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    A young man once went to buy a pair of pants. When he got home, he went upstairs(上楼) to his bedroom and put them on. He found that they were two inches(英寸) long.

    Then he came out of his room to see his mother and his two sisters. They were washing something in the kitchen. “These new pants are too long, they need to be shortened(缩短) about two inches. Would one of you like to do this for me, please?” His mother and sisters were busy and none of them said anything. The mother went upstairs after she had finished washing and shortened the pants two inches. But she didn't tell her daughters about it.

    Later on, after supper, the elder sister remembered her brother's pants. So she went upstairs without saying to anyone, and shortened the pants two inches.

    The younger sister went to the cinema, but when she came back, she also remembered what her brother had said. So she ran upstairs, and took two inches off the legs of the new pants.

    Jim, with his father, goes to see his grandfather. In the train Jim often puts his head out of the window. His father says, “Jim! Don't put your head out of the window!” But Jim goes on putting his head out of the window.

    So his father takes Jim's cap quietly (悄悄地), hides (藏) it behind his back and says, “You see your cap is gone.” Jim is afraid.

    His father says, “Well, whistle (吹口哨) once. Maybe your cap will come back.” Jim whistles. His father puts quickly the cap on Jim's head.

    Oh! It is wonderful. Jim laughs. He quickly takes his father's cap and throws (扔) it out of the window. “Now it is your turn to whistle, Dad!” He says happily.

请根据短文内容判断正误。

    Droughts (干旱)are common in Kenya. Before, they came every 10 years, but now they seem to be hitting us more often and for a longer time.

    We gave the droughts names :“longoza”was the drought when many animals died ; there was the drought of the “planes” because food was dropped from the air by planes; and one particularly bad drought was called “ man who dies with his money in his fist (拳头)”，because, even if there was money, there was simply no food to buy.

    I was born in 1951 in Machakos. From what my mother tells me, when I was 7, there was a serious drought. I clearly remember the terrible weather and the hunger. I can't tell you how many times I went to bed without eating. “ I slept like that, ” is how we described it. I can't count the number of days when “ I slept like that,” or describe the feeling of going to sleep hungry, knowing I'd wake up and there would still be no food for breakfast.

    My father would leave early in the morning carrying a little basket to ask for food on credit (赊欠). Each night he would return home around 10:00p.m. My mother would try to encourage me by telling me to keep the water in our pot boiling so that when my father arrived we could quickly cook any food he brought in the already prepared water. I would keep the fire burning and the water boiling, along with the hopes that we would eat that night. But my father would arrive frustrated and empty -handed. And I would sleep like that.

    In 1997,12-year-old American girl Caitlin and 14-year-old Zimbabwean (津巴布韦人) Martin became pen friends through their schools. They didn't realize at that time how their handwritten letters would change their lives.

    It all began as a school task. Everyone in Caitlin's class was supposed to choose a pen friend from another country. All the other kids picked countries like France or Germany, but Caitlin chose Zimbabwe because the name sounded exotic(异国的) and cool.

    Martin lived with his family in one of Zimbabwe's worst slums(贫民窟) where they shared one room with another family. And a bed was their only piece of furniture.

    When Caitlin's first letters reached Martin, they were simple and general. The two kids wrote about their favorite music and what they liked to do. But as Martin gradually revealed more about his life and his letters started arriving written on pieces of trash, Caitlin realized what the living conditions were like for Martin. Without telling her parents, she began sending money with her letters—$ 20 at a time. While the money was not much to Caitlin, it meant more food for Martin's family and enabled him to pay his school fees.

    It lasted six years from their first exchange of letters to Martin's arrival in the United States. With the help of the money from Caitlin's parents later on, Martin finished his university and got his MBA from Duke University.

    Today, Caitlin and Martin aren't only best friends, but they also share their story in a book called I Will Always Write Back. They want to encourage readers to look beyond their own lives and do something kind for others, which might greatly influence their lives.

    It all started at the beginning of the fifth grade. At first, Carmen wasn't really sure what was happening. In class, she had to squint (眯着) her eyes to see the blackboard clearly. She had to do the same thing when she read street signs, or when she watched a movie.

    It wasn't long before Carmen found herself squinting all the time, but she didn't want anyone to know that. One day, she asked for a desk closer to the blackboard. Her teacher asked if she had trouble seeing the blackboard. Carmen shook her head, but she knew she couldn't pretend(假装) much longer.

    At home, she had to sit closer and closer to the television while watching her favourite shows. Her mother noticed that and said, "Tomorrow I'm calling the eye doctor to get an appointment for you." Three days later, Carmen had" new glasses and the doctor told her to wear them all the time. Carmen frowned in the car the whole way home.

    "All of the kids at school will think I'm a nerd." she said.

    "You look just as beautiful with those glasses on as you do without them," her mother smiled and said. But Carmen didn't believe her.

    The next day, Carmen kept the glasses in her pocket as she walked into the schoolyard. She avoided her friends and stood alone, feeling unhappy. Suddenly, she heard her friend Tracy shout. Carmen ran over. "What's wrong?" she asked.

    "My silver ring is gone!" Tracy cried. "It's very special and I can't lose it!"

    Carmen could tell that Tracy was very sad. They all looked for the ring in the grassy area of the playground.

      ▲   She took the glasses out and put them on. She caught, her breath. Everything looked so different! So clear! She looked down at the ground and a glimmer of silver caught her eye. It was the ring.

    "Here it is. I've found it!" She handed it to Tracy.

    "Thanks, Carmen. I never thought we'd find it," Tracy paused. "Hey, I didn't know you wore glasses. They look great!"

    Carmen had forgotten that she was wearing the new glasses. "Thanks," she replied shyly. As they walked back towards the school building, two more girls from her class complimented (赞美) her on her glasses. Carmen smiled. "Maybe wearing glasses won't be so bad after all," she thought.

    One day, the teacher held up an apple in class, stood on the platform(讲台) and said, "Please smell the smell in the air!" One student raised his hand and answered, "I have smelled it. It is the smell of an apple."

    The teacher stepped off the platform, passed by each of the students and said," Please smell again to see if the smell of the apple is still in the air."

    Half of the students raised their hands to show that they could smell it. The teacher returned to the front of the classroom and asked again if the students could smell the apple. Everyone raised their hands except one student. The teacher came to the student and asked," You really can't smell the apple?"

    The student answered," No, I can't smell it. I don't think it's a real apple."

    The teacher smiled at the student and said to the class," He is right! This is not a real apple."

    All of the other students were tricked. They might have thought that perhaps the apple was not real, but they didn't have the self-confidence to speak up. They just "followed the leader" and went along with the first student.

    Please remember "Believe in yourself first, and then others will believe in you".