It was the golden season. I could see the 1 leaves falling with the cool wind. For others, it is a season to achieve something, but for me, it is a(n) 2 season. I was 3 for the mid-term exam, and so many unhappy things made me so tired. So I decided to have a walk along the road in the park.

    "Autumn is a lonely season and life is uninteresting. The days in this season always get me4 ", I thought when the sound of a guitar came into my ears, like a bird singing beautifully. A young girl, sitting on the grass, was lost in playing her guitar. She was a beautiful girl, 5 when the wind blew her long hair. I had never seen her before. The music was so wonderful that I listened quietly.

    Lost in the music, I did not 6 that I had listened to it for so long. But I did not seem to trouble her. Leaves were still falling. Every day when I passed by the grassland, I would see her playing her guitar. She was the only 7 and I was the only listener. During the rest of the days in the season, life became 8 and I could go over the lessons carefully.

    Autumn was 9 over. One day, when I was listening, the sound suddenly stopped. To my surprise, the girl came over to me.

    "You 10 like the music," she said.

    "Yes, you play very well. Why did you stop?" I asked.

    Suddenly, a 11 expression appeared on her face.

    "I came here just to have a rest because I 12 in an important exam. I felt very disappointed. And it was your listening every day that 13me," she said, "and I have to go tomorrow."

    "In fact, it was your playing that gave me a 14 autumn and helped me believe that I have the ability to pass my exams." I answered, "I think it was God who gave us the 15 to know each other and we should be good friends."

    She smiled and I smiled in that beautiful autumn.

In the summer vacation, I took a trip to Beijing with my brother. My brother was 18 years old and was in Grade 3 of high school. He knew a lot about the history of Beijing. He told me a lot about it and helped me know more about Beijing and our country on this trip. 

We went to the Palace Museum on the first day. We learnt more about our history. We bought some gifts there—a book for my sister Lily, a T-shirt for my father and a bag for my mother. And we bought some cards.

My brother was interested in universities(大学) in Beijing and wanted to study in one of them. So we visited the universities in Beijing in the next two days. We had a good time walking by the lake in Peking University. 

On the fourth day, we went to the Great Wall. It was beautiful and there were a lot of people. On the fifth day, we went shopping, tasted much delicious food and went boating in the Summer Palace. The sixth day was a rainy day, and we didn't go out. 

We spent six days in Beijing from 19th July to 24th July. We were very happy and got a lot from the trip. 

19-year-old Peng Huidi is a student of Central South University. For her, taking part in the Chengdu FISU World University Games in 2023 was a life-changing experience.

In fact, Peng's journey to the games began in her early childhood. When she was two, she got hearing problems as a result of a high fever. She became quiet and was afraid of speaking to others. To help Peng, her father took her to the nearest swimming pool. It was there that Peng found her interest and her talent was discovered by a coach. Later, she spent much time training.

Peng wanted to do her best in both swimming and schoolwork, which stressed her out. She once thought about quitting, but she told herself, "If I stop swimming, my future will be completely different from what I've dreamed of." So she kept practicing swimming hard.

The Chengdu FISU World University Games has been a turning point for Peng. After making it through several qualifying rounds (资格赛)，she was called up to the Chinese swimming team for the games. "I remember the first day she joined the team. None of us knew she couldn't hear clearly. We were amazed at not only her performance, but also her sporting spirit," the coach said. "She has overcome (克服）so many difficulties to compete at this level. We should all learn from her."

Getting through the darkest days

A "dark moment" refers to the most difficult time in your life. Have you experienced any dark moments before? How did you get through it?

Liu Yifei, 14, Shaanxi 
    When I got to Grade Seven, I was sad to know that all of my classmates had studied everything before the class started. During class, everyone knew the answers {#blank#}1{#/blank#} to our teacher's questions but I did not. 

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}I studied hard, I couldn't get good grades. I came last in the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (one) test. To catch up with my classmates, I looked for ways of learning online. For example, for history, drawing the timeline(时间线) on paper helped me a lot. What's more, for English, I {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (try) keeping English diaries. My grades then got a lot better. I'm very happy for {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (I). 

Lai Yijiang, 14, Sichuan 
    When I was in the sixth grade, I moved to {#blank#}6{#/blank#} new city. At that time, I felt bad every day and I began to {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (like)going to school. My classmates all knew each other and had their small groups. I had no friends and lost interest in everything. {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (slow), I wasn't serious about my study. My grades also became the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (bad)in the class. Those were my darkest days. Later, I made a friend. A{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (say) goes that a true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart. He made me open up, and I started to talk to more people. Also, I came to get used to the weather in this city. Step by step, I got better and better. 

I'd like to say something about our science teacher, Mr. Wang. He always wears a {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(帽子) when he comes to class. He {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(介绍) us to the amazing world of {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(/baI'ɒlədʒI/) in a way that makes it fun to learn. When he first started teaching us, I felt a bit {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(紧张), but he quickly put me at ease with his kind smile and friendly words. 

 During class, Mr. Wang explains everything clearly. He often asks us to work in groups so that we can learn and talk about our ideas {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(/tə'geðə/). Sometimes we make{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(错误), but he never gets angry. Instead, he helps us understand and learn from them. 

 At the end of each lesson, Mr. Wang often asks us to share some {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(主意) about what we' ve learned. He says it's {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(/Im'pɔ: tnt/) to take notes down . What's more, {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(记住) the key information we' ve learned. Next week, we' re going to have a test on this subject, and I'm planning to review it {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(通过) the textbook with my classmates. 

Have you heard of Scott Joplin? He was a great {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(music).He wrote over one hundred piano pieces and two operas.

Scott Joplin was born around 1868 in Texas.He was {#blank#}2{#/blank#} second of the six children in his family.Joplin's father and mother both loved music.His father played the violin {#blank#}3{#/blank#} his mother sang.Joplin learnt to play the piano from {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(he) music teacher Julius Weiss.Joplin could also play the violin and sing {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(good).

He began performing when he {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(be) young.In 1894, Joplin went to Sedalia, Missouri.There Joplin joined {#blank#}7{#/blank#} band and performed in clubs.Scott Joplin soon {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(become) popular in Sedalia.

To be more popular, Joplin and his friends went to St Louis in 1901.He spent most of his time {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(write) new pieces of music and teaching.He wrote many great works, which made him {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(success).He died on 1 April, 1917.