Do you often help the people who are in need?

    One day, two boys were walking along the road to school when they saw an old woman carrying a large basket of pears. The old woman looked very tired. They went up and said, "Are you going to town? If you are, we'll help you carry your basket. ''

    "Thank you," said the woman. "That's very kind of you. ''Then she told them that she was going to the market to sell the pears. So the boys decided to lift the basket together. They walked slowly with the heavy basket, but they were happy.

  The other day, I saw a little girl pick up a piece of banana peel(香蕉皮). She threw it into the dustbin(垃圾箱). "I hope nobody would throw that in the street," she said. "Someone may slip(滑倒) and fall."

    Perhaps some people may say that these are not great things. That's right. But almost all great things are made up of such small things. We shouldn't wait for the time to do great things. We should begin with these things that are full of love.

Classic Is Never Gone

    Every year hundreds of films are produced, yet how many are forgotten after six months? Movies come and go, as throwaway as popcorn bags left on the floor of a cinema. But of those few films that people do remember, there is one that is truly “evergreen”(常青).

    Whether you are young or old, or where you are in the world, the 1939 classic Gone with the Wind never seems to become unpopular. Last year the film celebrated its 75^th birthday.

    The movie comes from a best-selling book of the same name by US writer Margaret Mitchell. Hollywood was soon interested in turning the novel into a movie.

    The story is set in the periods before, during and after the American Civil War (1861-1865). It is about relationships between members of high-class families living in the south of America.

    The Civil War period piece highly rewarded the time and effort of the filmmakers who worked on it. Over twenty years, no studio went beyond it in making the most money of any film ever made. It's the kind of movie that every studio dreams of making.

请阅读下面短文,并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。每个空格只填一个单词。

    What is a hurricane?

    You may already know that hurricanes are storms that can cause devastating (毁灭性的) waves, wind, and rain. They happen during “Hurricane Season,” which is from June 1st until November 30th in the Atlantic Ocean and from May 15th until November 30th in the Pacific Ocean.

    Types of Hurricanes

    There are five types of hurricanes, which are based on wind speeds. The categories help people know how much damage a hurricane may cause because the greater the wind speed, the more dangerous the storm. For example, a Category 5 hurricane has winds over 155 miles per hour, which are strong enough to destroy the buildings along the shorelines completely.

    Hurricane Dangers

    When a hurricane happens together with heavy rainfall, there can be a devastating flood. The centre of a hurricane is called the eye. While most of a hurricane has dangerously strong winds, the eye is actually a calm area in the storm. When the eye of a hurricane passes over land, people might think that it's over, but before long the wind and rain increase again as the second part of the hurricane moves through.

    Hurricane Safety Tips

    There is no way to stop a hurricane or make it change direction, so if you ever find yourself in the path of a hurricane, be sure to remember the following safety tips.

    Be sure you have a radio, batteries, fresh drinking water, and enough food.

    Tell neighbours, friends, and family members your emergency plans. Tell them where you'll go if you need to leave your home.

    If you live near the ocean, leave your home and travel to a safe place. You could stay with a friend or a family member, in a hotel／motel, or in an emergency shelter area.

    Stay inside during the storm. You could be seriously injured if you go outside.

    I am Canadian. I started learning French when I was 10 years old. But my whole experience with the language was in the classroom. All of that changed, however, during my last summer of high school. As a 17-year-old girl, I flew across the country by myself for the first time! I headed for Quebec to live in the province with a French-speaking host family, who didn't speak any English. And I would learn French at a local school.

    On the first day of school, all of us students were given a test to determine (测定) our language level. We were required to speak only French all summer.

    I made every effort to communicate in a second language by making new friends, seeing movies and even ordering food from restaurants in French. Though I couldn't understand most of it at the very beginning, the whole experience was exciting and refreshing.

    On weekends, my classmates and I took trips to different places around the province. On one trip, we went whale watching on the St. Lawrence River. Even though it was raining, we could see huge whales swimming around our boat. The most memorable part of our trip was a visit to historic Quebec City. I walked along the stone streets, took pictures of the European-style (欧式的) buildings, and learned some stories there.

    Finally my efforts paid off! At the end of the summer, I was able to communicate pretty well. I couldn't wait to go back to school and talk with my French teacher. Being fully immersed (沉浸)in a French-speaking environment was a valuable learning experience. And it could be the main reason for my improvement in French.

    One day a man went home after work and said to his wife, "I bought something for you." "Thank you!" said his wife. "What have you bought for me?" "I've bought a gold ring (戒指). Here it is." He took it out for his wife to see. Then he dropped it to the ground. He began to look for it on the ground, but it was dark in the house and he could not see anything. Then he went out and began to look for it in the street. Just then a friend came along. "What's the matter with you?" asked his friend. "I'm looking for my ring. I lost it just now," said the man. "Where did you lose it?" "I lost it in my house just now." "①You lost your ring in your house, but you are looking for it in the street. How foolish (愚蠢的)you are!" "Ah," said the man, "but it is dark in my house. I shall never find it there. But here in the street, it is much brighter. I can see everything." When his friend heard his words, he laughed and laughed.②你觉得这个人怎么样?

    Mr Brown was at the theatre. He had got his ticket at the moment, so he had not been able to choose tis seat. He now found that he was in the middle of a group of American ladies, some of them middle-aged and some of them quite old. They clearly all knew each other well, as before the curtain went up on the play they bad come to see, they all talked and joked a lot together.

    The lady sitting on Mr Brown's left, who was about sixty years old, seemed to be the happiest and the most amusing of the American group, and after the first act(幕)of the play, she apologized to him for the noisiness of her friends. He answered that he was very glad to see American ladies so obviously enjoying their visit to England, and so they had a friendly talk. Mr Brown's neighbour explained what they were doing there.

    "You know, I have known these ladies all my life, "she said. " We all grew up together back in our hometown in the United States. They have all lost their husbands, and call themselves the Merry Widows(寡妇). It is a sort of club, you know. They go abroad every summer for a month or two and have a lot of fun. They always go everywhere together. I have wanted to join their club for a long time, but I didn't qualify(具备……的资格)for membership until the spring of this year. "