This was the first real task I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. As I searched the name, I found that there were two famous people having the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts（花生）, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice: let the coin decide. I flipped(掷) a coin and Ah! Tails (背面)! My report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

    Weeks later, I stood in front of the classroom and proudly read my homework. But things started to get strange. I looked around the room, only to find my classmates with big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes and my stone-faced teacher. I was completely lost. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

    Oh well, I dropped the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American War of Independence.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that my teacher meant that George Washington?

    Of course, my subject result was awful. Sad but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to the headmaster Miss Lancelot, but she said firmly(坚决地): No re-dos; no new score. I felt that it was not fair, and I believed I should have a second chance. So I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, I sat in the headmaster's office again, but this time a completely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the terrible moment at the beginning of the year when the headmaster told me I was good enough to skip(跳过) the 6th grade and started the 7th grade next term.

I'm an animal lover. When I was a kid, my family took care of an Alsatian 1 called Paddy. He belonged to a family 2 lived nearby. They were nice people but they didn't know how to 3 a big dog. They asked us to help them because we had 4 kept dogs and were known as" the dog family". Every day we'd go to see Paddy, who lived in the family's cold garage (车库). We'd feed him, stay with him and take him out for long 5 sometimes. 

We'd spend hours 6 Paddy. We even took him to camp with us, 7 he used to pull me along on a toy tractor(拖拉机). Paddy had the kindest 8 I'd ever seen in a dog. He 9 his kindness and protective nature in his behavior. 

One day I was on a swing(秋千) going higher and higher. Paddy stopped 10 . Other people might think Paddy was bad. But we knew he was 11 his little boy going too high on a swing. He was 12 me. 

His eyes seemed to get kinder and kinder. Sometimes when he looked at us, I thought he was thanking us for what we did for him to make his life 13 . He made our lives better, too. 

As 14 went by, Paddy and I grew together till life's sad cycle(周期) finally took Paddy away from us. But I'll always remember Paddy, my 15 friend and protector. 

Here's a picture of my family. Today {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) the Dragon Boat Festival, we are all at home. My mom and grandmother {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (make) zongzi but my dad and grandfather are watching the boat races on TV. Do you know what I'm doing? I'm talking {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the phone to my cousin in Thailand. But there isn't a Dragon Boat Festival in Thailand, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} it's like any other day for my cousin. He misses his family and wishes {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (have) his mom's delicious zongzi. Now my cousin is studying in Thailand. He tells {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (I) that the elephant is one of Thailand's symbols. Elephants are smart animals. They {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (play) soccer or music. They can also draw very {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (good). People say that " {#blank#}9{#/blank#} elephant never forgets". They can also remember places with food and water. This helps them to live. But elephants are in great {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (dangerous) because people cut down many trees and kill them for their ivory. We must take action to save them. We share(分享) a blue sky together.

Volunteering is a great way to help others. For example, you can help your friends with their homework；or you can chat with an elderly person who feels 1 . Helping others can actually help yourself, too. 

There is a girl called Jane. She worked as 2 volunteer at the Hillside Soup Kitchen  3 she was 16 years old. She  4 working there for three years. Different kinds of food, drinks and snacks are served to the hungry families in the soup kitchen. "I like helping other people. And I think I can learn a lot  5 it, too. Volunteering gives me a chance to meet many people  6 helps me to connect with people. For example, I have made many good friends there, " says Jane. 

Every Saturday, Jane wakes up early and goes to the soup kitchen after having breakfast. The soup kitchen is not far away from  7 home. It usually takes Jane fifteen minutes  8 there. "The families are very friendly, " she says. "I always say hello politely before I give them food, and they 9 say "thank you. "When Jane sees the smiles on their faces, she feels much  10 . 

Volunteering increases your happiness. It can give you a sense of purpose, which can in turn develop your self﹣confidence and make you active.