In 1990, when I {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) nine years old, I wanted very much to find {#blank#}2{#/blank#} pen friend. I found Ashley's address in a magazine, and decided{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (write) to her. I sent off my letter with a little hope. Very quickly, I received her letter. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} my surprise, Ashley was only one month {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (old) than me. I learned some new expressions from her. I {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (real) liked this new friend.

Letter after letter, year after year, Ashley and I continued to write to one another. A letter would be received and I'd write back right away. We would send each other birthday and festival {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (gift).

Eight years later, my parents decided it was time {#blank#}8{#/blank#} me to meet this friend. They drove me down to Mississippi for a few days. We {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (have)a fun time together. We did the things that teenage girls love to do.

Twenty—five years after the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (one) letter, Ashley and I still have an amazing friendship. Although we don't write letters now, we communicate through mobile phones and the Internet.

    Steve found a job on a farm. He's the strongest and youngest. He ate most, sleeps most, but worked 1.  He hated to use his 2 and knew little. He had to do some unskilled(无技巧的)  work. He always said he's tired and hoped to have a 3 rest. So he 4 less money than his workmates.

    Winter came. The workers were told to get ready 5 the next year. Only Steve did 6. The farmer told him to cut down some trees in the forest. The young man went there with a chair. He felt lonely in the forest and was afraid of the 7. During his work, he looked around and sang 8, and nobody knew what he was singing.

    Three days passed. Steve didn't cut down any trees. The farmer felt strange. He decided 9 to find out how the young man was doing there. To his surprise, Steve was cutting a tree, sitting on a chair.

    "Why are you 10 here to cut the tree?" asked the farmer angrily.

    "Because I can't work if lying down sir!"

We have a colorful life at school. There are different {#blank#}1{#/blank#}of activities, such as football, baseball, swimming and cycling. As for me, I like swimming best. My father is a PE teacher. When I was a child, I often {#blank#}2{#/blank#}swimming with him. We enjoyed ourselves in the swimming pool. We both thought it was fun. Dad taught me {#blank#}3{#/blank#}to swim. I kept practicing swimming every day and I learned a lot from {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. 

I think doing sports is good {#blank#}5{#/blank#}me. I joined the school swimming club. {#blank#}6{#/blank#}I finish my homework, I often go swimming with my friends, and it helps me {#blank#}7{#/blank#}many new friends. The feeling is so great, and it makes me much {#blank#}8{#/blank#}than before. I can {#blank#}9{#/blank#}do well in my study now, and my teacher says I am a good student. 

I want to be a famous swimmer when I grow up, and I hope I can have a {#blank#}10{#/blank#}to take part in the Olympics. I will try my best to make my dream come true. 

On Nov 9, 2023, the panda parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian came back to China from the US with their child Xiao Qi Ji. The panda couple started to live in the Smithsonian's National Zoo (史密森学会国家动物园) in 2000. Let's take a look at them!

Sometimes I really want to know if （是否） there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy making money for our life. One day, my mother was sewing a quilt （缝被子）. "Mum, is there 1 between you and dad?" I asked. 

With surprise in 2 eyes, my mum stopped her work for a moment. Then she said, "Susan, look at this thread （线）. You can't see it easily, 3 it's really there. It makes the quilt strong. If life is a quilt, love should be a thread. Love is inside."

The next spring, my father 4 ill. After they were back from hospital, my mother helped my father walk 5 the country road every day. They were kind and happy. 

After two months, my father still couldn't 6 . "Dad, how are you feeling now?" I asked him one day. "Susan, don't 7 me," he said, "I just like walking with your mum. I like this kind of life." 8 his eyes, I knew he loves my mother 9 . 

Now I know that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside. It makes life strong and 10 .

One day, a little boy asked his father, "What does the word ‘great' mean? Who are great people and how do they become great?" The father asked the boy to bring two young1 home. Then he told him to plant one of them inside the house and the other outside the house. The boy did as his father2 .

The father asked his son, "My boy, which of the two trees do you think will be 3 ?" The boy answered, "The one inside the house will be safer4 it will grow bigger. But the tree outside the house is not safe at all. No one will be there to 5 it. And animals may eat it."

The father smiled and said, "Let's wait and6 . We will know the answer one day." Then the boy left for study and after four 7 he came back. He said to his father, "Look,8 happens to this young tree inside the house and it is safe." When the boy went outside, he was very 9 to see a very big tree. The boy couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't 10 how the young tree outside was able to grow much bigger than the one inside the house.

"The tree outside the house 11 many difficulties!" The father told his son 12 the tree outside was bigger. "The tree inside was safe. It didn't face weather changes, and it didn't get 13 sunlight, so it didn't become big."

Here is the answer to the question about being14 : To become a great person, one must meet many 15 and try to solve (解决) them. Only after that he or she is able to become great.