If you take a look at the best-selling books in the UK these days, it is almost certain that there will be a lot of autobiographies (自传) in that list. Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and actor Michael J Fox have all written them. An autobiography is the story of a person's life, written by that person. It is usually a very famous person who might tell us all about their childhood, how they became famous and any other interesting things that have happened in their lives.

    Traditionally, someone would write an autobiography when they were older because they had had a long, successful life. However, these days there are many magazines with stories and photos of the stars which sell very well. Reality TV shows are extremely popular and lots of people become famous very easily just from being on the TV rather than being able to sing or act well. As a result, people become famous very quickly and as soon as they are famous, a lot of money can be made from writing an autobiography, even if they are very young.

    So now you can find an autobiography from almost everyone who is in the public eye. Even though we can follow the lives of the stars very closely on TV or in magazines nowadays, we maybe don't know how they live their lives from day to day. Autobiographies often give the information we never knew about the stars. The British public are very curious to find out more so they are very eager to read autobiographies.

    Not every star wants to write though. Sometimes stars employ writers to write their life stories for them. The writer will interview the stars, listen to everything they want to say, record interviews and then write books based on their words. David Beckham did this with his book My Side.

    Not everyone likes to read books regularly but they might like to read about the lives of stars. Autobiographies are helping to get more British people reading books. About 100 million autobiographies are sold in Britain every year. More stars depend on them for extra income and as more of these books appear in the shops, more people are sure to keep buying them.

    Why do people like what they like? Scientists have taken on the task of solving this mystery(奥秘)for ages. In the 1960s, psychologist Robert Zajonc conducted a series of experiments where he showed people nonsense words and random shapes. Afterward he asked his subjects which they preferred out of ever thing they had been shown. In study after study, people always chose the words and shapes they had seen the most. Their preference was for familiarity.

    This discovery was one of the most important findings in modern psychology. But the preference for familiarity has clear limits. People get tired of even their favorite songs and movies. On one hand, humans seek familiarity, because it makes them feel safe. On the other hand, people love the thrill of something new. This change between familiarity and discovery affects ns all the time- not just our preferences for pictures and songs, but also our preferences for ideas and even people.

    For that reason, the power of familiarity seems to be strongest when a person isn't expecting it. The opposite is also true: A surprise seems to work best when it contains some familiarity. Nobody knows this better than Raymond Loews, who is considered to be the "father of industrial design. He had a theory that he said could help artists sell anything to anyone. He called it MAYA --"Most Advanced Yet Acceptable""To sell something surprising, make it familiar; and to sell something familiar, make it surprising," he said.

    One of Loewy's final tasks was too add an element(要素)of familiarity to a truly new invention: NASA's first space station. Loewy's biggest contribution to the space station was that he insisted NASA install a window with a view of Earth. Today, tens of millions of people have seen this small detail in films about astronauts. It is hard to imagine a more perfect example of MAYA: a window to a new world can also show you home.

    These days our society develops rapidly and forces people to rush. It appears that people have got used to being in a hurry. However, it's better for people to take their time and live their life at a slower pace than to hurry to get things done.

    The main reason that convinces us to oppose doing work in a hurry is the possibility of doing wrongs in a rush. When people do their jobs or take action in a hurry, they can't make a sound decision and probably regret later. As the saying goes, 'Haste makes waste.' We should think carefully before making a decision and do our work less quickly. We should not make mistakes by doing work hurriedly.

    Slowing down the pace of life helps people enjoy their life better. For example, taking a train to some place certainly will take more time than taking a plane. However, taking a train makes people have enough time to get to know a lot of new friends. Besides, it allows people to fully enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. On the contrary, being in a hurry will make us lose chances of enjoying our lives.

    Finally, slower life pace provides better health conditions for us. As is known to all, taking action in a hurry bothers people and raises their stress. People think if they are not in a hurry, they will become a loser and that annoys them. But being in a hurry can hurt people both physically and mentally. According to some studies, people who have a slower pace suffer fewer diseases, tend to be happier and live much longer than those whose life is tense, even if the former finish jobs more slowly than the latter.

    In short, working quickly will bring about more material benefits to make our society more advanced. Yet, much stress can't bring enjoyment, friends and health, which are much more important than money and other material advantages. Therefore, take your time and live your life at a slower pace.

I clearly remember the day I walked into class with a big change — my very first pair of eye glasses and I was the first to wear glasses in my primary school.

I was filled with excitement, eager to show them off to my friends. I had chosen pink framed glasses, thinking they would look fantastic on me.

I had never worn glasses before, so selecting them felt like a fun shopping experience. I got to pick the shape I liked and even chose a pretty pink and purple colour combination.

The reason behind getting the glasses was my poor eyesight. I couldn't copy words and proper grammar from the blackboard because I sat at the back of the class, and everything was too vague for me to see. My friend would read aloud every phrase to me so that I could write them down, like a parrot.

Wearing those glasses was like stepping into a 3D cinematic world. I could see everything as clearly and each tiny de tail felt like a delightful surprise.

However, on the day I wore my glasses to school, everyone's reaction to my transformation was beyond my expectation. All the boys laughed and even teased me. Some kind-hearted girls forced a smile and told me that my glasses looked good on me, but I knew they didn't. They all lied.

Though I needed those glasses more than I wanted them, yet I started to dislike my new glasses in the following week. A month passed, my classmates still weren't used to seeing me in glasses and I took them off during the lunch break or when the classes were dismissed. However, little did I know that my decision to wear them would change the lives of many of my friends.

注意：1.续写词数应为 150左右2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

One Monday, one of my friends looked at me with curiosity. 

……

A week later, I was shocked to see the same friend return to school with a pair of glasses.

She was the prettiest little dog we had ever seen, and the whole family immediately fell in love with her. We named her Onyx because of her thick, shiny black coat. She spent her first vacation with us when she was only ten weeks old and had her first bath and swim in the St. Lawrence River. We had no clue that this amazing little ball of fur would end up being our hero. As she grew older, Onyx became more and more involved in our family activities. On hot summer days, Onyx enjoyed floating on the river with us in her own rubber tube(橡皮圈). Amazingly standing on the top of the tube, she smiled while showing off her perfect balance. Resting her front legs and paws over the edge of the rubber tube, she kept her eyes shut as she floated until she'd had enough of the warm sun on her black coat. 

One day, our eighteen-year-old daughter, Margie, announced she was going to swim across the bay. No one in the family was free to go swimming with her. The unwritten rule, regardless of swimming ability, was to have a companion in the water with you, especially when swimming the width of the bay. I was not a good swimmer, so I said to Margie, "Take Onyx with you. "Having heard her name, Onyx woke up from a nap and was ready for action. Margie signed the dog to follow her. Onyx ran to the water next to her. They entered the freezing river together and swam side by side across the bay. 

I watched from the riverbank as they reached the sandbar(沙洲 )on the far shore. They rested a few minutes before diving into the water for the return trip. I felt uneasy for some reason and continued to watch the pair swim side by side. 

注意：

1. 续写词数应为150左右；

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

paragraph1: Suddenly I heard Margie calling out, "I have a cram(痉挛)in the leg! "

paragraph2: Seeing the pair approaching the riverbank, I breathed a sigh of relief.