Turtle was walking around through fallen leaves when he saw many birds gather together. “What is happening?” said Turtle.

   “We will fly to the south for the winter. Summer lives there all of the time and there’s plenty of food.”

   “Can I go with you?” Turtle asked.

   “You are a turtle and you can’t fly !” said the birds.

   But Turtle would not give up. He begged and begged. Finally, the birds agreed. “Put this stick in your mouth and hold on tight. These two birds here will each grab one end of it and carry you along.”

   Turtle was so high off the ground and wanted to ask about all the lakes and hills below. He tried to move his legs and make some noise, so the birds would pay attention to him. Turtle finally started to shout, “Why don’t you listen...”

   Oops! Turtle opened his mouth and fell down on the ground. He walked into a pond, and swam to the bottom. Then, he fell asleep and slept all through the winter.

   From that day on, only birds fly south for the winter, and turtles sleep through the winter.

Do you think there is a ghost in the world？More than 20 years ago, a student jumped from the top of the clock tower in the University of Birmingham. He did this only because he failed his final exam.

After his death, a superstition(迷信)began：Anyone who walks under the clock tower will have bad luck in his exam. Years later, students there still remembered the story of the tower. Although Birmingham is the second largest city in Britain, the university is green and quiet. The grass around the tower has been worn away by the feet of students who refuse to pass underneath the tower.

The university had to pave(铺)extra paths, so students could walk to their classrooms without passing under the most terrible area. But, one day just before an important exam, a top student in the university walked under the clock tower because he was lost in thought. However, he got high marks in the exam the next day. Quickly students all knew about it. Then they realized that the most important thing is working hard.

Whenever I go under the clock tower, I will tell myself, “Working hard is the key to success.”

Mr White has a nice green jacket. He likes it very much, but his wife doesn’t like it because she thinks it is too old (旧的). She always says, “ Give it to your brother. ” But Mr White always says “No, I like this jacket and I don’t want to give it to my brother. ”

One day a cigarette（香烟）falls（落下）on it and makes a hole（洞）in it. So Mrs White says, “Please don’t wear it again. ” Mr White takes it to a tailor (裁缝) and says to him, “Please make a new jacket like this one for me.” The tailor makes the jacket very carefully. Then he makes a hole with a cigarette in it like the old jacket.

根据短文内容，选择正确答案。

Barry Parker was a very successful businessman. He lived in a large house and drove a car. He wore expensive clothes and ate his meals in famous restaurants. His name was often in the newspaper. One day a newspaper reporter asked him, “What is the secret of your success(成功)?”

Barry thought for a few moments and said, “I eat a special kind of fish.” “You eat a special kind of fish! What does that do?” “It makes my brain work better.” Barry said. “What kind of fish is it?” the reporter asked. “Give me fifty dollars and come back tomorrow. I’ll have some for you.”

  The reporter gave Barry fifty dollars and returned the next day. “Have you got any special fish?” “Yes. Come into the house. It’s in the refrigerator.”

  Barry took the reporter into his kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and took out a very small fish. “Here you are. Have this for dinner.”

  The next day the reporter called on Barry again. “Did you eat the fish?” Barry asked her. “Yes, I fried it.” “Good, do you feel different today?” “No, I don’t. And I think that fifty dollars was a lot to pay for such a small fish.” “Well done!” Barry said. “You see, the fish is working. You’re using your brain now.”

Once a king got two nice falcons(猎鹰)from his son. He had never seen such beautiful falcons before. He loved them so much and he ordered the best falconer to train then to fly.

After several months, the king came to see how the training was going on. He found that one falcon had already been able to fly high in the sky, while the other was staying on the branch(树枝) of a tree quietly, just keeping still.

The king called all his falcons together and ordered them to try every way they could to make the other falcon fly. But none of them succeeded. One day, while the king was taking a walk in the forest, an idea came to his mind. Maybe someone who knew the natural environment well could solve this problem. He spent for a farmer who lived in the forest into his palace to train it at once.

The next morning, the king saw the other falcon flying above in the sky freely. “ it is unbelievable !” shouted the king. How could you make it happen?”

The farmer replied,“It’s very easy. I just cut off the branch where the falcon rested.”

It is always the same to human beings. We all have “two flying wings” in our hearts as well, but we often seem not to notice them and stay where we just for safety and comfort. We won’t realize we can fly so high and freely until the “branch” we are resting on breaks.

   A man travels in the desert(沙漠)and loses his way.

       He has no water to drink and he thinks he will die. After walking for two days, he finds an old wooden house. He enters the house and finds a water pump(抽水机). He is very excited and goes to pump some water, but no water comes out.

He loses heart and sits on the ground. At that time, he sees a bottle near the water pump. It is full of water and there is a note on the bottle. It says, “You must pour the water in the bottle into the water pump to get water out of it. Don’t forget to fill this bottle when you leave.”

He looks at the bottle of water and can’t decide what to do. If he drinks the water, he may be able to survive in the desert for a while. But if he pours the water into the water pump, he may get enough water to help him get out of the desert or get nothing. Finally he pours the whole bottle of water into the water pump. He tries to pump water again, and this time plenty of water comes out. He drinks as much as he can, and fills the bottle with water again.

   A few days later, he walks out of the desert.

 Once, when there was a famine(饥荒) , a richer baker sent for twenty of the poorest children in the town, and said to them, "In this basket there is a loaf for each of you. Take it, and come back to me every day at this time for more. "

 The hungry children gathered eagerly about the basket, and fought over the bread because each wanted the largest loaf. At last they went away without even thanking the good baker.

 Gretchen, a poorly dressed little girl did not fight or struggle with the other children, but stood quietly in the distance. When the badly behaved children had left, Gretchen took the smallest loaf, which was all that left in the basket. She kissed baker's hand and went home.

 The next day the children were as badly behaved as before. Gretchen got a loaf almost half the size of the one she got the first day. When she came home, her mother cut the loaf open. Many new shining pieces of silver fell out of it.

 Her mother was very worried, and said, "Take the money back to the baker at once, The silver must have fallen into the dough by accident. Be quick, Gretchen. "

 When the little girl gave the rich man her mother's message, he said, "It was no mistake. I had the silver pieces put into the smallest loaf to reward you. Always be as content, peaceable and grateful as you now are. Go home now, and tell your mother that the money is yours to keep. "

       Once there was a piano player in a bar(酒吧). People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song."I donˈt sing," said the man.

      But the lady told the waiter, "Iˈm tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!

     The waiter shouted across the room, "Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!ˈ

       So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!

       He had talent(天赋) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.

       You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.

C

         Once upon a time, there was a child in Heaven (天堂). He was going to be born. One day, he asked God (上帝), “I’m so small and helpless. How am I going to live?”

       God said: “Among the angels (天使), I have got one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you. Your angel will sing for you and smile at you every day.”

       “And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me,” the child went on, “What should I do if I don’t know what people are talking about?”

       God said, “Your angel will tell you the most beautiful words you will ever hear. Your angel will teach you how to speak, too.”

      “And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?”

      God also had an answer for that question. “Your angel will place your hands together and teach you how to talk to me.”

       “I’ve heard that there are bad men, so who will protect me?”

      “Your angel will protect you at any time.”

       “But I will always be sad because I will not see you any more,” the child said.

       At that moment, there was much silence in Heaven, and voices from Earth could already be heard. The child knew he had to start his journey very soon. He asked God one more question, “Oh God, I am leaving now, please tell me my angel’s name.”

       God answered: “Your angel’s name is not hard to remember. You will simply call her Mommy.”

I’m Alfred. I was born with a problem in my backbone and mobility(行走能力）was a big challenge, but thanks to my teachers and friends, my school life was excellent.

    My friends and I used to sit together and have lots of fun. Whenever we got a free period, we used to start shouting or play games. I would take part in all competitions, such as poetry writing, story writing and painting and all activities like Teachers’ Day or anybody’s birthday and had much fun.

    My English teacher was very tall. The moment she would enter the class, we would all sit quiet and open the books. She would encourage me by giving me important assignments and also morning news to read during the assembly(集会). She would come down and hear my English debate(辩论), which made me take part in all debate competitions.

    The same was true of my biology and science teacher. She was very nice and sweet. She would always give me extra information on the biology project. I could not go to the lab for the practicals (lessons or exams in science, cooking etc. in which you have to do or make something yourself rather than write or read about it), so she would bring the lab down and help me with the biology and science practicals and would give me excellent marks.

My friends made me monitor and the naughty boys listen to me. My friends used to help me with my notes if I was absent. My teachers always gave me important project work and I felt proud when they patted me on the back after I finished it quickly and correctly.

I was never shouted at or made fun of or scolded(批评) by any of my friends and teachers. Today I saw the terrible punishments given to students on television news. I felt very sad.

    I really want to express my love and thanks to all my wonderful teachers and friends, without whom my school life would not have been so excellent and unforgettable. I really pray to God that each child in the world is blessed with caring teachers and wants to attend school every day.