Considered one of the greatest English writers，Rudyard Kipling was born on December 30，1865，in Bombay, India．Young Kipling was especially close to his mother．For Kipling，India was a wonderful place．He learned the language and connected with the country and its culture．

    However, at the age of six，Kipling's life changed when his mother, wanting her son to receive a good education in British schools，sent him to Southsea，England，where he attended school and lived with a family named the Holloways．

  These were hard years for Kipling．Mrs．Holloway was a strict woman．She beat and laughed at the young man，who also tried to be good at school．

Kipling's solace(安慰)came in books and stories．With few friends，he made himself busy in reading，but Mrs. Holloway always took away his books．

    Kipling's mother finally knew about her son's hard life．She rushed back to England and placed him in a new school in Devon．There，Kipling discovered his interest in writing，later becoming editor(编辑)of the school newspaper．

    In 1882，Kipling returned to India and worked for a magazine，writing poetry and stories in his spare time．In 1892，he married Caroline Balestier．Then，the couple lived in America．Kipling seemed to love his new life，which soon saw the Kiplings welcome their first and second children．As a writer,too，Kipling wrote The Jungle Book(1894)，The Naulahka：A Story of West and East(1892)and The Second Jungle Book(1895)．Kipling was delighted to be around children．His books enchanted(使着魔)girls and boys all over the English—speaking world．In 1907，he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature(文学)and became the first English author in the Nobel history．

  Kipling's The Jungle Book was adapted(改编)to a Disney film in 1967．A new live—action version(改编本)of the movie came out early this year ,which has proved to be a success．

    Martin is a fifteen-year-old boy. He used to be a "problem child", but a recent 1 with his mother changed his life. He didn't use to give his mother many problems. 2 , after his father's death a few years ago, Martin's life became 3 more difficult. His mother couldn't afford to pay for her child's education. To do this, she 4 work, and so she was often not at home. His mother looked after him as 5 as she could. Unfortunately, Martin still caused problems. He was not 6 in studying and he often got into trouble. Luckily, his mother was very 7 and didn't give up trying to help him. In the end, she 8 a difficult decision: to send him to a boys' boarding school. Martin hated it and used to cause a lot of trouble. One day, he told his teacher he wanted to leave the school. The teacher said it was necessary for Martin to 9 with his mother. Martin called his mother, but to his 10 , this phone call changed his life. "It was exactly 11 I needed," he said. "My mother helped me to understand how much she had given me. She also told me that even though my father was no longer with us, he was 12 me and would always take pride in everything good I do. That's when I decided to change. I realize that 13 my father died, I have been afraid of being alone, and have tried to make my mother pay more attention to me." Now Martin has 14 changed. He has been working hard and is now one of the best students in his class. How was he able to change? His mother's 15 helped him to feel good about himself.

Dear Dale,

    I'm David, and I'm your new penfriend. I'm 12 and I live in Vancouver, a city in Canada. I have short black hair and black eyes.

    My mother and father are from Beijing, China and we speak Chinese and English at home. My father is a doctor and my mother is a teacher. My sister Amy is 22. She doesn't live at home, because she works in New York, USA. She likes yellow. My brother Jack is at university (大学) and he studies computer science. He is 18 and we live in the same room. We like blue, so the walls (墙) of our room are

blue.

    Please write and tell me about you and your family.

    All the best,

David

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

    Lisa was a single mother who lived with her little son. She lost her job two years ago and they had a very hard life. Being poor was terrible. Her heart was broken every time her son asked, "Can I have some more bread and jam please, Mommy?"

    One day, when her son asked the same question again, she decided to prepare a big meal for him with the only 6 dollars in her hand. She went to the supermarket, bought some food and cooked at home. Lisa was a shy mother, but she was strong— minded. "It's time to make a change, "she thought. She used to love writing. In order to make some money, she began to write articles for magazines day and night.

    Things went better. The local food bank started to provide her with some free vegetables every month. Her son finally had enough to eat. Once he told Lisa that the dishes she made were delicious. Suddenly, an idea came to Lisa's mind, "Why not share my recipes (食谱) on the Internet? "She did. Many people liked her recipes and she became popular.

    Soon after that, some reporters interviewed her and asked her to write a book on cooking. When Lisa got the money for the book she wrote, she had a good sleep for the first night during the two years. Now Lisa has a well—paid job and a beautiful home, but she'll never forget the days when she worked hard for a good life.