Once there was a famine（饥荒）.A rich cook sent for twenty of the poorest children in the town and said to them, “In this basket there is a piece of bread for each of you. Take it and come back to me every day at this hour for more.”

    In a hurry the hungry children got together around the basket, and fought over the bread because each wanted the largest piece.At last they went away without even thanking the good cook. Mary, a poorly-dressed girl, did not fight with the other children,but stood quietly in distance.When the badly-behaved children had left,Mary took the smallest piece,which was all left in the basket.She kissed the cook's hand and went home.

    The next day the children were as badly-behaved as before. Mary got a piece of bread almost half the size of the one she got the first day.When she came home,her mother cut the bread open. Many new, shining pieces of silver fell out of it.

    Her mother was very worried, and said, “Take the money back to the cook at once.The silver must have fallen into the dough（面团）by accident. Hurry up, Mary” When the little girl gave the rich man her mother's message, he said, “It was no mistake.I had the silver pieces put into the smallest bread for you as a prize. Always be as satisfied, peaceable and thankful as you now are. Go home now, and tell your mother that the money is yours.”

    Once upon a time, there lived a very rich and wealthy man in a big town. He led a luxurious life. He always showed off his wealth to his friends and relatives.

    His son was studying in a distant city and he returned home for vacation. The rich man wanted to show off to his son how rich he was. But his son didn't like any luxurious lifestyle. However, the rich man wanted to make his son realize that his lifestyle was extremely rich and that poor people suffered a lot. He planned a day's visit to the entire town to show him the life of the poor people.

    The father and the son took a chariot and visited the entire town. They returned home after two days. The father was happy that his son was very quiet after seeing the poor people honoring（尊敬） the rich man and after witnessing the sufferings of the poor.

    The rich man asked his son, "Dear boy, how was the trip? Have you enjoyed it?"

    "Yes my dad, it was a great trip with you," the son replied.

    "So, what did you learn from the trip?" the father asked.

    The son was silent.

    "Finally you have realized how the poor suffer and how they actually live," said the father.

    "No father," replied the son. He added, "We have only two dogs, they have 10 dogs. We have a big pool in our garden, but they have a large bay（港湾） without any end! We have luxurious and expensive lights from various countries, but they have countless stars lighting their nights. We have a house on a small piece of land, but they have abundant fields that go beyond the horizon（视野）. We are protected by huge and strong walls around our property（财产）, but they bond with（与……连着） each other and surround themselves with their fellow beings. We have to buy food from them, but they are so rich that they can grow their own food."

    The rich father was stunned and speechless, on hearing his son's words.

    Finally the son added, "Dad, thank you so much for showing me who is rich and who is poor. Thank you for letting me understand how poor we really are!"

The greatest source of inspiration for me has always been my father. Though he's been gone for 17 years, his 1 still resonate (产生共鸣). He taught me how to run my own race in life. But the most inspiring thing he taught me was to 2.

One incident is 3 in my mind. It happened when I was a teenager. My sister and I weren't very fond of a so-called friend of 4. Dad was a very generous man, and as he'd done with so many people, he'd given this fellow great help. But when he asked for a favor 5, the guy didn't deliver.

Dad's outlook (人生观) on most things was "Live and let live." In this case, however, his calmness 6 Terre and me, and we let him know it.

"How can you be nice to that man?" we said to him. "You've been so kind to him, and he's not being kind back. Why would you want to give him the time of day again?"

My father shrugged (耸肩) and said to us, " I do not bend my back with 7." I didn't get it at first, but over the years I came to understand the 8. Holding a grudge (怨恨) doesn't 9 the person you're angry with, but it changes you. It makes you heavier and gives you more weight to drag around.

After my father died in 1991, a (n) 10 came from a fellow I'd had a quarrel with years before to 11 his sympathy. He wrote: " I thought I'd tell you how sorry I am 12 the loss of your father. I know he 13 the world to you. I just wanted to let you know that you are in my thoughts."

Much moved, I wrote back. I thanked him for his 14. And then, because he'd 15 our disagreement, I recalled Dad's inspiring words. "I am my father's daughter," I wrote. "And like him, I do not bend my back with yesterday."

My good friend Laura is my cousin. She is one year older than me. She is more hard-working and she usually gets {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (good) grades than me in the tests. Both of {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (we) like reading and swimming. Though we have{#blank#}3{#/blank#} same hobby, we have some differences. For example, she is more outgoing and enjoys {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(tell) jokes. What's more, she has a great talent for singing. She wants to be a famous singer. So she decides {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (practice) singing every day. She often sings in {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (show) and I have watched her sing many times. We talk {#blank#}7{#/blank#}everything together and always share our happiness and sadness（悲伤）with each other. My favorite saying is, "A true friend reaches for your hand {#blank#}8{#/blank#}touches your heart. " Laura is a friend like this. 

Laura also studies photography（摄影）in her free time, so she is{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(real) busy. She has taken a lot of wonderful photos. Last year, she{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(win) first prize in the city photo competition. I am lucky that I have such a good friend. 

Hello! I am Liu Tian. I am 13 years old. I live {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Baoding now. My favourite animals are cats {#blank#}2{#/blank#} dogs. I also like eating chicken and {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (potato) very much. Black is my favourite colour.

This is my new friend. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (she) full name is Sally White. Sally is her {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (one) name, and White is her family name. We are in{#blank#}6{#/blank#} same school. But we are in different {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (class). She is also 13 years old. She is from London, the UK. Now she {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (live) in Baoding with her parents. She likes{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (China) food a lot. Her favourite food is Mapo tofu. Sally and I {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (be) good friends.

Wu Zeyin, 12, comes from Hubei, China. He {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(move) to Botswana with his family eight years ago. "I can see only a few kinds of fruit and vegetables at supermarkets here. They don't look good, but their prices are high," Wu said

Because of the desert climate (气候) in Botswana, it is {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(true) difficult for farmers there to grow fruit and vegetables. Botswana has to buy lots of fruit and vegetables from other{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(country), such as South Africa. Botswana has been working with China {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(solve) this problem. In July 2022, Botswana started {#blank#}5{#/blank#}program to grow China's water - saving rice. Knowing it, Wu wanted to help with local agriculture (当地的农业) in his way. "I dreamed {#blank#}6{#/blank#}creating an app to help local farmers," Wu said.

Wu has a good brain and he has made his dream come true by {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(develop) a new app called Farm Assistant. The app can teach farmers how to grow vegetables such as potatoes, onions, carrots and cabbages. Farmers who use the app can click ( 点 击 ) on a picture of a vegetable to see {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(it) seed (种子) price, watering needs, selling price, etc. After the farmers plant the seeds, the app can remind them {#blank#}9{#/blank#}they need to do at different times. Wu hopes his app can make the farmers' work a lot {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(easy) than before.

What a useful app and what a smart boy!