Henry was not 1at math. Even when the teacher explained something a second time, he still couldn't 2it. “Never mind. I'll sit3the boy who's the best at 4” Henry thought, “and5 his answers.”

The day of the exam6 and Henry sat next to Allan,7was 8at the top of the class in math. Henry copied Allan's answers 9 his own exam paper. At the end of the exam, the teacher said, “Well, boys and girls, I've decided to give a red10to the student who got the11grade. It's 12 for me to decide who I'll give the star to, however,13two students, Henry and Allan, got the 14grade.” After a moment she went on, “15I've decided to give the star to 16this time.” Henry was17 when he heard this. He stood 18and said, “But I got the same grade as Allan, madam.” “That's 19” The teacher said. “However, Allan's answer to Question 6 was ‘I don't know.', but 20was ‘Nor do I.' .”

    Jason, our son, was born one month early and so he was weaker than most children. My wife Margaret and I often comforted him as he faced many 1 in his childhood.

    In his seventh grade, Jason 2up for the school running team, which made me both proud and worried. One afternoon, Jason returned home in tears, covered all over with food. He threw his bag on the floor and shouted: “I'm never going to 3 again!” As we later learned, a few older students made fun of his performance on the playground and then threw 4 at him on the school bus on the way home.

    I called the school leader about what happened on the bus, and Jason never experienced that again. He stayed on the team, even though the trouble 5.

    One day in October, we had a heavy 6.As the other kids exercised in the gym they noticed one runner—Jason—7 around the snow-covered playground.

    A few weeks later, Jason had something to tell us. “Mom, Dad, sit down,” he said. I was ready for the8.

    He told us that each month, students chose an “athlete of the month”. The coach would list the top athletes, and the other students 9 for the winner. Jason's name had never been listed.10 that day, one of the students said: “Sir, I would like to choose Jason for athlete of the month.”

The coach looked surprised.

    “He works 11 than any of us, Sir,” the student continued.

    “Does everyone 12 with this?” the coach asked.

Tears formed in Jason's eyes as he told us what happened next. “Mom ... Dad ...13 in the team put their hands up.''

His mother and I, also in tears, looked on as he14showed his certificate (证书).

    Whenever I am sad, I think of this story. I remind myself that challenges are not overcome (克服) by15 but by patience, determination, and faith.

    Jason is in university these days and often holds the highest mark in his class. He is also training in martial arts. I am completely sure he'll wear a black belt someday, and wear it proudly.

    As a child, I started learning to play the piano, my favorite musical 1 but I was forced to give up when I started my middle school2 I could concentrate more on my studies.

It's one of my biggest3 to stop practicing the piano when I recall sadly today. During the following years, I kept telling my piano teacher that I would4However, I didn't keep my promise because I was 5 with my study6 I lost touch with my teacher. Some years later, my teacher died. I was very sad because I lost such a good teacher. She was a very warm and gentle person. It hurts me to think she may have been 7 that I never returned. I haven't taken lessons since then but to be honest, I 8 to. Sitting at the piano, I couldn't help recalling many 9 —times of my practising at home and playing before my teacher and one time my teacher 10 me after I played entire pieces of music wrong in front of her colleagues. I was so 11 that I could hardly say anything. But her 12helped ease my shame. These memories13good or bad, never caused my14 for playing the piano again.

    This thought then led me to think that 15 is like music, and that we all try to play different 16 in the instrument of our life. Sometimes the pitch (音高) is17when we play it well, but sometimes we are out of tone. However, we all continue to create our own 18style of music. No matter what style our music is, it is 19 that we sing the songs of joy, quietness and love. Though I may never make it back to piano lessons, it doesn't 20 that I've stopped making music.

    When Dave was eighteen, he bought a secondhand car for 200 so that he could travel to and from work more 1 than by bus.It worked quite well for a few years, but then it got so old, and it was costing him 2much in repairs that he decided that he had better 3 it.

    He asked among his friends to see if anyone was particularly  4 to buy a cheap car, but they all knew that it was falling to pieces, so 5 of them had any desire to buy it.Dave's friend Sam saw that he was6when they met one evening, and said, “What's  7, Dave?”

    Dave told him, and Sam answered, “Well, what about advertising it in the paper? You may  8 more for it that way than the cost of the advertisement!” Thinking that Sam's9was sensible（合理的）,he put an advertisement in an evening paper, which read “For sale: small car, 10 very little petrol, only two owners.Bargain（要价）at 50.”For two days after the advertisement first appeared, there was no 11.But then on Saturday evening he had an enquiry（询问）.A man rang up and said he would like to12 him about the car.“All right,” Dave said, feeling happy.He asked the man whether ten o'clock the next morning would be13or not.“Fine,” the man said, “and I'll 14my wife.We intend to go for a ride in it to 15it.”

    The next morning, at a quarter to ten, Dave parked the car in the square outside his front door, 16 to wait there for the people who had17 his advertisement.Even Dave had to18that the car really looked like a  wreck（残骸）.Then, soon after he had got the car as clean19 it could be, a police car stopped just behind him and a policeman got out.He looked at Dave's car and then said, “Have you reported this20 to us yet, sir?”

    LoAnna and Kris' kids were playing outside on a sunny Saturday. Suddenly LoAnna heard a huge sound, She 1outside to see a wide mud, sand, and rock 2down the hill. She phoned Kris 3and Kris sped back home. But traffic had come to a 4. Kris had to run.

    Suddenly, he heard a woman screaming for help. As he 5the sound through mud, he only saw an arm reaching up, holding a boy. Kris kept her talking while 6the wood, metal trapping the mother and child. Finally, he was able to 7the baby. By this time, other citizens had 8it to the site. With others taking the 9in rescuing the woman, Kris continued his way home.

    Soon. he heard a(n) 10moan(呻吟) from the ruins again. The man buried was about twice Kris' weight and, 11, he'd have to wait for more help. Hearing a helicopter above, Kris climbed up on the roof, and led a rescuer to the trapped man. 12the rest of the helicopter crew arrived, Kris left to find his 13. Hours later, Kris reached home. His truck was 14, and so were LoAnna and the others. He 15cars and houses nearby to find other 16and then walked back to the rescue team. Not long after he arrived, his truck came into 17. LoAnna pulled over and ran to him. He hugged her tightly and spoke 18, “Let's go home.”

    Over the next several weeks, 43 bodies were 19Just nine survivors were luckily pulled from the mud, all of them on that day. Kris was 20by the Red Cross for his heroic deeds.

The True Story of Treasure Island

    It was always thought that Treasure Island was the product of Robert Louis Stevenson's imagination. 1 recent research has found the true story of this exciting work.

    Stevenson, a Scotsman, had lived 2 for many years. In 1881 he returned to Scotland for a 3. With him were his American wife Fanny and his son 4.

    Each morning Stevenson would take them out for a long 5 over the hills. They had been 6 this for several days before the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse. Kept indoors by the heavy rain, Lloyd felt the days 7.To keep the boy happy, Robert asked the boy to do some 8.

    One morning, the boy came to Robert with a beautiful map of an island, Robert 9that the boy had drawn a large cross in the middle of 10. "What's that?" he asked. "That's the 11 treasure," said the boy. Robert suddenly 12 something of an adventure story in the boy's 13. While the rain was pouring, Robert sat down by the fire to write a story. He would make the 14 a twelve-year-old boy, just like Lloyd. But who would be the pirate (海盗)？

    Robert had a good friend named Henley, who walked around with the 15 of a wooden leg. Robert had always wanted to 16 such a man in a story. 17 Long John Silver, the pirate with a wooden leg, was 18.

    So, thanks to a 19 September in Scotland, a friend with a wooden leg, and the imagination of a twelve-year-old boy, we have one of the greatest 20 stories in the English language.