One day, a woman from The Express News called. She said she wanted to work on a(n)  (1)  on me. When she had finished    (2)   me for the article, she asked, “What are you planning to do next?”

Well, at the   (3)   , there was actually nothing I was planning on doing next, and what   (4)   out for us was, “I’m thinking about    (5)    the Guinness Book of World Records for Fastest-Talking Female.”

The newspaper article came out the next day, and the writer had    (6)   my final remarks(评论)about trying to break the World’s Fastest-Talking Female record. At about 5:00 that afternoon, I got a    (7)     from Larry King , asking me to go on the    (8)  . They would   (9)    me up at 8:00 — because they wanted me to do it that night!

I    (10)    the phone for a while, and then I called Guinness to find out   (11)    to break a fast-talking record. They told me I would have to recite something. I began   (12)  . I was both    (13)   and excited at the same time.

At 8:00, the car came. I practised the whole way there, and by the time I reached the     (14)    . I was tongue-tied. I asked the woman in charge, “What   (15)    I don’t break the record?”

“Larry doesn’t    (16)    if you break it or not,” she said. ” “He just cares that you try it on his show.” So I asked myself, “What’s the   (17)    that can happen? I’ll look like a fool on television!” A   (18)    thing, I told myself,   (19)    I could live through that. And what if I break the record?

So I decided just to give it my best shot, and I did. I broke the record, becoming the World’s Fastest-Talking Female   (20)    speaking 585 words in one minute!

One day, a woman from The Express News called. She said she wanted to work on a(n)  (1)  on me. When she had finished    (2)   me for the article, she asked, “What are you planning to do next?”

Well, at the   (3)   , there was actually nothing I was planning on doing next, and what   (4)   out for us was, “I’m thinking about    (5)    the Guinness Book of World Records for Fastest-Talking Female.”

The newspaper article came out the next day, and the writer had    (6)   my final remarks(评论)about trying to break the World’s Fastest-Talking Female record. At about 5:00 that afternoon, I got a    (7)     from Larry King , asking me to go on the    (8)  . They would   (9)    me up at 8:00 — because they wanted me to do it that night!

I    (10)    the phone for a while, and then I called Guinness to find out   (11)    to break a fast-talking record. They told me I would have to recite something. I began   (12)  . I was both    (13)   and excited at the same time.

At 8:00, the car came. I practised the whole way there, and by the time I reached the     (14)    . I was tongue-tied. I asked the woman in charge, “What   (15)    I don’t break the record?”

“Larry doesn’t    (16)    if you break it or not,” she said. ” “He just cares that you try it on his show.” So I asked myself, “What’s the   (17)    that can happen? I’ll look like a fool on television!” A   (18)    thing, I told myself,   (19)    I could live through that. And what if I break the record?

So I decided just to give it my best shot, and I did. I broke the record, becoming the World’s Fastest-Talking Female   (20)    speaking 585 words in one minute!

Maybe you don’t think animals have certain mental powers which human beings do not have. But the truth is that some of them have instincts, and besides this, I am sure they can feel certain things we humans cannot. A personal experience showed me this.

Some years ago, I had a dog named Howard. From the time when he was a puppy, he was timid, so we named him Howard, sounding like “coward”! He was especially afraid of thunderstorms. At the first flash of lightning or crash of thunder, he would run whining into his house and hide under a table.

I often went for a walk with Howard. Once, as we were walking along a road, it began to rain. I quickly ran to a bus stop for shelter. The bus stop had a roof supported by metal poles. Soon after I had got there, Howard caught my trousers in his teeth and tried to pull me away. At first I was puzzled and a little angry at his behavior. But I decided to humor him and walked away from the shelter into the rain and started to go home.
    When I was about two hundred metres from the shelter, there came a flash of lightning and soon after, there was thunder which nearly deafened me. Howard stopped walking and began whining. Thinking he was afraid, I bent to pick him up. As I straightened up, I glanced at the bus shelter we had just left. I was shocked to see that two of the poles were bent and the roof was lying on the ground, broken. The shelter had been struck by the bolt of lightning!

I wish there would be a way to describe China in simple terms but that’s impossible. For the most part Chinese people are friendly, easy-going and optimistic. They are curious and unusually patient and they are also the hardest-working people I have ever met.

In China, family is everything. In my English classes when the students were asked what they would do if they only had a few hours to live, most students told me how they would spend their last few hours with their families and parents. Many times the subjects in the classes center on families and friends. I teach many students a year, talking to them freely.

The cost of living here is very low compared with that of the US. The city of Xiang Fan I live in isn’t large and I live better. Non-imported(非出口的) foods are very cheap, so are clothing and articles of everyday use. The cost of public transportation is very low, too. Chinese value education. However, it is reported that many children can’t afford the expenses of schooling and are forced to leave school in some poor areas in China. But they organized Project Hope many years ago. It creates conditions for the poor children to go back to school. In my opinion, Project Hope is of great importance to the development of the rural education.

When we read news of China in the west, rarely, if ever, will we see anything mentioned of the positive changes China has gone through. While it is true that economic miracles have not reached many areas of China, but we also have the same problems.

When I am asked which country I consider better, China or the US, my answer has always been the same, “We are not worse or better than each other, we are only different.

Suppose you are thinking about attending college in the United States, but perhaps you might not be ready for a university with a four-year program. About 88,000 international students have found solution. They are attending U.S. community colleges. Such colleges are sometimes called junior colleges. They offer two years of education above the secondary or high school level.

  Community college students can choose from subjects like medical assistance, computer science or law. At the end of their study program, they receive a document of completion, called a certificate. Some students work toward an associate degree in traditional academic subjects like science or history. After getting it, the students can move on to a four-year college or university. They may have only two years of study left before they receive a bachelor’s degree.

  Many educational experts agree that saving money is the major reason to consider a community college. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) says that a public two-year college costs 3,000 dollar a year on average. That is true if the student lives in the same state as the school. A student at a four-year public college may pay 8,500 dollars a year for classes and user fees. That does not include books and other materials.

  Some international students may need more preparation in English before entering a community college in the United States. For example, Istrif Montgomery came to the U.S. from Kosovo in 2006. First, he worked to improve his English at Montgomery College for a year. Then for the next two years, he attended classes in basic subjects in a community college.

  The international students at two-year colleges need to find a place to live. Most community colleges do not provide student housing on their grounds. But Mr. Montgomery had a home nearby. He was able to ride the bicycle, and he was able to walk if he wanted. In fact, most community college students live within five to ten miles off the college.

Mark Twain was a famous American writer. He wrote many funny stories. Those stories are still read by many people all over the world today. Besides writing, he also liked hunting and fishing very much, so one year he went to Maine for a holiday and spent three very pleasant weeks in the woods there.

When Mark Twain had to go back home, he drove to the station with his baggage and there he asked a worker to put it into the train. Then he got into the smoking car and sat down in one of the comfortable seats there. There was nobody else when he got in, but a few minutes later, another man got in and sat down on the seat opposite his. After a while, they began to talk with each other.

The stranger said, “We have some beautiful woods in Maine. I think you’ve been in our woods, haven’t you?” “Yes, I have,” answered Mark Twain, “I’ve just spent three weeks there and I have a very good time, too. Although fishing isn’t allowed in Maine at this season, I’ve got 200 pounds of fish with my baggage in this train. I like to eat fish, so I put in ice to take it home with me. May I ask who you are, sir?”

The stranger looked at Mark Twain for several seconds and then answered, “I’m a police officer. My job is to catch people who hunt and fish during the wrong seasons. And who are you?”

Mark Twain was surprised and frightened. He thought quickly and then answered, “Well, I’ll tell you, sir. I’m the man who tells the biggest lies in America.”

Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer, navigator (航海家), and mapmaker. He explored much of eastern Canada and became known as the “Father of New France”.

Born into a family of sailors, Champlain, while still a young man, began exploring North America. In 1603, he sailed up the Saguenay River and the St. Lawrence River. From 1604 to 1607 Champlain joined in the exploration and settlement of the first permanent (永久的) European settlement north of Florida. Then, in 1608, he established the French settlement that is now Quebec City. He also made the first accurate (精确的) map of the Canadian coast.

Champlain spent most of the rest of his life going between France and Canada. His goals were to map North America and find a quicker way to get to the Pacific Ocean.

In 1629 Quebec was controlled by the English and Champlain was taken to England as a prisoner. When Canada was returned to France in 1633 Champlain returned to Canada as governor of Quebec and remained in Quebec until his death on Christmas Day in 1635.

Champlain was the first European to explore and describe the Great Lakes, and published maps of his journeys and reports of what he learned from the natives and the French living among the natives. Champlain was memorialized as the “Father of New France”, and many places and streets in North America use his name. The most famous of these is Lake Champlain, which lies between northern New York and Vermont.

Johnathan, a six-year-old from Milton Keynes, will share the stage with a host of famous people, after winning an award for bravely fighting against his illness.

He was   (1)   from hundreds of nominations (提名) across the UK to win the Inspirational Child in 2013 WellChild Awards, which celebrate the  (2)  of children facing serious illnesses and honour the effort of professionals who go the extra mile to  (3)  sick children and their families.

Johnathan was nominated by Helen Braggins — a nurse specialist who looks after children — for his   (4)   in the face of a very serious illness. The future remains uncertain   (5)   a high-risk operation offers him some hope.

Brave Johnathan has had long periods in   (6)  with serious infections (感染) and   (7)   has to deal with weak sight, but he has   (8)   people with his bravery. When an infection prevented him eating for five months, Johnathan decided to become a chef and learn to   (9)   . Helen said: “Johnathan has an amazing ability to turn a   (10)   situation into a new experience. He is a truly   (11)   young man.”

With hundreds of nominations received from across the country, the job of choosing   (12)   in all WellChild Award categories (类别) is given to judges. The judges   (13)  leading health professionals and others with an interest in children’s   (14)   , as well as children and young people who face  (15)  illnesses.

Director of WellChild Awards, Linda Partridge, said: “It is a great  (16)  to choose winners from the many amazing nominations we  (17)  from all over the country. All the judges are   (18)   by the bravery of the children, the stories of selfless care and   (19)   of the doctors, nurses and teachers. They made a great   (20)  to the lives of sick children. Johnathan truly deserves to be the winner of the award.”

Yesterday I popped into a supermarket on my way home to buy a few items．So there I was，in the 15 items or less line．waiting to be   (1)   when I noticed a young lady with a baby in front of me．She was really   (2)   her items，which was probably what   (3)   my attention to her．So there I was staring，and I watched   (4)   the checkout girl told her the total．She began to search the   (5)   and then looked up，her face almost white．

Intuitively(凭直觉)I knew what was wrong．She was   (6)   of money．As her total came to $ 8.80 I assumed she was low on the   (7)  ．So I opened my purse，reached in，and   (8)   a few of my own coins，saying “How much do you need honey?” She looked at me   (9)   and said “Like all of it”．Without even   (10)   and putting my own coins back into my purse，I told the checkout girl to add it to my   (11)  ．The lady could barely speak．She told me she had $ 10 in her purse but had no   (12)   what happened to it．I told her it was no accident today that of all the checkouts I could   have lined up at I   (13)   at this one，right behind her．I wished her a   (14)  day，and paid for the total．

The lady never did   (15)   me or even so much as look back．She walked away   (16)  digging through her bag looking for what I supposed was her   (17)   $10 note．Yet it doesn’t matter at all．What I love most about a11 this is that the checkout girl saw．  (18)   the five or so other people behind me．What I hope is that they will   (19)   what they saw．Someday，somewhere，perhaps they or the people they tell，may too be   (20)   to do the same．