Long, long ago there lived an old man. He had a very big orange tree in his garden. On the tree there were many fine oranges.

    One day the old man found one of the oranges was bigger than the others. It was as big as a watermelon. So he took the big orange to the king. The king was very happy and gave the old man a lot of money for it.

    When a rich man heard of this, he said to himself, "It is only an orange. Why did the king give him so much money? If I take my gold cup to the king, he will give me much more money for it."

    The next day when the king got the gold cup, he said to the rich man,"What a beautiful cup! I'll give you something for it. Please take the great orange."

Teenagers growing pains

    Today, our students are facing many different problems and they want to ask some experts for help. Nancy says she feel stressed these days because of too much homework. She hasn't enough time to sleep for a long time and often falls asleep during the classes. John says he doesn't like to study because of the bad effect of computer games. Cindy says she gets fat because she likes to eat junk food and hardly ever takes exercise. Frank has the worst problem. He always fights with others as he doesn't know how to get on well with others and few of his classmates would like to talk with him.

    My hometown is different from what it looked like before. To be honest, it is more beautiful than before. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Ten years ago, it used to be a poor village. There was only one mountain path (小路) to go there. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} People lived in low straw­thatched cottages (破草房). Now my hometown has changed a lot since our government helped us. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} So it's convenient to go in and out of our hometown. Also, we have built some schools so that the children can receive a good education. As people have made more money by working in the cities, or planting more economic crops (经济作物). {#blank#}4{#/blank#} All the villagers are living in new houses, some even in large buildings. There is a beautiful park in our town. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Every day, after dinner people would like to go to the park to enjoy themselves. We are living a happy life now.

    The Old Man and the Sea is a short novel written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba. It tells the story of a fight between an aging fisherman and a giant marlin (枪鱼). The novel opens with the fisherman, Santiago, who has gone 84 days without catching a fish. He is so unlucky that his young apprentice (徒弟), Manolin, hasn't been allowed by his parents to sail with the old man. On the 85th day, Santiago sets out by himself, far onto the Gulf Stream. He sets his lines and by noon, a big marlin takes his bait (鱼饵). After three days' struggle with the fish, Santiago manages to tie the marlin to the side of his boat. While Santiago sails back to the shore, sharks are attracted to the blood left by the marlin in the water. Though Santiago makes a great effort, they have almost eaten up the marlin. Santiago knows that he is defeated (打败) and tells the sharks of how they have killed his dreams. Once home, he is so tired that he goes straight to bed and falls into a deep sleep. Manolin feels much worried. The next day he brings him newspapers and coffee. When the old man wakes, they promise to fish together once again. The old man doesn't feel well and also coughs up blood a few times towards the end of the story. Readers think that the story is about man's fight against the natural world. In the story, Santiago and the marlin show similar qualities of pride, honour, and bravery, and both have to obey the same natural law—they must kill or be killed.

    The novel has received so much praise and is considered to be one of Hemingway's most famous works. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.

Make memories of ginkgo (银杏)leaves

    Autumn is the season of harvest (收获). Leaves turn golden and are blown around by the wind. The ginkgo is one of my favorite trees.

⑴I love its beautiful golden leaves which look like fans. This autumn, I picked up some ginkgo leaves. I cleaned and dried them in the sun. When they are ready, they will be my specimens (标本). And I will put them in my books and use them as bookmarks. ⑵They will remind me of the season whenever I open my books. They are my memory of this autumn.

⑴{#blank#}1{#/blank#} ⑵{#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    Whether it's one day off or a week, you don't need to be among people to have a great time. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You can spend your holiday on your own doing something you have no time to do in your everyday life.

    Eat your favorite foods. They can bring you much pleasure for sure. You can make a healthy meal at home. Cook something you love but usually don't have time to make. Instead of having meals at home, you can also go to a local restaurant for something special. Eat it there, or bring it home. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Stay away from technology. You may have a chance to find the real beauty of life. Maybe you can't help playing with your smartphones all day while you are on holiday alone. Why not create more time to go hiking, fly kites or do some other outdoor activities? {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You can go shopping, see a film, or take a class. Take your time to search for something even small that you want. Going to see a movie or a show alone can be a fun experience. Use your holiday as a chance to try something new like dancing or painting.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Leave your worries behind and try to be a master of your own, but remember that nothing is more important than safety.