Millions of people have seen Disney films and TV programmes. They have made friends with all the Disney heroes: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White, and Peter Pan. Millions more have visited Disney Parks. Probably no other company has pleased so many children. It is not surprising that it has been called a dream factory.

    Walt Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois. Then his family moved to Missouri. He grew up on a farm there. At the age of 16, Disney began to study art in Chicago. Four years later, he joined the Kansas City Film Ad Company. He helped make cartoon advertisements to be shown in cinemas.

    In 1923, Walt Disney moved to Hollywood, California to join his brother Roy.  He wanted to be a film producer or director. But he failed to find a job. So he decided to make animated films. In these films, drawings are made to move in a lifelike way. We call them cartoons. Disney wanted to bring his pictures to life.

    Disney opened his first company in the back of an office. For the first, several years, he had to work hard for a living, but he believed that cartoon films could be popular.

    Mickey Mouse was drawn with a group of circles. The public first saw Mickey Mouse in a film called Steamboat Willie. Walt Disney himself provided the voice for Mickey Mouse. The film was produced in 1928. It was a huge success. Mickey Mouse appeared in hundreds of cartoons during the years that followed. He became known all over the world.

A

    Mrs. Brown is a woman about forty-five. Her husband has a factory in the town and gets much money. Her three children are all intelligent and they work in their factory. She has nothing to do at home and lives a happy life. Mrs.Brown likes meat and cakes very much. Her husband and children often buy some for her. And she doesn't like sports and often gets up at eleven o'clock in the morning. So she gets fatter and fatter and now it's difficult for her to walk. Sometimes she thinks something is wrong with her heart. She went to see a doctor one day. The doctor looked her over carefully and said, “You have got a heart disease, Mrs. Brown. It's bad for your heart to eat much sugar and meat. You'd better eat a piece of bread for each meal.”

    “That's easy, doctor,” said the woman. “But when do I have to eat the bread, before a meal or after a meal?”

    On March 14, one of science's brightest stars went dark. Stephen Hawking, the world-famous British scientist, died at 78 in Cambridge, UK.

    Hawking is considered by many to be the greatest scientist in history since Albert Einstein. He came up with the theory（理论） that the universe (宇宙) began with the Big Bang and will end in black holes. His theories became the base for a lot of later research. He also wrote books to help common people understand the universe. His most famous book is A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 10 million copies around the world.

    Besides his scientific achievements, Hawking was also someone who had a strong will. When he was 21, he got a serious illness that stopped him from walking and talking. Later in life, he had to sit in a wheelchair and “speak” using a computerized voice. But this didn't stop him from living a meaningful and colorful life.

    He celebrated his 60th birthday by going up in a hot-air balloon; when he was 65, he took part in a zero-gravity (零重力) flight to experience weightlessness. He hoped to travel into space one day. In 2015, Hawking spoke about how he felt life was unfair when he first knew about his illness. “But now, 50 years later, I can be quietly satisfied with my life,” he said.

    Last week, I visited the Badaling Great Wall with my friend Peter.

    We set off early in the morning. We took the subway first and then a bus. Reaching the foot of the Great Wall, Peter was attracted by the landscape at once. "How wonderful it is!" he said repeatedly and pulled me into the cable car (缆车) at once. We got a view of the beautiful scenery.

    After a while, we got to the Great Wall. Peter was very excited. He touched the bricks. I told him when and how we Chinese built the wall.

    He listened with great interest. When we entered a turret (炮塔), Peter was more curious. I told him what the turret was and what it was built for "It was really an amazing achievement (成就)!

    Peter said with admiration (钦佩) and took several photos.

    Then, we reached the Stele (石碑) of brave Man, the symbol (象征) of the great Wall. A lot of visitors gathered (聚集) around it and took photos. I translated the words on the stele for Peter. "Only the one who can reach the great Wall is a brave man." "Rell?" Peter asked joking. We both laughed.

    Joe Smith is a singer. He and his wife like traveling a lot. Every year they visit a small town called Gum Tree in January and July and they sing for people there.

    One summer, they went there by train again. On the first day, they planned to go hiking in the mountains, but it rained a lot. So they decided to go to the only cinema in town and watch a movie there.

    There were only nine people in the cinema hall. When people saw the Smiths, they started to clap(鼓掌). Joe was excited and said to his wife, "Aha, I cannot believe people here all know me and they are friendlier than I "thought. They must like my songs."

    Then a young man said to them, "Thanks for your coming! The cinema shows the movie only after ten people buy the tickets. There're eleven now, so the movie will be on soon."

    Jack is 10 years old, and I am his pencil. I'm Jack's helper(助手).

    Jack's pencil box is my home. I have some friends here. They are seven crayons, a ruler, a pencil sharpener and an eraser. Because Jack loves me, I'm the king(国王)in the pencil box. My friends and I are happy every day.

    Today, I am not happy because a pen comes in. It's new and beau­tiful. It's a music pen. It can not only(不仅) write but also(而且) sing. But I'm old and I can only help Jack to write. Jack likes it so much! The new pen is his helper now. It's the new king. What can I do now? Shall I go to a new home?