A

    Mr. White works in an office. He liked reading in bed when he was at school. It was bad for his eyes and now he is near-sighted. But he wouldn't want anybody else to know about it and he never wears a pair of glasses. It often brings him some trouble.

    One winter morning he was sent to a village school on business. He got off a bus at a stop in a small town. Then he had to walk there. The road to the village wasn't smooth. There were stones here and there. He fell over several times and it made his clothes very dirty. At last he got to the village. Suddenly it began to blow strongly and it got much colder. His hat was blown off while he was looking for the school. He had to run after it but he couldn't catch it. He was wondering why his hat ran into a house as if it had legs. And then he ran into the house, too.

    A big woman appeared and stopped him by shouting angrily, "What are you running after my hen for?"

    The back door of the ambulance(救护车) was suddenly shut and the driver ran to the front, jumped into his seat, and started the engine. Inside were the1 parents, Mr. and Mrs. Green, the mother holding their baby daughter Ally. The little girl had 2 food stuck in her throat and could hardly breathe.

    The driver, Mr. White, 3 his siren (报警器) and flashing light, and started speeding towards the nearest hospital, fighting against4. The cars ahead of him pulled out of the way as he drove through the 5from the back of the 6 the parents were shouting at him to    7 , since Ally had almost stopped breathing. In front of him he saw some traffic lights, with the red "STOP" light shining. Mr. White knew that he had no time to 8 , so he drove straight past the traffic lights, looking to his left and right as he did so.

    Coming towards him from his right was a taxi. The driver had the windows 9, since the car was air-conditioned, and he was playing his radio. He did not10the ambulance. The lights were green, so he drove straight on into the path of the ambulance.

    Mr. White tried to stop his ambulance but it was too late. It hit the taxi. Everybody was shaken but no one was hurt. Mr. White looked to see how little Ally was. He was astonished to see relief instead of 11on the faces of the parents.

    "Look!" cried Mrs. Green. "She is 12again."

    "It must have been the crash." said her husband. "It 13 the food out of her throat." The baby's color was turning to14 , and she was crying in a loud but healthy 15.

    They were all joyful, and quite forgot about the accident, the taxi, and the lines of cars all around them.

    A British man has learned the skills needed to perform Beijing Opera, making the audience (观众) enjoy his lively performance of the Monkey King.

    Ghaffar Pourazar, born in Iran, said he has been a big fan of Bruce Lee since he was a child and is full of interest about China. In 1993, he happened to watch Beijing Opera performed in London by professionals from Jingju Theatre Company of Beijing. Ghaffar said he fell in love with the beautiful voices, colorful costumes, excellent shows and so on. So after one year, he arrived in China alone and became a student of Beijing Opera at a Beijing school.

    At the age of 32, he had to learn with teenage students every day, starting from the most basic training of the legs and waist. At the time, he was mostly troubled by the dialogue in Beijing Opera. To him, it was the biggest obstacle. But he never gave up.

    Four years later, he began to learn to perform the Monkey King, a traditional character from the Chinese classic story Journey to the West. He said he arrived in the workroom an hour earlier than other performers and also bought books and CDs to better understand the character.

    Ghaffar today is not only good a speaking Beijing dialect (方言) but has also built a fame for Beijing Opera. He once got a top international prize for performing the Monkey King.

    To help more people enjoy Beijing Opera, Ghaffar often teaches the traditional art form in schools in the United States, Britain and other countries. When he found that the language was difficult to understand, he started to translate Beijing Opera song lyrics. Ghaffar led a group of actors to perform 66 times in a month and a half in the United States. He also led a 48-member team to perform in Malaysia. In the past 10 years, he has performed in more than 400 shows.

When I was in school, I volunteered to work in a hospital for some time.

On one visit, I carefully entered a dark room to find an elderly man {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (lie) in bed. I firstly thought he was sleeping. When I moved {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (close), however, I realized he was very much awake. He wanted to communicate something; but I couldn't make sense of what he {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (say). 0He seemed quite weak, and I couldn't tell if he was in pain, or just frightened. I knew nothing about him, and I felt totally helpless. He clearly didn't want me {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (leave) him, but I felt so lost and uncomfortable that I had to leave the room after only a couple of {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (minute).

The next time I was at {#blank#}6{#/blank#} hospital and saw him again, I was certain he didn't remember me. But he {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (immediate) said, "I remember you. , You gave me hope in my darkest hour that evening!" I was so {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(amaze) that I didn't know how to answer.

In the short moment of my staying there, I did nothing at all. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} surprisingly he found in me something he needed, just because I was there.

I have thought about this thing often over the past years. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} makes me want to offer whatever kindness I can to others, and I try to make it out and appreciate (赞赏) it.

Today Is Different

	"On Saturday mornings I usually get up late and do the housework. Then I meet some friends in town for lunch, and go shopping in the afternoon." But this Saturday is different! This morning she's getting married(结婚). She's in church with all her family and friends. She's wearing a white dress, and her husband is standing next to her.
	"On my birthday I sometimes go out with friends, or I go out to a restaurant with my family. My mom usually makes me a birthday cake." But this birthday is different! It's Leo's eighteenth birthday, so now he's an adult(成人). This morning he got a lot of gifts. Now he's having a big party with all his friends. They're dancing and drinking beer. Leo's wearing a blue sweater.

Once there lived a little rabbit in the forest. One day, while the rabbit {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(walk), he saw a river. He saw himself in the river when he {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(drink). "Look {#blank#}3{#/blank#} my long beautiful ears," the rabbit said to himself. "I'm so proud (自豪的) of {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(they). But look at my legs. They are so short {#blank#}5{#/blank#} they make me look silly. "

After the rabbit finished drinking, he was ready {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(leave). {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(sudden), he found a tiger running towards him. With his short legs, the rabbit began to run as fast as he could. While the rabbit was running, the tiger {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(follow) it. But the tiger couldn't catch up with him at all. 

"I'm safe now," said the rabbit happily when he stopped running. But the tiger appeared again after about five {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(minute). Just before the rabbit wanted to run away, the tiger{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(catch) him by his long ears. So what are your advantages or disadvantages?