Christmas is coming. Stephen can see it everywhere he 1 There are Christmas things to sell in the shops and Christmas trees in the park. But it is only in late 2 . Stephen thinks this is wonderful. He likes Christmas very much. To celebrate it for a month is not enough.

     He went into a clothes shop to buy 3 . He found a perfect (完美的) pair.

    "Just these, sir?" asked the shop assistant.

    "Yes, please," 4  Stephen.

    "They look a little big for you. Are you sure they will 5 ?" asked the shop assistant.

    "Oh, they will be fine," said Stephen,

    It was 6 the trousers were a little big. But they  7  to be. Every Christmas Stephen 8 as Father Christmas and works in the local shopping mall. Children like to take photos with him.

    Stephen walked out of the 9 and smiled happily. What 10 he do this Christmas?

    In China, almost everyone knows Ma Yun. Ma Yun became one of1 men in China when his company Alibaba went on the stock（股票)market last year with a value of around £140 billion—the largest public offering in history.2 amazing thing it is! Here are some stories about him on the way to 3.

    Ma made his 4 trip to the US in 1995 and used the Internet 5 the first time. After6 for “beer”, he saw that no results7 up about China. Then he searched for “China” and still saw no results. He decided to set up a Chinese website—the seed for Alibaba was sown(播种).

    Ma said he8 many times in his life. He failed the College Entrance Examination in China three times and9 companies offered him jobs, including one at KFC. And he was refused by the famous Harvard University 10 times.

    Learning English was difficult when Ma was a teenager 10 limited resources. However, he found that he could learn English well by giving tourists free guides around 11 hometown Hangzhou. And he kept it for nine years. Ma said that tourists opened up a new world for him because everything they said and did was so different from12 he had been taught at school and by his parents.

    Ma's hero is Forrest Gump 13 never gives up. When he made a speech about his success at Davos(达沃斯论坛)in 2015,Ma said, “Life14 a box of chocolates because you never know what you are going to get.”15as Ma does, never give up and you will be successful one day.

    One day, a teacher came into her classroom with a glass of water. She wanted to explain stress(压力) management to her students. She asked them how 1the glass of water was. They gave many 2 answers. Some students said it weighed 200 grams, while others 3 said they didn't know. She smiled and 4, "Actually, the weight of the glass doesn't matter. It depends on the 5 . If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my   6. If I hold it for a day, I'll have to call an ambulance (救护车). In each case, the glass of water is the same weight, but the 7 I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

    Lost in thought, all the students kept 8 and listened to the teacher carefully.

    The teacher continued, "Our stresses and worries in life are the same as that glass of water. If we carry 9 all the time, we will soon feel tired as if the weight is 10. We will not be able to move on. Just   11 putting down this glass of water, you have to put your stress down for a while and take a rest. When we're not tired, we can 12 our

burdens(负担) -- holding them more easily each time."

    More often than not, life gets terrible when we 13 too much. And the moment you let go of your burdens, you'll find yourself feeling so much more 14.

    So, 15 being upset and feeling sorry for yourself, start doing something about it. After all, life is too short to give yourself up to anything that is not making you happy.

    Sara lived in a village with her mother. When Sara grew up, she was tired of boring  1 life. She wanted to go out. One morning, she secretly left while her mother was still 2.

    Unluckily, the world outside was not as 3 as she had expected. Ten years later, Sara 4 home. It was midnight when she came back home. She saw weak light 5 the window. She knocked at the door softly but no one 6. Then she tried opening the door and the door was easily opened. She Was 7 "How strange it is! Mum never8 to lock the door in the past." At this time, Sara saw her mother sleeping 9the cold floor.  Sara couldn't help crying "Mum!". Hearing the sound, her mother opened eyes and saw her daughter.

    Sara complained, "Mum, 10didn't you lock the door tonight? "The mother answered, "I am afraid you can't open the door if you return at night. I have not locked the door for ten years." From that day on, her mother began to lock the door again and slept with a smile.

    "Ring…ring…" the telephone suddenly rang. Sam got up to 1 the call. It was his aunt.

    "Sam,2 are you still at home?" she asked surprisingly. Sam looked at the clock. It was already 7: 30 a.m. "Oh, my goodness! There's an important3 today, Sam shouted out, He hurried to wash his face and get4. When he was going to leave the house, he5that he didn't put away his books. He ran quickly to the 6 and put them into the bag. He then went to the bus stop to go to school as7as he could. When he got into the classroom,his classmates were8writing. "Why are you so9" asked the teacher." I'm sorry, sir," Sam answered, afraid of looking10. "It was my clock. It failed to wake me up this morning and ······""Don't say11about it ,"his teacher12him. "Don't try to come late next time!" Sam said yes and walked to his13quickly. But when he tried to do the paper, he could not14in a right way. He put his head on the desk and said, "What a15day it was for me!"