My mom isn't fancy like other moms.They wear fancy clothes and drive fancy cars. My mom wears her gardening clothes when she walks me to school.　

When fancy moms laugh，their laughs sound soft and whispery. You can hear my mom's laugh from down the hall. I show her how to laugh quietly and she practices. But before long she starts laughing even harder than before.

 At the talent show，my mom cheers loudly，“Bravo，everyone！Bravo！”instead of clapping politely the way fancy moms do.

For our class hike（徒步旅行），parents are invited. At breakfast I go over my rules for Mom，“Please don't whistle. Don't laugh loudly. No clapping. And stay in line.”

 The other moms show up wearing fancy jackets and sneakers. My mom wears cutoffs，a floppy straw hat，and her old hiking boots.

We hike along，all in a line. Soon Mom starts to whistle her hiking songs，She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain.I shake my head at her. She stops and whispers，“Oops. Sorry，Jane.”

 We keep hiking. Everything is perfect until…

 Our teacher，Ms. Steele，stops and points，“A snake！”All the moms hold their kids hands and back up，except my mom.“Watch out！It might be poisonous（有毒的）！”Ms. Steele says.

 The other moms shuttle back some more. However，my mom steps forward and says，“Hmm. Let's see what kind it is. Nope，it's not poisonous.”

 I shut my eyes.I know what's coming next. Mom makes a sudden attack.“Got it！”she says. The other moms scream，not sounding fancy at all.

Kids gather around as Mom examines the snake.“It's OK to touch，”she says.

 Everyone's too scared，but I go first.“snakes aren't slimy，”I tell them. Right away，others line up. A couple of the fancy moms come up to touch the snake's tail.

 Later，Ms. Steele tells us to draw our favorite part of the hike. After a while，I look around quickly. Everyone's picture is of Mom and me with the snake.

 As we hike back to the bus，I squeeze Mom's hand.“I'm glad I didn't tell you my don't-catch-snakes rule.”She smiles. But soon，she's whistling her hiking songs again！

 I start to make her silent，then stop. Instead，I take a deep breath and sing out too. Everyone joins in，even the fancy moms.

Jack had an unusual experience last night. He is sharing it with his friends. Ken and May.

Ken: What were you doing, Jack What did you see

Jack: It was half past nine last night and I was getting ready for bed. I heard some strange noise outside while I was brushing my teeth. I wondered what was happening and I went to the window and looked out. To my surprise, I saw a bright yellow green light in the sky.

May: Maybe the light you saw was a UFO! Or a ghost! A few years ago, an American man saw a flying saucer while he was driving along a road. He also saw some strange yellow light. You have heard about it, haven't you

Ken: Don't be imaginative, May. Jack didn't see anything, or anybody. It wasn't a ghost. It was probably a plane, or a shooting star .Perhaps Jack just made a horrible dream!

Jack: I am very serious .I did see something. The light disappeared and then suddenly some “tiny people” were standing in the garden .There were four of them .Two of them ate some flowers in the garden .It was always stretching out its arms.

Ken: Oh, come on, Jack. I really doubt what you have said.

Jack: I am not joking! One of the people was looking at me through the window.

May: Really What did it look like Were you frightened

Jack: Its whole body was green. It had no ears and nose. Its hands were huge. Its eyes were very big and resembled eggs. It started at me and I could hardly move.

Ken: What happened then ?

Jack: I was able to move eventually. I ran and got my camera immediately.

May: And......

Jack: I didn't have a film.

May: Oh no!

    17-year-old Brennan Agranoff, a colorblind boy, started his custom sock business in middle school, with a small loan(贷款)he got from his parents. Up till now, he has sold over $1 million worth of socks online in the last four years.

    Brennan thought of the idea for his custom sock company at just 13 years old. He was attending a high-school basketball game in his hometown of Sherwood, Oregon, and noticed that many kids his age were wearing the same white Nike sport socks. The boy told himself that if these white plain sacks were so popular with kids, then some cool custom designs would surely be an even greater hit.

    But the boy didn't tell his parents about the business idea immediately. He spent six months researching things like printing machines and technology and drawing up a business plan. Only when he had everything planned out did he ask his parents for a loan. "They thought the idea was a little out there," Brennan recently told CNN Money, but he kept pushing, and finally received a $3,000 loan to start his company. Then he began to work on his own designs. The fact that he was colorblind didn't stop him and he has created aver 200 designs now.

    Business was slow the first year, but then Brennan started pushing his HoopSwagg products heavily on the Internet. Orders soon started coming in in large numbers, and HoopSwagg became a popular brand among custom sock lovers. Right now, his designs can be found on HoopSwagg website, Amazon and eBay.

    Four years after starting his business, Brennan has achieved great success while balancing(平衡)school, house chores and his social life. And he says he loved every minute of it.

    A teacher asks his students to write about their dreams. One boy writes seven pages. He wants his own farm and a large house on it. But his teacher tells him, "You are daydreaming. Do it again." Several days later the boy hands in the same article, saying, "I don't want to give up my dream even if you fail me." Years later, he makes his dream come true. One day, the same teacher takes some students to the boy's farm for camping. Seeing the big farm, the teacher feels sorry, "I once told you not to daydream. Luckily, you never gave up."

One morning, when I was leaving for my business, a middle-aged man came up and asked me for help. He said he had no money to get food for his large family. "You look1 . Why don't you work?" I asked. "Simply because I cannot get work, sir." "If I give you work, what pay do you want?" "As long as I can get bread for my family, sir." he answered.

I decided to find out if he really meant what he said. "OK. I'll give you one pound an hour, if you 2 a brick（砖块）under your arm and walk around the square for five hours without stopping." "Thank you, sir. I will."

I found a brick and started him on his walk before I went to my 3 . I never thought he would do what he had said.

When I came back five hours later, I saw him still 4 , with the brick under his arm. I stopped him and gave him five pounds. He thanked me and told me that some people had5 to help him when they knew why he was doing all this. He said they would give him work directly, but he6 . Before leaving, he asked if I would give him the 7 , I did.

Several years later, a well-dressed man greeted me on a train. Seeing I was not sure who he was, he 8 that he was the brick man and had his own business now. "You know, I still keep that brick and always consider it as the most9 thing I have because it has brought me luck and success."

In fact, it was not the brick that made the man successful, but his faithfulness（坚定）in doing 10 a very little thing.

Chinese martial arts, also called kung fu, have {#blank#}1{#/blank#} number of fighting styles that have de veloped for a long time in China. Chinese kung fu started in China. It is as fast as the wind, as stable（稳定的）as the mountain s and as powerful as fire. Kung fu is not only {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（use）but also graceful. Therefore, kung fu {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（regard）as the symbol of eastern martial art. Many foreigners want to learn it to protect {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（they）, so more and more special schools for learning martial arts appeared around the world.

Over{#blank#}5{#/blank#}（century）of development, the term ‘kung fu' has now covered a lot of fighting styles. The famous ones are tai chi, Shaolin kung fu and Qinggong. Some people wonder {#blank#}6{#/blank#} Kung fu is also good for health or not. The answer is, of course, yes. As a result, in recent years, Kungfu {#blank#}7{#/blank#}（become）more and more popular among the old and has also attracted the young to join.

There have been famous kung fu stars {#blank#}8{#/blank#} Bruce Lee. He improved traditional fighting styles{#blank#}9{#/blank#}（wise）and played an important role in {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（develop）Jeet Kune Do. His kung fu skills have been kept alive by actors like Jackie Chan. Nowadays, many people still learn kung fu skills.