Sixteen years ago a boy gave me an important gift. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It was the early autumn of my first year at a middle school, and my old school was far away. As a result, no one knew who I was. I was very lonely, and afraid to make friends with anyone.
Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart break. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Then one day, my classmates talked happily with their friends, but I sat at my desk unhappily as usual. At that moment, a boy entered the classroom. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} he passed me and then turned back. He looked at me with a smile.
Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy, lively and warm. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I started to talk with other students and made friends. Day by day, I became closer to everyone in my class. The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now.
One day I asked him why he smiled, but he couldn't remember smiling at me! I t doesn't matter because all the dark days have gone. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you think it lonely, you might always be alone. So smile at world and it will smile back.

    Bamboo is one of the nature's most surprising plants. (1) 许多人称这种植物为树，但它是一种草。

Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe.

（2）There are more than 1 ， 000kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains （平原）．

      Not all bamboo looks the same．Some bamboo plants are very thin．They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30centimeters across．This plant also comes in different colors，from yellow to black to green．

      Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years．They often use bamboo for building new buildings．As a matter of fact，the cables （绳索） that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo．The bridge has been in use for more than 1，000years，and is still holding strong．

      In Africa，（3）engineers are teaching poor farmers how to use bamboo to find water ． These African countries need cheap ways to find water because （4 ）they have no money，and their fields often die from no rain and no water．It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use．Bamboo pipes and drills （钻） can help to make the poor thirsty fields be watered．

    When it comes to the letter grade on your test or homework, you might notice that there is no letter E. Have you ever thought about why that is so?

    In the A. B. C. D and F grading system, the first four letter are typically considered passing grades. An F in this system simply stands for "fail". The word "fail" happens to start with the letter F, which seems to leave out the letter E, The fact of the matter is that any letter can mean "not-passing" or "fail". Some schools have U grade for unsatisfactory", or I grade for "incomplete."

    Even with all this said, we should also point out that E grade actually has been used pretty commonly throughout the history of letter grades in the US.

    The first college in the US to use a letter grading system like the ones we use today is Mount Holyoke College. In 1897, they began to use the following grading scale:

A: 95-100% (excellent)   B: 85-94%(good)   C: 76-84%(fair)

D: 75%(barely passed)   E: below 75%(failed)

    We can see the inclusion of E instead of F.

    Gradually, the letter grading system became more popular throughout the US. However, many schools decided to drop the E grade and go straight to F. There is no evidence(证据)to really support this, but one possible explanation is that teachers were worried that some students and parents might mistake E for "excellent".

    Why do we have letter grades? Well, part of the reason is that they made grading simpler during n time of great change for schools. As the 20th century began, growing cites and an increase in immigration led to larger school classrooms. Most teachers at that time thought this new letter grading system was an easy, fair and clear way to grade students.

    Today, more and more people argue that letter grades don' t fully reflect(反映)student learning. However, as teachers try to improve grading methods, many parents continue to favor the letter grades they got as kids. They are familiar(熟悉) and easy for parents to understand. So while they might not be perfect, the letter grades probably aren't going away any time soon.

        ①   

    Choose your parks carefully. You don't want to be bored at an amusement park. If you're happy at a theme park, you will have the best time ever. You may want to ask your friends' opinion and facts about the park.

      ② 

    The benefit of getting a map is that if it shows a busy route, you can find another route to go to, so you can get there earlier.

       ③   

    Pack up stuff you might need on your trip. Also, you might want suntan lotion if it gets too sunny.  Make sure you have shoes that are comfortable. Theme parks are usually spread out all over the place, and they are huge.

       ④  

    Make sure you stop and eat for a while. You need to stay happy in the park, not just enjoy the rides.