he said," No, thanks. "The 4 never troubled him. I sat next to Dad and we looked up at the sky.

    "Pick out your 5 star. It'll be your Christmas present," Dad said.

    "You can't give me a star! No one owns a star. "

    "That's right," Dad said. "No one else owns a star. You just have to claim(认领) it 6 anyone else does , just like Columbus claimed America. "

    I 7 it for a while. "I want that one," I said.

     "That's Venus(金星). It is a planet. It shines only from reflected (反射的) light. "I like it anyway," I said.

    "It's Christmas. You can have a planet if you want. "

    That evening, we discussed outer space and I realized Dad was a man with much 8 of the stars and planets. We all 9 about the other kids who believed in Santa Claus and got nothing for Christmas but some cheap plastic toys. "Years from now, when all that they got are broken and long forgotten," Dad said. "You'll 10 have your stars."

    On a hot summer morning, an old fisherman was fishing near a river. A child went by seeing him fishing. After a few minutes, the child found that the fisherman was really good 1 fishing. Because he didn't spend long 2 a full basket of fish. As the fisherman felt that the child was clever, he offered him some fish. But the child 3 his head. The fisherman asked in 4, "Why not want the fish?"

    The child pointed at the fishing rod (杆) in his hands and said, "I only want that."

    "Why do you only want the rod?" Asked the fisherman.

    "Eating up all the fish you gave doesn't take long. But if I have a fishing rod, I can go5 by myself and I won't be afraid of not having any more fish to eat."

    I think you will 6 say that the child is very cute. Wrong! I think if he doesn't know 7 to fish, he can't have fish to eat, even though he has the fishing rod. So it's 8 to only have a fishing rod. Fishing skills are the 9 important, not the fishing rod.

    In modern society, some people think that if they have a "fishing rod" in their life, they'll 10 fear the wind and rain, just like the child who thought that if he had a fishing rod, he would have fish to eat.

    "It's over! Thank goodness!" school was 1and I was tired. I2at the front of the school bus.

    Janie, the driver, tries to3the uncomfortable atmosphere by striking the match of talks. I try to listen politely, but usually I am too busy thinking about my day. On this day, however, her talk was worth 4.

    "My father's ill ," she said to no one in particular(特别地). I could see worry in her 5. I had never seen her like this before. She always meets students 6a smile.

    With a sudden change of interest, I asked," What's wrong with him?"

    With her eyes wet and her voice unusual, she answered, "Heart trouble." Her eyes lowered as she continued. "I've already7my mum, so I don't think I can stand losing him." I couldn't answer. My heart ached for her.

    I sat on the8thinking of the great pain my own mother was thrown into when her father died. I saw how hard it was, and still is, for her. I wouldn't want to anyone to go through that.

    Suddenly I realized Janie wasn't only a bus9, that was just her job. She had a whole world of family and cares 10.

    I suddenly felt very selfish. I paid no attention to Janie because she was a bus driver. I had judged her by her job and brushed her off as unimportant.

    I shouldn't have been so selfish and self-centered. Understanding people is an art.