An old farmer lived with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was always up early to read. One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! What good does reading do?"

Grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out(漏出) before he got back home. Grandpa laughed, "You'll have to move a little faster next time." This time the boy ran faster, but again the same took place. It was an impossible task.

The old man said, "You're just not trying hard enough." So the boy tried a third time and failed. He said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless? Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had turned from a dirty coal basket into a clean one inside and outside.

"You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read, you will be changed, inside and outside."

Mao Buyi never went toa music school. It seems impossible for him to become a pop singer.

But Mao loves musicand writes many songs by himself. In September, 2017, he became the winner of The Coming One (《明日之子》) ,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

The 25--year-old manwon people's hearts with his original (原创的) music,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.People have played his hottest song more than 500 million times on QQ Music, reportedi feng. com.

Before joining in theshow, Mao worked as an intern (实习生) nurseat a hospital in Hangzhou. He dreamed of becoming a pop star, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

"So I write songsto enjoy myself, "{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

In the interview, hesaid he was lonely during his internship. He lived in a small rented (出租的) room. He had to work late. He put all these feelings of life inhis songs.

And the songs easily havea chord (共鸣) with his fans. "Theemotion (情感) in Mao's songs is real and touching, "said Chinese actor Chen Xiao, one of the judges of the show.

Whatdo you think of Mao Buyi's life in the hospital?{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A.It was comfortable.

B.It was lucky.

C.It was happy.

D.It was hard.

I was now in my twenty-seventh year on the island. One evening Friday went out to look for food. But soon he was back, and he looked very afraid.

"Master! Master!" he cried, "There's a great ship near the island, and men are coming to the shore in a boat!"

I jumped up and ran with him down to the shore. I saw that it was an English ship! But why was it here? English ships never came this way. Perhaps they were pirates(海盗)!"Don't let them see you, Friday!" I called, "We'll hide in the trees and watch. "

There were eleven men in the boat, but three of them were prisoners(囚犯). Their arms were tied with rope, but their legs were free and they could walk. The other sailors pushed the three prisoners up the beach, laughing and shouting and hitting them. The three prisoners walked slowly along the beach and sat down under a tree, not far from us. They looked very unhappy.

Very quietly, I came up behind them through the trees, and called out to them in English.

"Don't be afraid, "I said. "I'm an Englishman. Perhaps I can help you. "

The three men turned and looked at me. They did not answer at once. They were too surprised.

Perhaps they thought I was a wild man myself, in my strange clothes made of animals' skins, and with my long hair and beard.

Then the oldest man spoke, "I am the captain of that ship, "he said, "and these two men are my first and second officers. Last night there was a mutiny (叛乱), and the seamen took the ship from me.

Now they're going to leave the three of us here, to die on this island. "

"Do these mutineers (叛军) have guns?"

"Only two, "he answered, "and they've left those on the boat. "

"All right, "I said. "We'll fight them. But if we get your ship back for you, you must take me back to England. "

Friday ran back to my house to get all the guns, and the captain and I made a plan.

It was Saturday morning when I was six years old. Christmas was still three weeks away, but everyone in town was 1 . Santa Claus, the Father Christmas, was coming in our small Irish town.

The main street was full of children. They cheered 2 as the band passed by. Santa followed on a white 3 . He waved to the crowd while shouting, "Ho! Ho! Ho!" But just as he passed me, his beard （胡须）fell off.  That was when I knew Santa wasn't real and started to4 . Tears were welling up in my eyes.

The man on the horse was my dad.5 ,1 wasn't surprised. Dad was always the most popular person in our town. He sang in church, acted in the theatre and even 6 on TV

Thirty years later, my dad visited me in New York City. It was his 7 time in the United States, and he felt like a very excited child.Atdinner, he told me a story.

Back in the 1950s, my dad left school at the age of 16 to work in a small 8. One summer, his Uncle Ben came home from the US. He told Dad to go to America with him. But my grandma wasn't 9 with the idea. My dad was the only breadwinner in the family. In the end, he stayed and never left.

At that moment, I understood that Dad was once young. Father Christmas also had dreams. But he10 those dreams for______his family. What would he have become if he had gone to New York? Could he have become a famous singer, actor or dancer?

Sadly, dad just worked in that small factory for 40 years.

 Carol is a middle school student. She does 1 in only one subject. That is 2 . Carol always does her history homework well and 3 good grades(分数) in history tests. She likes her history teacher Mr. Aragon very 4 . She feels that he is like her 5 .

 At 6 parent- teacher meeting, Carol's mother has a7 with Mr. Aragon.8 says that Carol doesn't do well in 9 subjects. She hopes Mr. Aragon can 10 her." Oh, I didn't know that. She is 11 . I' ll try to talk to her," says Mr. Aragon.

 When Mr. Aragon talks with Carol 12 her problems(问题), Carol doesn't feel good, 13 she is grateful(感激的). She knows that Mr. Aragon is 14 trying to help. Carol 15 his ideas and tries to do well in those subjects.

①Many years ago people took tests to show how much they knew. Today students still take many different kinds of tests.

②Throughout history, tests have been a kind of measuring tool (测量工具). They measure how students are learning, as well as how teachers are teaching. Teachers can use tests as a way to see if their teaching are working. If students are doing poorly on tests, teachers can change how they' re teaching to help students understand things more clearly.

③Many teachers understand that tests can actually help students learn. Testing has been believed to help students remember what they have been taught. Tests serve as a way for students to find gaps in their understanding. Once they fill those gaps, they can do better on the next test.

④However, testing isn't always a good thing. For some students, this causes(造成)a lot of worries because they want to do well. Tests can make some students lose sleep because they' re studying for a long time or because they' re afraid of doing poorly.

⑤Besides, some people think that tests are not always a good way to measure how smart students are. For example, if Lucy is sick the day of a test, she might do poorly on the test when she is actually smart. Tests only look at one day in her life, but not how she does in school over a long time.

⑥Are you for or against tests? Should students have to take tests?