My name is Dora. I'm American and I'm thirteen. I'm a student in No. 7 Middle School. I like music very much. I can play two instruments — the guitar and the piano. I play them very well and I'm on the school art club.

    Jeff and Michael are my brothers. They are students, too. But we aren't in the same school. They like sports. Jeff plays basketball and soccer very well. Michael swims and plays ping-pong very well. I am not good at sports. They help me with sports after school.

    We live in London with our parents now. My mother is an English teacher and my father is a musician. My mother swims well. My father can play the violin.

    O. Henry was an American writer. He wrote lots of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy, he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for a long time, but he learned everything he wanted to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas. There he did different jobs. He first worked in a newspaper, and then he has a job in a bank. When some money went missing from the bank, O. Henry was suspected (被怀疑）. Because of that he was sent into prison（监狱）. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the poor life there. People liked his stories, because although simple(简单), to the reader's surprise, the stories would finish with a sudden change at the end.

One man was walking on the street with his worker. They saw a1 horse. The man liked it very much. So, he went to the owner and told him that he wanted to buy it.

The owner agreed and sold the horse at a good 2 . When the man went back home, he asked his worker to take the saddle（马鞍）away. To their surprise, there was a 3 bag under the saddle. After the worker opened the bag, he found some diamonds（钻石）inside. The worker was very 4 and shouted, "Look, sir! The horse you bought has diamonds with it!" But the man said to the worker, "I bought a horse. I only5 the horse, not for the diamonds. I must 6 the diamonds." Then the man went back to the street. He saw the horse seller was still there. He gave the small bag to him. The horse seller was7 surprised and said, "Thank you so much, sir. I hid the bag under that horse's saddle and I forgot it. Please choose a diamond from the bag as my8 for you."

The man replied, "I don't need any 9 for returning this. In fact, when I decided to bring back the bag, I already 10 two diamonds! They're my honesty and integrity（诚实和正直）."

My mom used to say that my first words were： "I'll do it myself. "

Maybe it was because I was an only child and she spent hours1 teaching me to entertain myself. My mother called my stubbornness（固执） "independence". 

At 12，I made a carpool（拼车）schedule with other students' moms and made a six﹣year plan to attend university. While my parents' friends were telling their 2 to finish their homework，mine didn't care whether I'd do the right thing. They 3 thought I would. 

I wanted everyone to think I was perfect. The truth is that while I tried to look 4 ，I felt like phony（骗子）. 

As life became more complex（复杂的），perfection became 5 to achieve. I panicked（恐慌），pushed myself harder. 

Simple tasks felt almost impossible. I 6 playing sports and canceled plans with friends. 

My parents became scared. They took me to the doctor. I was diagnosed（诊断）as depressed（抑郁的）and anxious. 

After some reflection（反思），I 7 that I couldn't do everything on my own. But that was okay. 

Before，I was determined to be the perfect student and child. Now，I was determined to be an imperfect 8 . 

So I tried to open up to my loved ones. This helped me deal with my depression and anxiety. I am not 9 for letting others help me through life. If there is any problem，I should talk to the people I love and trust. My parents may be the first 10 ，but I have friends too. They make my life better. 

Sandy is a 13-year-old girl. She lived in a small {#blank#}1{#/blank#} village with her grandparents three years ago. Her past life was busy but interesting. There was a big {#blank#}2{#/blank#} garden with many fruit trees and vegetables. Her grandparents went there to work. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In front of the village there was a clear lake with many fish.

In the morning, Sandy usually{#blank#}4{#/blank#} got up at half past six, and then she had a bottle of milk and some bread for {#blank#}5{#/blank#} breakfast. School started at ten to eight, so she went to school at seven thirty. She walked to school with her friends, After four classes, she {#blank#}6{#/blank#} had lunch at twelve o'clock. In the afternoon, school {#blank#}7{#/blank#} finished at four o'clock. Sandy played basketball in the playground for an hour, At five o'clock, she went home. The she helped her grandmother feed (喂养)chickens and pigs, From nine o'clock to nine thirty, Sandy read books. Then she went to bed early. {#blank#}8{#/blank#} At weekends, she enjoyed going fishing by {#blank#}9{#/blank#} lake or {#blank#}10{#/blank#} going for a walk in the garden,

Now Sandy lives in the city, but she loves the life in the village.