Last summer Jenny and her friends had a bus trip to New York. She felt very relaxing on the way. They visited a museum. But it's really crowded there and the display(展览) were not interesting at all. They went to different restaurants to have dinner. Some food was quite delicious, but Jenny thought the fast food was terrible. When the weather was fine, they went to the beach to swim. The sea was beautiful and they had a good time.

    Mrs.White had a lovely young cat，and it was the cats first winter.One evening，it was1 outside when it began to snow.Mrs.White2 everywhere and shouted its.But she couldn't find it.So she3 the police，and said，"I4 a cat.Did anyone find one？""No，Madam" answered the policeman at the other end."I will ring you up if someone finds it.What5 is your cat？""white.""I think it may be in the snow.But don't worry.I know cats are really very6 animals."They sometimes live for a few days in the snow, and they're quite all right" Mrs.White felt7 when she heard this."Yes，yes.I think you are8"She said，"and my cat is very clever.She can almost talk." The policeman was getting tired.He said，"9 don't you put down your telephone？Perhaps she is trying to 10you now.

    "You have saved my horse," Queen Olivia told the young boy standing before her. "Now you shall get a gift for what you did." Peter nervously ran his fingers through his brown hair. That day when he was working in the field, the shocked horse ran past him. Without thinking, he rushed out and controlled it. He didn't know it was the Queen's horse and never expected to get a gift. But he still felt happy for getting one.

    Two of the queen's men appeared. One carried a mirror. Red jewels(珠宝) shone on top of the mirror's silver frame(框架). The other carried a wooden cage with a chicken inside it.

    "Only one gift can be yours," the queen said. "Choose wisely." "That's easy," Peter said. "I'll take the chicken." Some of the queen's men laughed. It was clear that they thought he had made a foolish choice.

    "And why did you choose the chicken?" the queen asked. "Well, I don't know much about jewels," Peter answered. "But I do know about chickens. The chicken will provide eggs for my family for a long while."

    Queen Olivia smiled. "Then you did make a wise choice," she said. "That mirror may look beautiful. But the jewels you see are only colored glass, and the frame is painted silver. The chicken is much more valuable." Peter took the chicken and bowed. "Thank you, your majesty."

    "You are a smart child," the queen added. "I could use a smart boy to help take care of my horses. Would you like to take the job?" Peter smiled. "Thank you very much!" he said excitedly. A job at the castle paid well. Now his family wouldn't worry about their food any more--all because he was kind to help others and smart enough to make the right choice!

    Today my aunt and uncle took me to see Niagara Falls! We went to the top first to see the falls from TableRock. The water ran very fast. We felt so tired that we took an elevator down through the rock and stood behind the waterfall. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the water. It was so powerful, and I felt I was so small.

    In the afternoon my aunt took me to the CN Tower. The view from the top was wonderful. It was very clear; I could see the whole city of Toronto and even into the US state of New York. After a while, I felt dizzy(眩晕的) from being so high. I read that lighting strikes(雷击) the tower about 75 times a year. I'm glad today was a clear day!

    Tonight we went ice-skating! I think everyone here in Toronto can ice-skate. At first I fell down a lot, but after a while, I was able to stay on my feet and move forward slowly. My aunt is really good at ice-skating; she took lessons as a girl. My uncle wasn't so graceful, but he could skate really fast. He used to play ice hockey(冰球) in high school. He skated around and around me. That made me laugh really hard, and then I fell down again!

Betty is a biologist. She studies brain diseases that come along with aging. Her 1 is not an easy one. She is trying to understand what goes wrong with the brain over time, and how people can age in a healthy way. It is very important, especially when people are living a 2 life now.

Betty does not have a natural gift (天赋) for math. She never 3 that she could be a scientist one day when she was little. Now, she has got a doctor's degree in biology and become a famous 4 researcher. Betty has made it partly because she is curious about everything. This is a very 5 quality for a scientist. Another 6 is that she is a creative thinker. "After all, science is all about problem-solving," Betty said.

Betty thinks the best part of her research is trying out an idea to see if it will work. Her heart is filled with joy when her idea is proved right and 7 by other scientists. But when things don't go 8 as she plans, she feels no disappointment. She says mistakes may 9 a new idea.

Few are born to be a 10 . According to Betty, curiosity and creativity play the biggest role.

My son, Kevin, loved wrestling (摔跤运动) as he was growing up. When he entered high school, he showed a lot of athletic ability. Even as a freshman wrestler, we could see the hope of his future, and he went on to improve each year. As a senior, he'd become the leader of a team that set an unbelievable record. Just as we expected, he went into the state tournament (锦标赛). 

Then he won four matches and ranked number one. Here we were, in the finals of the state tournament, ready to win our championship—we still didn't have a state championship when his high school career was over. 

Unluckily, his last match didn't go well! I felt terrible, and I was unwilling to accept what had just happened and unable to believe it. I painfully watched Kevin as he shook hands with his opponent (对手) and stood calmly as the judge raised his opponent's hand in victory. Then he quietly walked out of the gym. 

A few weeks later, I received a letter from Kevin's school. In the letter, the principal praised Kevin's devotion to his team, his respect to his opponents and his spirit of competition. After I read this, I cried. 

For years, I had watched every single match where Kevin had wrestled in high school, but I hadn't noticed all the outstanding qualities that his principal (校长) mentioned. I always focused on the wins. And when he didn't get that final win, I was especially hurt and disappointed. I'd failed to realize that Kevin was working hard to achieve victories, but always performing with character no matter whether he won or lost. 

At that moment, my son became my mentor (导师). He taught me that winners in life appreciate the pursuit more than the victory itself.