When I just moved to Los Angeles（洛杉矶）, I didn't have a car.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, but I wanted to prove（证明）them wrong.

    I asked my neighbor, Mrs. White, to take me to the bus station in the center of the city, so I could try taking the bus home.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. When I got there, I went inside and got a bus timetable（时刻表）. I looked at the map and worked out that I needed to take three buses to get home.

    I bought the tickets and went outside to wait at the bus stop for the Number 8 bus. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. I gave my ticket to the bus driver and took a seat. At the right stop I got off. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. I waited and waited. A man was also waiting for the same bus. He said that it wasn't unusual for the bus to be late. Half an hour later, it finally came. To make the matter worse, the third bus broke down halfway and the driver had to fix it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. So when I finally got home, I was very tired. Maybe getting a car in Los Angeles wasn't such a bad idea!

Some ways to celebrate (庆祝) the birthday

Everyone has his or her birthday. It's a {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (有益的)way to have a birthday party to celebrate the birthday . But do you know other ways to celebrate the birthday {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (好地)？

Have a big dinner with your family. It's a good time for you to talk with your family when you have dinner on your birthday. Tell your parents your problems or ask some {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（问题） about your study and life . They may help you. You may have dinner at home or in a restaurant.

Go on a {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（短的）trip. If your birthday is on Saturdays or {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (星期天)，why not take a trip ? With a friend of {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (你的 ) , you can go to some places near your house . For sure , July and  {#blank#}7{#/blank#} （八月）are the best time to take a trip . Always remember to take a camera（照相机） and you can take some nice {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（照片）.

See a movie (电影). To celebrate your birthday ,{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (怎样) about seeing an interesting movie with your parents or friends ?

Do some housework(家务). You can help your parents do some housework. They  {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (需要)you in their life . It will let them know you are one year older and can help them more.

Taking Root.

How many kinds of plants are there in the world? Lucy Braun wondered that as a child. She showed great interest in plants at a young age. She often had energetic walks with her family through the nearby woods. Some plants and wildflowers seemed to shout at her with their wildcolours. Others hid behind rocks.

Lucy looked at the shapes of leaves as she walked in the woods. She kept a record of what she saw. She also learnt to draw what she saw. Then she could compare all kinds of plants. Later, Lucy grew more and more interested in botany, the study of plants.

Branching Out

At university, Lucy took classes in geology, or the study of rocks and minerals. Her work with geologists changed how she looked at the natural world. She continued her studies in botany as well. Lucy also took classes in ecology (生态学). Lucy believed that plant life in some areas was able to move to other places over time.

In Full Bloom

In 1917, Lucy began to teach botany at a university. She lived in a house near the woods. Lucy collected plants from all around the country. She took many photos of them, too. Colour photography was still new then. Because of that, people enjoyed her lessons and photos a lot.

The    ▲     of Labour (劳动)

Later in her life, Lucy wrote many field guides. In 1950, she published her most important guide. It describes the plants in the forests across the country. Ecologists still use it to study changes in the forests over time.

Today, Lucy has a few plants named after her. One of them is Lucy Braun's snakeroot, which is now in danger. Lucy's work in the protection of nature may help prevent its disappearance.

Lucy Braun lived to be 81. In her years as a botanist, Lucy collected nearly 12,000 plants!

 Today is January 26th. It is my 1 . I'm 13 years old now. I like sports, so my mother buys me a 2 . I like3 very much. My father 4 me a big birthday cake. It's on the table. It 5 very nice. There is a lot of other(其它的) food on the 6 too. There are hamburgers, salad, bread and 7 like(像) apples, bananas and oranges. Kate, Jenny, Tom and Peter are coming to my birthday party. They are my classmates, 8 they are my good friends. I'm very 9 they can come. I like to eat the food10 them. Do you want to come? You are also welcome.

Rick, a school boy, had a love for playing video games. Every day, his1 reminded him to take some exercise instead of playing video games. However, he didn't always 2 . 

Once again, Rick's mom told him seriously that his eyesight (视力) might get poor if he spent too much time on video games. It was a pity that he still didn't listen 3 . He kept playing. One day, during a math class, Rick's teacher got upset when he couldn't give an answer to a question like "2+2=?". After class, the teacher asked him why he couldn't solve such a 4 problem. Rick said that he knew the answer 5 couldn't see the board clearly. His teacher was worried and 6 his parents. 

Realizing what had happened, Rick's mom warned him again that it was harmful to his 7 to play video games too much. And Rick's dad took him to an eye doctor for a check-up. The 8 showed that his eyesight had weakened. After asking about his habit of using eyes, the doctor advised Rick to take action to protect his eyes. 

From that day on, Rick decided to 9 playing video games and take some exercise every day. Later Rick fell in love with sports and 10 his school soccer team. Now he has become stronger and healthier. His eyesight has also got better. 

Mia and Marina are twins. They're as tall as each other1 beautiful long blonde hair. Even their parents find it hard to tell the 2 between them.

3 they look the same, the girls are different in most other4 . They don't have many things in common. Mia is left-handed, while Marina5 with her right hand. Mia likes spicy food, while Marina prefers sweet food. Mia likes to study at night, while Marina likes the6 better.

They often fight with each other about these things. For example, when Mia says that waking up7 in the morning is terrible, Marina argues, "Mornings are fresh." Mia thinks night is the best time to memorize what to learn, but Marina says, "It is difficult to 8 late when you feel sleepy!" The 19-year-olds do everything the opposite way.

Their parents decided to put a(n)9 to their fights and10 them that they can both be correct(正确的).

Their father asked Mia to stand on one side of a board, while Marina stood on the other side. They11 see each other's sides. Their mother asked, "What12 is the board?" Mia said it was black, while Marina said it was white. They started arguing again. Their parents asked13 to switch(交换) sides.

They were both quite14 , because Mia's side was painted black and Marina's was painted white. Both of them were correct.

Many of us are like Mia and Marina. We may think that we are right most of the time, but at last, we will 15 that others can be right, too.