Ray was thought to be a strange boy. One day when he was flying his kite, he said to himself," Did anybody ever try to fly a kite at night? I think it must be very fun. But the kite can't be seen in the dark. What if I tie a light to it? That would be really good. I {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(try) it tonight."

As soon as it was dark, he {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(take) his kite and lantern, and went to a large field about a mile from his home. He tied the lantern to the tail of his kite. The lantern {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(make) of paper. The kite flew higher and higher. He tied the string (线)to a tree, and then he stood there, staring at his kite. It floated (飘) high up into the air. How wonderful! While Ray {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(enjoy) his special kite, some people in the village also saw it.

"Look! A light{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (fly) in the sky," one person said. "It can't be a light," said a man.

"Perhaps it's a big firefly (萤火虫) ,"said another,

"Maybe it's a comet (彗星),"said another man.

"How strange!" said a boy.

"Let's find out what this strange light{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (be)," the last one said. Then they went to the field.

Ray, who had gotten tired of standing, was sitting behind a tree. He{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (see) the men as they came, but they didn't see him. When they reached under the light, and saw what it was, they looked at each other and said, "There is nothing unusual {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(happen)! This is just a trick of some naughty boys, but it {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (fool) us all.

Let's keep the secret. "Then they laughed and went back to the village. When the men had gone, Ray thought it was time for him {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(go), so he went home, too. When his mother heard what he had done, she hardly knew whether to laugh or scold (责备), but just told him to go to bed.

Damon tossed(扔) the tennis ball high in the air and watched. Prince ran and caught it in his mouth.

"Good boy, Prince!" Damon said.

Prince dropped the ball at Damon's feet just as a bark came from the next door. Damon looked up to see a little puppy(幼犬) run out of the house.

"Come on, Prince," Damon said. "Scott got a new puppy. Let's go to say hi."

Damon ran over to Scott. "Hey," Damon said.

Damon bent down and laughed, "What's his name?"

"Duke. My dad brought him home for me last night."

"Hi, Duke," Damon said.

Prince barked and nudged the tennis ball towards Damon.

"Not now," Damon said. "I'm playing with Duke."

Duke tried to pick up the tennis ball, but his mouth was too small.

"Sorry, little guy. You need to grow a little before you can play with the ball," Damon said.

"Hey," Scott said, "show Duke how well Prince can catch the ball."

Damon wanted to keep playing with Duke. But Scott said to him, "Come on, show him."

Damon got up. He tossed the ball high in the air, and Prince jumped up to catch it.

"Wow!" Scott said. "I can't wait for Duke to be big enough to do that."

"But the puppy is so cute and fun," Damon said.

"Yeah, but Duke is too little to play with a ball. Prince is like having a friend around all the time," Scott said.

Damon looked at Prince and smiled. He was happy to have a dog who was also a friend.

Can you imagine what the human body in the future will be like? Our class had a discussion about it. Tiantian, an AI (artificial intelligence人工智能) robot, also joined us. Here are our guesses.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Humans are now ten centimeters (厘米) taller than 150 years ago. So, in the future, people will probably be even taller. Why? Because most of us today have much better food than those in the past.

You must say that people will be stronger according to the first guess. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} With the development of science and technology, we won't have much physical work to do. If people get used to this kind of lifestyle, we will probably lose most of our muscles (肌肉).

Next, let's come to our hands and feet. We are already using our feet less, and our hands more. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} At the same time, our fingers and our eyes will both get better because they'll have to do more work together.

Here comes the most interesting one—it's very possible that people will have four toes (脚趾), not five. The little toe really isn't needed anymore. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Let's wait and see.

Last but not least—people won't have as much hair on their bodies as now, since we don't need it to keep ourselves warm.

What do you think of our guesses? {#blank#}5{#/blank#} With the rise of AI, will we lose the ability of thinking independently?

A. But you're wrong.

B. Will all these things happen?

C. Let's start with people's height.

D. Will it still be there in the future?

E. So we can expect our legs will get shorter and our feet smaller.

Ethan was riding his new bike. When he got to the end of the road, he turned around. He stopped the bike in front of Mom. 

"See? I never fall anymore. Can I ride to the park alone now?"

Usually, when Ethan rode a bike to the park, Mom or Dad came along. But this time, he was sure he could do it on his own. 

Mom looked at Ethan and said, "OK. But there are lots of cars on the street when you ride. You must be careful of them. And remember to come home early. Now, have fun on your own!"

Ethan felt excited to hear this. The park wasn't far from his home. Ethan looked both ways when he rode into the street, and he remembered his mom's words. At the end of the street, Ethan had to turn right to get to the park. He used his arm to make the signal (信号) so cars would know where he was going. 

When Ethan arrived at the park, he slowed down. He parked his bike and ran to find his friends. 

"You know what? I rode my bike here all by myself!" Ethan said. "It's very cool to do it on my own."

 Have you heard of mental toughness? Often talked about in relation to sports, mental toughness is characterized by the ability to always perform well under stress. Research has shown that it is also a useful quality (品质) for students, with benefits for school achievement, classroom behavior, and relationships with others.

 However, mental toughness is often misunderstood. It is sometimes related to hiding your feelings, or not acknowledging (承认) your weaknesses, which can harm student well-being, as well as school performance and socializing.

 So, what actually is mental toughness, and how can it be developed in schools?

 Students who show mental toughness are aware of and able to control their emotions. This helps them to think clearly under stress, on the day of exams for example. One way to help with this is to encourage students to talk to themselves in a positive and helpful way. Students may be upset if they don't do as well on a task as they hoped. By asking themselves questions, such as"What would I do differently next time?", they can stop focusing on the negatives and direct their attention towards improving in the future.

 Mental toughness means asking for help. Many students are too ashamed to do it, for fear they would show weakness by acknowledging they don't understand something. However, others actually consider it a positive quality. Recognizing when they are experiencing difficulties takes courage for students, but it also shows a willingness to learn and get better.

 Mental toughness is also about being open to learning, not being a know-it-all. Over time, the students who grow the most are those who like to explore things, looking for answers in books, online, or by paying attention to what's happening around them. They also work together, helping each other with challenges.

 What's more, mental toughness involves having a strong sense of self-belief and confidence in one's abilities. Mentally tough students have a clear idea of their goals, and their wills to achieve them are unwavering. They are not easily influenced by others' opinions and are willing to step outside of their comfort zone to reach their goals.

 To create mentally tough students and classrooms, it is important for teachers themselves to be role models. Teachers can develop their mental toughness in much the same way as students. In order to develop mental toughness, both students and teachers should recognize that it、 is about having positive behaviors and attitudes that help them learn and improve.