My class and I visited Chris Care Center in Phoenix, Arizona to comfort（安慰） the old people and they needed a little cheering up（高兴） during the holiday season.

The first two  (1)   were for persons needing help in taking care of themselves. We sang beautifully for them. They loved our sweet songs and the flowers that we left with them.

As we were singing on the third floor for old people with Alzheimer (老年痴呆症)，most of them looked off at the walls or floor. However, one lady   (2)   my eyes. She was sitting by the door, in a wheelchair, singing songs to herself. They weren’t the songs that we were singing, at least they didn’t   (3)   like that. As we got   (4)  with each song, she did as well. The louder we got, the louder she got.  (5)   she was singing, she was also reaching out to us with her hands and body. I knew that I should have gone over to her, but I thought that my responsibilities (责任) were to my students. People who worked at the care center could take care of her, I thought. Just when I stopped feeling   (6)   about not giving her the care she needed, my students, Justin, showed me what the holiday season is really about.

Justin also   (7)   the same lady. The difference between us is that he acted on her needs, but I didn’t. During the last song, Silent Night, Justin walked over to her and held her hand. He looked at this aged lady in her eyes and with his action said, “You are important, and I will take my  (8)  to let you know that.”

This tired, elderly lady stopped singing and held his hand. Then she touched his cheek with the other hand. Tears（眼泪） began to fall down her face. No words can completely describe that touching moment……

It took a boy to teach me, a man, about kindness and love. Justin’s example of a complete, selfless（无私的） attitude (态度) towards another was a   (9)  that I will never forget. He was the teacher that day, and I think myself   (10)   to have a witnessed (见证) his lesson.

   It was Sunday afternoon. My younger brother and I were alone at home. My parents went out. I was doing my homework while my younger brother was watching TV. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Ding-dong! My younger brother thought that it was our parents, so he opened the ____（1）____ quickly.

   A tall man wearing a black raincoat stood outside. He said that he came to sell books and asked politely if our parents were at home.

   Without thinking, my younger brother said, “No.” Then the man asked if we would like to ____  (1)  ____ some storybooks. I refused him. When I wanted to close the door, he suddenly pushed the door very hard and came into our house. He took out a ____  (2)  ____ and ordered me to tie up my younger brother's hands with a rope (绳子). I tied up his hands in a special way so that my younger brother could untie (解开) ____  (3)  ____ easily. The man then tied my hands up and locked ____  (4)  ____ of us in the kitchen. Soon, he went upstairs to ____  (5)  ____ money. I taught my younger brother to untie the rope on his hands. He then untied me. I rushed to the telephone to call the police, ____  (6)  ____ the line was dead. The doors were all locked from the outside. It was lucky that the man forgot to lock the kitchen window. We got out of the house through the kitchen window and went to the ____  (7)  ____ payphone to call the police.

   Soon ____  (8)  ____ came to our house and the man was caught. By that time, my parents had come home. We told them the whole story. My parents were ____  (9)  ____ that we were not hurt. They told me that I should stop my younger brother from opening the door to strangers. I learnt a lesson on safety.

Denny Crook was a famous photographer. He travelled all over the world, taking pictures for magazines and newspapers, and won many prizes.

   “I'll do anything to get a good photo,” he often said. “I'll go anywhere at any time, ____  (1)  ____ it is dangerous.” And he told the truth. He had photos of earthquakes, forest fires, floods and even wars. If something interesting happened, Denny went to photo it.

   He was a married man and his wife often asked him to take her with him, but he always ____  (2)  ____. “I travel for my work, not for pleasure,” he told her. “You won't enjoy yourself, and I won't have ____  (3)  ____ to look after you. Sometimes there's not even anywhere to stay, and I have to sleep outside. I often don't have a good ____  (4)  ____ or a bath for days. You won't like it.”

   “Denny, I'm not a child,” his wife didn't ____  (5)  ____. “I can look after myself. Please take me with you the next time you go overseas.”

   David did not say anything, but he thought about it, and when he was asked to go to Africa, he said to his wife, “You can come to Africa with me if you want to. I've got to take photos of wild ____  (6)  ____ there. It should be interesting and not too uncomfortable.”

   His wife was very ____  (7)  ____, and at first she had a very enjoyable time. Then Denny went off to find some lions for photos. His wife went with him, but before long they became separated. She walked down one path while he walked down the other.

   Suddenly, Denny heard her ____  (8)  ____. He ran back and saw her running toward him. A huge lion was chasing her.

   Quickly Denny ____  (9)  ____ his camera out of its case and pointed it at his wife and the lion. Then he shouted, “____  (10)  ____, woman! I can't get you both in the picture!”

Who designed (设计) the first helicopter (直升飞机)? Who painted one of the most famous pictures in the world? （1）________ There is an answer to all these questions—Leonardo de Vinci.

   Leonardo may have been the greatest genius (天才) people have ever known. He lived in Italy around the year 1500, but many of his inventions seem modern to us today. For example, one of his notebooks has drawings of a helicopter. （2）________ But scientists say his idea would have worked.

   Leonardo wasn't just an inventor. （3）________ By the time he was twenty years old, he was called a master painter, and as he got older he became even more famous. Sometimes he drew a hand in ten different ways before he was ready to paint.

Wang Yani was born in 1975. Even as a baby she loved to draw. Her father was an   (1)  .

Yani wanted to be like him. So she tried to stand like her father as she painted, which made him laugh.
    One day, Yani painted lines on her father’s painting. He got   (2)  . At the time, she was only two and a half years old. She cried and said,“I want to   (3)   like you!” Her father looked at her without saying anything. He   (4)   remembered his childhood. He also wanted to draw and paint, but his parents didn’t understand. They just got angry. He didn’t want to see the same thing happen to his daughter. So he decided to   (5)   her.
    With her father’s help, Yani soon    (6)  . Her lines became flowers, trees, and animals. Her father took her to parks and zoos to get   (7)    for her paintings. By the end of six, Yani had made over 4,000 works. Her paintings were very special. People   (8)    her works. When she was eight, one of her paintings was made into a Chinese postage stamp.
    Yani became famous when she was young. Her works were   (9)    in different countries in Asia, Europe and North America,   (10)    her parents never sold her paintings. She is well-known to the world, and art is still a great joy in her life.

A

To travel around the world is the dream of many adventurous people. But very few people can afford a global tour because hotels, food and airplane tickets are too expensive. Some people, however, have thought of some ways to realize their dreams.

Laura Cody and Tanbay Theune, a couple from Britain, decided to travel around the world. They have found a good way to pay for their trips. They look after pets for rich house owners. In exchange, they can stay in the houses for free. They have looked after horses, cows, cats, dogs and fish. In two years, the couple has been to Australia, Germany, Spain and Italy. They have stayed in big cities and small villages. The home owners are usually very generous and have given them food, wine and day trips.

Another person who tries to realize her travel dream is photographer Rhiannon Taylor. She travels around the world to visit, review and take photos of the best hotels. She shares the places she stays and the food she eats on the Internet with tens of thousands of followers.

With these ways of making money, traveling around the world is no longer a dream. More and more young people are thinking creatively to make their dream come true.

Balzac (巴尔扎克) was a great French writer. But he was very poor before he became famous. He lived in a dirty, wet room and was often worried about food. All his friends were very poor and they could not help him.

   One night, it was very cold. The wind blew and it was snowing heavily. Balzac went to bed early but couldn't fall asleep. He didn't get any food before he went to bed, He thought and thought, but he couldn't have a good idea. At midnight, he saw a man climb in through the broken window. The man began to steal something on his bookshelf. Balzac got up quietly and said, “Don't waste time, my friend! I couldn't find any money in the daytime. How can you find some in the dark?”

Jimmy was five years old and lived with his parents, the Watsons, in Smithville, in the southern United States. He loved his big black __36__  ,Big Boy. Last week, in the early hours of the morning, a strong smell suddenly woke Big Boy up __37__ his sleep. The dog got up and walked into the kitchen. There the smell and the heat grew stronger. Big Boy could __38___ that something was wrong, very wrong. He barked(吠) and ran up to the second floor. He barked and barked at the door of Jimmy’s room, __39__ there was no answer.

Then he ran to Mr. and Mrs. Watson’s room. He barked again, more loudly, and tried to __40__ the door open. Mr. and Mrs. Watson didn’t wake up. Big Boy ran back to Jimmy’s room. He made as much _41___ as he could.

Finally, Jimmy came to the door and opened it. “Big Boy, what’s wrong?” Jimmy said. Big Boy took Jimmy’s __42_ in his mouth and tried to pull him down to the first floor. “Big Boy, Big Boy, stop! Stop! What are you _43__ ? Mum, Dad, come quickly! Help! Help!” Jimmy shouted loudly.

His parents ran out of their room. They understood that there was a fire. They __44_ picked Jimmy up and ran out of the house. Big Boy ran after them. Just then, the fire came all the way up to the top of the __45__ .

Big Boy saved the family! He’s a hero today in Smithville.