My family lives very happily on a farm near a small town. My father always learns some information about weather through the TV, the Internet and newspapers.

    One evening, he asked us to meet at the table after dinner. "I have some bad news," he said. "The weather reports on the television warned(警告)that we would face a typhoon tomorrow."

    At 6:30 a.m. the next day, the winds started and the rain was falling heavily. There were new warnings that the sea level could go up as much as 5 meters.

    The winds were terribly strong and tree branches were flying everywhere. Trees were falling down and the rain kept coming down.

    Just after 10:30, the wind stopped suddenly-it was strangely calm and the sun was shining. Then the winds came howling(咆哮)again, but this time more rain fell. There were more flying things and the storm came in. Everything within 1 km of the coast was flooded-there was fish in the streets. Now the winds were dying down, but the rain was still falling.

    After another two hours, the wind came to a stop at last. My home was in a mess and my mum burnt her arm when the hot water from the stove hit her skin. We were all frightened, but we were all safe, including the cat.

    Perhaps the only test score that I remember is the 55 I got when I was in high school.

    The test was the last one of the term. I remember waiting nervously as my teacher Mr. Right gave out our papers one after another. It was a rather difficult test. I heard my classmates groaning(叹息),and I could guess by the groans that the scores were not looking good.

    Mr Right put my paper on my desk. There in big red numbers, circled to catch attention, was my score, 55! I let my head go down, and covered the score up quickly. A 55 is not something that you wanted your classmates to see. "The scores were not very good, none of you passed," Mr Right said. "The highest score in the class was a 55."

    A 55. That's me! Suddenly I didn't feel so bad. I had the highest score. I was getting a little better.

    I walked home alone that day with the low but high score. My mother knew that I had a big test that day and asked me as soon as I got home, "How did you do in your test? ""I got 55, "I said. A frown (皱眉) appeared on my mother's face I knew I had to explain at once. "But Mum, I had the highest score in the class," I said proudly. "You failed, Dave!" my mother replied. "But it's the highest!" I insisted (坚持). "I don't care what scores others had, you failed. The important thing is what you do!" my mother said in a strong way.

    For years, my mother was always in that way. She didn't care what others did, only cared what I did and that I did it excellently. My mother's words have made a big difference to my life.

    Tony loves his grandma. She often tells him stories about Santa Claus(圣诞老人).

    Today is December 24. Tony's grandma takes him to Kevin's Store to shop. She gives Tony fifty dollars and says, "Take the money and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car."

    Tony thinks of everyone he knows: his family, friends and classmates. Then he thinks of Bobbie. Bobbie sits behind Tony. He doesn't have a warm coat. Tony knows it because Bobbie never goes out to play in winter. So Tony buys a blue coat for him. It looks really warm.

    In the evening, his grandma helps Tony put the coat in a Christmas box, and writes, "To Bobbie, From Santa Claus" on it. "Santa always helps people but never lets them know," Tony's grandma says. They put the box in front of Bobbie's house and then go back home.

    That night Tony knows Santa Claus is real, and they are on his team(队伍).

We all know that eating junk food can make us Et. However, a new study suggests that it can do more than that－it can also make us lazy.

In the study, researchers divided 32 rats into two groups. In the first experiment, the first group was fed a diet of healthy food such as com and fish, while the second was given a diet rich in sugar and fat, namely "junk food".

Within three months, the rats in the second group were already much fatter than those on the healthy diet. And when researchers trained the rats to do simple tasks, they found even more differences between the two groups other than weight.

During the task - pushing a lever to receive a prize of sugar - water  the rats on the junk food diet were found to be less willing to move, and they took longer breaks between each push than the fit rats did.

"It is as if the rat is thinking 'This is too much work," said the leader of the study.

According to researchers, these differences suggest that junk food changed the chemistry in the rats' brains.

The experiments didn't end there. After six months, researchers began the second experiment. The rats' diets were changed, and the overweight rats were given a healthy diet for nine days. However, this didn't help reduce their weight or improve their ability to perform tasks. It means the effects of their junk food diet lasted for long. "There's no quick way to reduce the harm," researchers said.

For a long time, we've believed that people become fat because they are lazy. But this study has shown that the opposite is true as well. Being lazy and getting fat can go hand in hand.

So, if you always feel tired, and not willing to get up from your chair, it could be that you've been studying too hard. But you should also pay attention to your diet.

 Jenny is a 13- year- old student. She knows it's important to stay healthy and she finds some easy ways to keep healthy every day.

 Every morning before school, Jenny starts her day with some exercise. She does easy exercise like jumping. Her home is not far from her school, so she always walks there, even on cold winter days. To stay active, she enjoys taking short walks around the school at school breaks. When she gets home, she spends some time outdoors, playing with her friends and running in the park near her house. She doesn't like to stay indoors soon after she gets home. In the evening, Jenny also practices yoga before she goes to bed. It helps her to sleep better.

 On weekends, Jenny loves going for bike rides with her family or taking walks in the park. Staying active not only helps her stay healthy but also gives her a break from schoolwork and cleans her mind for the coming week.

John was riding his new bike. When he got to the end of the road, he turned around. He 1 the bike in front of Mom.

"See? I'm good at doing it. Can I ride to the 2 on my own(独自) now?"

Usually, when John rode a bike to the park, Mom or Dad came along 3 him. But this time, he was sure he could do it on his own.

Mom looked at John and said "Okay. But be careful about the cars and bikes 4 when you ride. And remember to come home 5 . Now, have fun on your own!"

John felt excited to hear(听到) this. The park was not far from home. John looked both 6 when he rode into the street and he 7 his mom's words. At the end of the street, John had to turn right to get to the park. He used his arm to make the signal(信号) so cars would know 8 he was going.

When John got to the park he slowed down(减速). He parked his 9 and ran to find his friends.

"You know what? I rode my bike here all by myself!" John sad. "Do you think it's very 10 to do it on my own?"