(2)  ideas from you, and some like doing the same things as you. Do you like friends different from  (3)  the same as you? You may like the friends who have the same hobbies as you. But I don’t really  (4)   .

I have two good friends, Peter and James. Peter is like me. I’m  (5)   than most of the students in my class, and Peter is also quiet. And we  (6)   like going shopping. On weekends, we often go to the  (7)  to buy something. But the other friend of mine , James, is quite different from me. He is more outgoing , and he likes  (8)   funny stories and always makes me laugh. He also likes books, so he usually goes to the library and does some  (9)   there. You see,friendsare not   (10)   to be the same. Do you think so?

Some people think the greatest invention in the world is electricity, while others believe computers are the most   (1)   in modern society．But I think the invention of books is the greatest.

   A famous person has ever said, “Books are the best   (2)  .” Exactly! That's   (3)  I would like to say first. In the long history of humans, books have played an important part in spreading knowledge. And even today, the situation is   (4)  the same. Each year, millions of books are published (出版)in the world. Knowledge   (5)  our lives. People can make a difference by reading books. If a knowledgeable person wants to express some new ideas, he or she will probably choose to write a book.

   Books provide us with   (6)  ideas. And we make our own decisions to choose any one that fits   (7)  . Or you may choose none of them, just like me, instead of following books'   (8)  . I choose “books” as the greatest invention in my eyes.

   Books are thought of as teachers without   (9)  . But how are books different from our real teachers? I think the fact is that if a real teacher advises me to choose electricity or the computer as my topic today, you can imagine how much courage I will need to   (10)  . So don't you think it's more relaxing to choose books as your “teachers”?

Life is not easy, so I’d like to say,” When anything happens, believe in yourself.”

When I was 14, I was   (1)   nervous to talk in public. My classmates often laughed at me. I was sad but could do   (2)  . Later something happened. It   (3)   my life. It was an English speech contest (比赛). My mother asked me to   (4)   part in it. What a terrible idea!

It meant I had to  (5)  infront of all the teachers and students of my school! “Come on, boy. Believe in yourself. You are sure to  (6) .” Then mother and I talked about many different topics.

At last I chose the topic “Believe in yourself”. I tried   (5)   best to remember all the speech and practiced it over 100 times.   (6)   my mother’s great help, I did well in the contest. I could hardly (几乎不) believe my ears when the news came ——I won the first place. I heard the cheers from the teachers and students. Those   (7)   looked down on (瞧不起) me before, but they now all said congratulations to me. My mother hugged (拥抱)me and cried excitedly.

From then on, everything changed. When I do anything, I tell myself to be   (8)   and I will find myself. This is true not only for me but also for you.

It was a cold windy winter day and I was walking home from work. My head pointed down against the  (1)   when I noticed an old lady. She was  (2)   on the sidewalk in her house slippers (拖鞋).

As I  (3)   her, I saw that she was well into her 80s, and she was holding some  (4)   in her hands.

I walked on and arrived at the traffic light. Waiting there, I saw the mailbox  (5)   the street. The light turned green, but I pretended (假装) to check my phone and waited for her to catch up with me. In this neighborhood, even crossing with the green light was  (6)  . Drivers often drove  (7)   through red lights and stop signs.

I stayed there until she  (8)   me. I turned to her and touched her gently on the arm. She smiled and took my hand in hers and  (9)   it. Her small hand was soft and warm. Hand-in-hand, we were waiting for the  (10)   to change.

When the light turned green, we walked together slowly across the street,  (11)   the letters in the mailbox. Then I took her  (12)   across the street.

As I walked the rest of the way home, I could still feel the  (13)   of her hand in my own.

People say the first language of all humans is  (14)  . A caring touch helps to make a bad situation  (15)  . And even now, every time I think of the old lady, I can still feel the power of touch.

“Exams will be the death of me.” I can remember my school years. I was not a good student. Even when I studied hard, the marks (分数) never seemed to   (1)  . The mid-term exams are over and some of you may also be   (2)  , “Exams will be the death of me.” You study hard but…You may think that schoolwork is just too   (3)  , or even that you just aren’t smart..

But let me tell you : you are smart enough   (4)   schoolwork is not too difficult for you! How do I know that? Well, because you have already had a lot of   (5)   at school. For example, you have learned much subject knowledge, and you have already passed many exams, and you have…

In the Chinese education system (体制), having a good   (6)   usually means good marks. But not everyone has a good memory. The Chinese education system   (7)   that you sit and listen for a long time. But not everyone is good   (8)   sitting and listening. The Chinese system is only one “way” of learning. But there are other ways which may work   (9)   for you.

So don’t feel bad if your mid-term grades were poor. Mid-term exams are just the middle, not the end. You   (10)   have time to improve and make changes.

I once had a teacher whose husband died suddenly of heart attack. About a week after his death, she   (1)  some of her thoughts with a classroom of students. As the late afternoon sunlight shone   (2)   the classroom windows, and when the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and   (3)  .

With a gentle look on her face, she paused and said, “  (4)   class is over, I’d like to share with all of you a deep   (5)   which I feel is very important. Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves.   (6)   of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment.   (7)   this is the Godˈs way of telling us that we must make the most of every single day.”

Her eyes were beginning to water, but she   (8)  , “So I would like you all to make me a   (9)  : From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to enjoy. It doesnˈt have to be   (10)  you see. It could be a smell of freshly baked bread floating out of someone’s house, or it could be the sound of the soft   (11)   rustling (使发出沙沙声) the leaves in the trees... Please look for these things, and appreciate them, for at any time  (12)  can all be taken away...” The class was completely   (13)  . We all picked up our books and went out of the room   (14)  . That afternoon, I observed many more beautiful things on my way home from school than usual.

Remember: Life is not   (15)   by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

  Technology has made life much easier for children today. It is   (1)  for them to play, to listen to music, and to  (2)   in touch with their friends.  (3)  the help of technology, there seems to be nothing that children can't do now.

Technology also helps  (4)  to know more about their children. For example, if a child is given a mobile phone with a tracking (追踪) device, his parents can find out  (5)  he is going with the help of the mobile phone.

 However, there are also some bad   (6)   of technology. For example, it has become easier for bad people to get in touch with children with the help of technology. They can find personal information about children through special ways on the   (7)   . So it is very important for parents to     (8)    their children to keep personal information safe while surfing the Internet.     

Besides this, there is another bad thing about technology. Children now  (9)    less time doing exercise than before. They are too   (10)  playing online games. They can even play computer games all day long. If you don't push them out of the door, they won't volunteer to go out and play. This is not good for their health.

   Therefore, teaching children the right way to make good use of technology is very important.

When I was 7, my family made an ant farm for me. First, we put clean sand in a thin glass box. Then we waited for the ants to   (1)  .

   After the ants were in the glass farm, they started to make tunnels (隧道). it seemed that each one knew   (2)  what to do. Each one had its own job.

   One day some   (3)   things happened to the ant farm. I put my face so close to the glass farm that I knocked it over. All the tunnels   (4)  . And many ants began to die one by one. I was scared as I watched them give up   (5)   their tunnels to carry die bodies (尸体) to a comer of the farm.

   My mother said that the ants were dying of sadness. Although much time has passed, I still think of that ant farm. Over the years, I have   (6)   the importance of teamwork. Working together, the   (7)   were able to make an amazing word for themselves.

   But there was an even bigger   (8)   that I did not realise until recently: the bad   (9)   is a natural part of life. We should try to accept it. We have to realise that if a tunnel is gone, we just have to build   (10)  . I will remember this forever.