Cindy is my good friend. She has a sister and a brother. Jennifer is her sister and Victor is her brother. They are in a school. Cindy and Jennifer can sing and dance. Cindy can also play the guitar, but Jennifer can't. Victor, Cindy and Jennifer can play chess, but Cindy doesn't play with Victor. She likes playing with Jennifer because Jennifer plays worst (最糟糕) of the three. Victor plays sports every day. He can play basketball very well. But Victor's favorite sport is soccer, not basketball. He is in the school sports club. And he often plays in soccer games.

    The Sweetest Sight

    I was in the most beautiful city in the world, yet I only wanted home.

    It was an amazing week for my husband and me –the trip of a lifetime. Months ago, when my husband told me that he would have a meeting in London. I expressed my 1to go to Europe together with him. Then we asked his mother to 2our two children and started off.

    During the week's time, 3visited London and Paris –as much as we could, Big Ben, the Louvre and so on. All these were beautiful places we expected to see before. We really enjoyed ourselves.

    On our last night in Paris,4we enjoyed the night view(夜景) of the Eiffel Tower, my husband called home. His mother 5the phone. In a second, my husband's face fell and he looked so worried. I could feel something6happened.

    “What's wrong?” I asked.

    He didn't answer and continued to listen. A few minutes later, he said 7to me that Tony, our seven-year-old son, had fallen off his bike and8his leg. He must be sent to hospital at once.

    At that moment, Paris suddenly lost its charm(魅力).

    “I don't want to be here! I shouldn't be here! I should be home 9my kids!”

    We hurried back to our hotel and then to the airport …

    Finally, we got home. We rushed into our children's bedroom. Seeing our two children, I suddenly realized the truth: there is no10sight(风景)in the world than your children's faces that greet you at home.

    Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17, he travelled across Europe and Asia along the Silk Road with his father, who wanted to do trade with the Chinese. Finally they arrived in Beijing. They were guests at the Emperor's Palace. Although Marco was young, he was very clever and could speak four languages. The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends. He asked Marco to serve in his court and sent him to do many important tasks across the country.

    Marco was amazed by how beautiful China was. He was impressed by Beijing and the Emperor's Palace, especially the Summer Palace which he described as "The greatest palace that ever was..."The walls were covered in gold and silver and the hall was so large it could easily seat 6,000 people for dinner.

    There were inventions and developments in China which couldn't found in Europe at that time. Marco was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets. In Europe, people paid for goods with gold and silver. He could not understand how people paid for food and valuable things with paper! He was also puzzled by the black stones people used to burn to produce heat. The black stones were coal, but Marco had never seen coal before!

    In 1291, after 17 years of service to the Emperor, Marco returned to Italy. He was now a very wealthy man. A writer wrote down all the stories that Marco told him in a book called The Description of the World, which became one of the best - selling books in Europe.

    Although people enjoyed reading the book, many of them thought that Marco's stories about China were too fantastic to be true. But Marco always stood by his tales. Just before he died, aged 70, Marco was asked the question, "Was it all true?" And this was his answer, "I have only told a half of what I saw!"

    Rene was born in an Indian village in Oaxaca, Mexicon. His family lived in a small house. They spoke an Indian language. Rene started school in the village when he was six years old. There was no school for older children in the village. So Rene went to Oaxaca City when he was nine years old. This was a big step for Rene. It was his first time in a city.

    Little Rene got a job in the city. He worked for a rich family. He took care of their big house. He worked during the day, and he went to school at night. He learned good work and study habits. He learned Spanish, and he grew up.

    When Rene was thirteen years old, he returned to his village. He had many brothers and sisters. His mother needed help. Rene felt bad. He could not go to high school.

    When Rene was twenty years old, he took a very big step. He went to Los Angeles. He worked as a cook. He took English classes in his spare time. Then he went to university. He studied very hard.

    Today, Rene teaches English. He tells his students," Learning English is not so hard. Having good habits is the most important thing! Be organized. Use your time well. Have a good time!"

    How much pocket money do you get from your parents every month? Maybe 200 yuan. But for Li Beibei, 30 yuan each month is enough. The only thing she buys is lunch-1.5 yuan each day." Meat is too expensive for me, "said Li.

    Li, 14, is a Junior 1 student at Beijing's Xingzhi Experimental School. Her parents are migrant workers(外来务工人员).They came to Beijing from a village in Luohe, Henan two years ago. Her father now works as a cleaner and gets 500 yuan every month. Her mother has no job.

    Li Beibei has 460 friends at Xingzhi. Every day, Li gets up at 5:30 a.m. and rides her bike for 20 minutes to get to school. Like many teens, Li has a lot of homework-usually at least one hour every day. But that is not all her work. During the weekdays she helps her mum cook. At weekends, she helps wash clothes." I could cook when I was eight. Dad said sometimes I cook better than Mum！"Li said she wanted to be a doctor." I watch TV and find out there are many people with AIDS in He'nan. Some are kids. They need help," said Li.

    But she is afraid to leave school." I hope I will always be in school, "said Li." Dad works hard to get money. I promise him I will study hard to be a good student and a good doctor in the future."

    Devike was walking home from school. Everything was bad at school. In the morning, she got to school late. In the math test, half her answers were not right and she forgot to do her English homework. The teacher wrote a message in her notebook for her parents to sign.

    She knew her parents would be angry with her. She also knew she had a lot of schoolwork to do. Just thinking about these, she was sad.

    After she got home, her mother gave her a hug(拥抱) and said, "How was your day, dear?" Her little brother Rohit came to her and said," Hi, sister! I miss you.

    Quickly Devika felt better. Of course, her mom would be angry with her poor grades. But she loves her and that is more important. And her little brother always thinks she is smart and beautiful.

    At that time, Devika felt lucky to have such a great family and she didn't worry about her poor grades because the family could comfort(安慰) her when she was sad.