I started to learn English when I was six. My dad gave me1advice on listening to the Beatles. I listened to them every day for the next seven years. At the beginning, I could understand2of what they sang. But soon I started to understand some of the3.

    4 I got a book with the words of all the songs. And when I had time, I would read it. I learned many songs5this book. I6the songs to myself. Still, I understood very7of the meaning. To learn English well became my8, and I wanted to learn the9of the Beatles' songs. That is how I started to learn English.

    Today, I can understand the Beatles very10. Each time I hear a Beatles' song, I am happy and proud because my dream of learning English well has come true.

    The day before my daughter Norah's fourth birthday, I picked her up from preschool. On the way, she said, “I like old people best because they walk slowly like I walk slowly and they have soft skin like I have soft skin.”What she said marked a 1beginning.

    The following day—her birthday—again on the way home, she asked 2 we could stop at the store to buy cakes for her. How could I say3 to a birthday girl? After paying for the bill, I noticed that Norah was standing up in the cart,4announcing, “Hi, old person! It's my birthday today!” However, the old man in front of her didn't show he was5 by my talkative child. He 6 with a smile, “Well, little lady! And how old are you today?” After a few minutes' chat, Norah offered to take a photo with the old man called Mr. Dan, his expression changed from surprised to delighted. We exchanged our phone numbers. There was magic happening in the store that day, and we could 7 feel it.

    During our first visit in Mr. Dan's home, We walked with him to his front door. He pulled out a knife and 8the only blooming red rose. He spent ten minutes cutting every thorn（刺）9 the stem（茎）before handing it to his new friend. Norah keeps that rose, now10as a bone, under her pillow for a long time.

    Norah asks about Mr. Dan every day. She worries about him. She wonders if he's 11 or cold. She wants him to be OK. She wants him to feel loved. Mr. Dan thinks about Norah too. After 12 recent visit, he said that he had 13 had a whole night's sleep since his wife died. “Norah has healed me since meeting her.” he said. That left me 14 and my eyes wet with tears. Somehow, their hearts and souls seem to recognize each other from long ago. Sometimes talking to strangers can 15 beautiful new beginnings.

    It took Peter quite a while to find a place for his car, and in the end he had to 1 it on a small street, a few minutes away from the dentist's. As he got out, he looked at his watch. He would meet the dentist at five and he 2had half an hour. He walked into the square and sat down in a chair, to 3the failing sun.

    As he sat there, he 4 the children playing. He was5 to see a red car like his own come out of the street where he had parked. The car moved 6 and soon disappeared(消失). Peter felt in his pockets for his keys, but they were not there.

    "My car!" he shouted in a loud 7. He got up and ran out of the square, then down the small street. He couldn't see his car at first, and then he found it was 8 a larger one, with the keys on the roof of his car.

    By the time he got to the dentist's, it was after five. '" A very strange thing 9to me," he said to the dentist to explain why.

    "Don't 10 about that," said the dentist. "I just got here myself."

    Charlie Chaplin's parents separated a year after his birth in 1889. He lived with his mother and elder brother in a flat in London.

    Mrs. Chaplin managed to 1 her children on her own with the money she made as a singer. 2, their economic (经济的) situation changed when she became ill with laryngitis(喉炎) in 1894. Instead of resting her 3 until it got better, Mrs. Chaplin kept on singing. Her voice got weaker and weaker and she began to find it 4 to find well-paid work.

    One evening Charlie happened to be in the theatre 5 his mother singing on stage. Suddenly, her voice 6. She tried to finish the song, but the audience (观众) began to whistle and got angry. Mrs. Chaplin could not continue any longer and walked 7 the stage crying.

    The stage manager knew he had to do something quickly to 8 the embarrassing situation. He remembered Charlie once sang at a party. He 9 took Charlie by the hand to the stage. After a brief introduction, he left Charlie to please the audience.

    Charlie began to sing and dance in front of hundreds of people. The audience enjoyed the 10 very much and began to throw money. 11 Charlie saw this, he immediately stopped singing and announced to the audience that first he would 12 the money and then he would finish the song. The audience found this announcement especially 13 and started to throw even more money onto the stage.

    Charlie felt perfectly at home on stage. He did not feel 14 at all and danced and sang more songs to the audience. To his amazement, there was more 15 and more money throwing.

    That night was Charlie's first public performance on the stage and his mother's last.

    As an old Chinese saying goes, "Keep the old and you'll get nothing new". It's time to buy some new clothes for summer. But 1 will you do with your old clothes?

    Years ago, used clothes were 2 to younger brothers or sisters in one family. But now, most of us are the 3 child in the family, so we often wear new clothes. And people are buying more clothes 4 they are richer than before. Every year in China, people throw away about 26 million tons (吨) of used clothes 5 waste.

    In many countries, charity (慈善) shops collect and sell second-hand clothes. In those countries, people often shop for used clothes at charity shops like Oxfam. The British singer Victoria Beckham often buys from Oxfam. She said, "Here is a(n) 6 I want more people to know about: used clothes are not useless. We can give them 7 to people in poor areas. We can also try to make full use of these clothes in creative ways. For example, they can be used to make things like toys."

    Few Chinese cared about fashion years ago, but now more and more people are 8 in it. H&M, a fashion clothing brand (品牌), is inviting people 9 their used clothes into special boxes in its 45 stores in China. They sell some of the clothes at a lower price 10 cleaning them, so people don't have to worry about any health problem. As much as 95% of clothes thrown away can be re-worn or recycled. This helps people to cut down resource waste and give their clothes a new life.