Once there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was said that the island would go down, so all made boats and left except Love.

    Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to offer her help until the last possible moment. When the island had almost gone down, Love decided to ask for help.

    Richness was passing by Love in a great boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

    Sadness was close by, so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you." "Oh, Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

    Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even notice when Love called her.

    Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. Love was so excited that she even forgot to ask who the elder was. So Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who helped me?" "It was Time." Knowledge answered. "Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"

    Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time understands how valuable Love is."

    In my life, the person who has influenced me most is my father. He is a role model for me. Now I'll tell you something about him. My father is in his{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(fifty). He never smokes or drinks. He{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(work) in a local factory for years. You will not find anything{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(usual) about him until you learn more. He works{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(care) all the time, so he{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(respect) by his colleagues. My father has always been kind and helpful. He has fun{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(talk) with old people. He gave our TV to a family who could not afford one. He cares for the children who have lost their parents. Whenever he has some money left, he {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(give) it to someone in need.

    My father has donated blood many times since we{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(move) here. The blood he has donated is much enough{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(save) over 70 lives. He has donated blood cells to people with blood cancer. To my surprise, he has decided to donate his body for medical research after his{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(die).

    When I was a little girl, I could not understand why my father always seemed to be{#blank#}11{#/blank#}(kind) to others than to his own families and why he thinks of others more than{#blank#}12{#/blank#}(he). Now I realise that he owns a heart full of love.

People live on Earth for many years. They live on different continents (陆地) and in different countries. 

    ▲    That is why lots of animals are in danger. Indian tigers and African elephants are among them. People kill (杀害) many of them. But why?

Tigers are often dangerous animals. They can kill people's chickens, sheep and other farm animals and sometimes they can also kill men. So some people kill them for protecting their animals while some kill them just for money. Some people kill elephants for their teeth because they can sell them for lots of money. 

The sad thing is that there are few Indian tigers on Earth now. Many of them are usually old sick animals and they don't kill people but stay away from them in dark forests. Or they try their best to stay away, because people are cutting down the forests. And there is a question: Do those animals get a future?"

We can ask the same question about African elephants. They are wonderful animals. They can help, and make people have fun. In the last century. Africa was full of elephants and now it is only history. 

Many families take their children for trips on holiday. They usually travel for days 1 weeks. But Julie and Tim Rivenbark had a longer holiday with 2 two children. The Rivenbark family had a one-year trip around the world. They 3 about 30 countries in all. 

Ms Rivenbark said they just wanted 4 as much of the world as they could. The family spent time floating (漂流) on a boat in Italy. They flew in hot-air balloons (气球) in Myanmar. They had 5 long walk to the Everest Base Camp in Nepal and also went on safari (去游猎) in South Africa. 6 fantastic trip!

Tyler, the son, said he enjoyed 7 about the people they met. And his sister, Kara, found that she liked Chinese food 8 . 

Ms Rivenbark said the trip taught the children more than short visits would 9 . 

"I think the long travel can teach them how they see the world. I'm sure they can learn so much 10 the travel. "

Hi, Kwame. Congratulations on winning the award for Best Animation at the African Movie Awards! Can you tell us a bit about The Legend of Ngong Hills?

Yes. The film is based on a Maasai traditional folktale. The Legend of Ngong Hills is the creation story of a scenic mountain range on the outskirts of present- day Nairobi. The story is centered around the frightful ogre of the forest, who has a habit of attacking the nearby Maasai village. As the story goes, he falls in love with, and eventually gets trapped by a beautiful village girl.

When did you first become interested in African folktales?

As a child. I remember being told many stories by African storytellers, reading picture books, and watching films. I was especially taken with the famous West African character Anansi the Spider. Anansi is a fictional character who, in some stories, is human and can change into a spider or vice- versa. He's always described as a naughty character who pits his wits (斗智斗勇) against superior strength, usually with success. In many different versions of these tales, Anansi weaves his way in and out of trouble and teaches the audience life lessons. This really captured my imagination. From there, I became very interested in African and African Diaspora stories. These folktales tend to lend themselves perfectly to the medium of animation as they often have elements of fantasy like talking animals and magical powers.

 Why do you think it is important to retell these folktales?

Folktales usually shed light on a moral dilemma in the form of metaphor. I think African folktales stand out because they blend creation stories with a moral lesson. I find that African tales use different degrees of humor to help these lessons be received more easily. As times are changing in Africa diaspora, the traditional culture of the elders telling stories to the youth is disappearing. I feel it is important to preserve and improve these stories and culture through this media of film and animation.

…

 Finally, ____?

I look forward to creating a feature length African period or fantasy piece. The history of Africa is so rich and intricate yet very, very little is known of it, and film is such a powerful way to tell these stories.

 Thank you very much for speaking with us today, Kwame.

 Thanks a lot for your interest in my story and what is happening in Africa in terms of animation.

When I was 5 or 6 years old, I was a naughty (调皮) boy. One day, I tried to steal gum from the drugstore when my 1 took me shopping. I stood in front of the gum shelf, waiting for the right moment. After about 30 2 , I finally made my move, just as my mum was calling me to 3 . As we walked away, a store worker walked up to my mum and told her that I had taken a pack of gum.

My mum was really angry and insisted that it was 4 for me to do so. She thought her son was honest, good, and 5 lied or did anything bad. However, the store worker explained that all the workers, from the very beginning, had been watching me for half an hour. It was challenging for them to wait so long before I 6 did it. To prove they were wrong, my mum searched me, checked my pockets, and found 7 . The man was surprised, and my mum was proud and even scolded (责备) him.

Seeing the man's face turn red, I felt very sorry. I had to make a choice. As he started to walk away, I 8 my cap, reached inside, and offered the pack of gum to him. I said 9 with all my heart. Both the man and my mother were shocked, for different reasons.

Though I was punished, I felt less guilty because I 10 becoming a worse person. Better late than never.