It’s been just over a year since 9-year-old Zion Harvey received a double-hand transplant(移植), and now, what he really wants to do is playing football. “I feel happy about my new hands, and I don’t feel different. I like that now I can throw a football further than when I didn’t have hands,” he said.

The nation’s youngest hand-transplant patient has been working hard to learn how to use his new hands. He lost his hands and his feet 7 years ago after suffering from a serious infection. In August, the boy showed off his new abilities by throwing out the first ball at a baseball game. Dr. Scott Levin, team leader of Zion’s operation, said Zion was faced with the operation much braver than many adults. “I’ve never seen Zion cry,” Levin said. “He’s just an amazing boy. He has such courage and determination and gives us all inspiration.”

Zion said his courage came from the two most amazing people: his mom and his grandma. His mother, Pattie Ray, said, “It’s been a long journey but now I feel like I am living in my dream. It’s his dream, and it’s mine, too. I’m just living through him, and I’m just here to support him in any way and help him do whatever he wants to do.”

However，Zion told reporters his mom wouldn’t let him try out for football. His mom said it’s too dangerous. She also pointed out that he might be playing against little kids, not professionals, and she told him they would discuss it later. Zion tried to counter her argument. “My next goal: convince Mom to let me play football,” he said.

In 1812， the year Charles Dickens was born， there were 66 novels published in Britain． People had been writing novels for a century﹣most experts date the first novel to Robinson Crusoe in 1719﹣ but nobody wanted to do it professionally． The steam﹣powered printing press was still in its early stages； the literacy（识字）rate in England was under 50%． Many works of fiction appeared without the names of the authors， often with something like "By a lady．" Novels， for the most part，were looked upon as silly， immoral or just plain bad．

    In 1870， when Dickens died， the world mourned him as its first professional writer and publisher， famous and beloved， who had led an explosion in both the publication of novels and their readership and whose characters﹣from Oliver Twist to Tiny Tim﹣were held up as moral touchstones． Today Dickens' greatness is unchallenged． Removing him from the pantheon （名人堂）of English literature would make about as much sense as the Louvre selling off the Mona Lisa．

    How did Dickens get to the top？ For all the feelings readers attach to stories， literature is a numbers game， and the test of time is extremely difficult to pass． Some 60，000 novels were published during the Victorian age， from 1837 to 1901； today a casual reader might be able to name a half﹣dozen of them． It's partly true that Dickens' style of writing attracted audiences from all walks of life． It's partly that his writings rode a wave of social， political and scientific progress．But it's also that he rewrote the culture of literature and put himself al the center． No one will ever know what mix of talent， ambition， energy and luck made Dickens such a distinguished writer． But as the 200th anniversary of his birth approaches， it is possible﹣and important for our own culture﹣to understand how he made himself a lasting one．

Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was born at Stevenson, Hampshire, on December 16,1775，and died on July 18,1817. She began writing early in life, although the prejudices of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously(匿名 )．

But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bathˈs many famous local people and visitors. She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from 1801 to 1806，Bath was her home. Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are largely set in Bath. The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it, keeping in its streets and public buildings the well-ordered world that she described so well in her novels. Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austenˈs Bath can be enhanced by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street. Here, in a Georgian tow house in the heart of the city, you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austenˈs time and the importance of Bath in her life and work.

The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance of members of the Jane Austen Society. After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge collection of Jane Austen related books, cards and many specially designed gifts. Jane Austen quizzes are offered to keep the children busy.

You can also have walking tours of Jane Austenˈs Bath, which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian city of Bath. The tour lasts about one and a half hours. The experienced guides will take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped.

I watched from a distance as the homeless man quarreled with those who did not leave money for him – the majority.I walked up to him and right on queue he asked me for a quarter. “I’ll give you a quarter if you tell me your story.” He laughed, “You’ll give me a quarter for my story?” I lay the quarter in front of him and corrected myself – “Nah, here’s the quarter but it would be nice to hear your story.” I followed his eyes to the quarter and for a brief moment I saw a glimmer of reflection. I sat down next to him and waited.

    “I was in the army,” he said. “I was a sniper(狙击手)and was supposed to shoot down the enemy from the distance.” I listened carefully to his grizzly voice as he went deeper into the story. He wore dirty old torn clothes and smelled like a dead rat left in a mouse trap. He told me how he used to hunt with his family and was really good at it. He had his own way of respecting animals by not wasting what he killed for food and not killing more than he needed. When the army came knocking on his door, he felt pride and joined up. All those years of polishing his hunting skills could now serve a larger purpose—to defend us from the bad guys. He set out to fight in Iraq.
    It wasn’t long before he realized his ideals and expectations were just a shadow of the truth. He became disillusioned with the killings, which he felt were of innocent people. “I was a sniper but I never really killed anyone,” he said. “One day I had to do it. They asked me to shoot this lady from the distance. I saw kids near that lady and my hands were on the trigger (扳机). Man, I was tearing up ... I couldn’t do it. She wasn’t doing anything to anyone and she was with the kids—I couldn’t see through my tears. It just didn’t make any sense to me.”

The story goes on as he describes eventually being put into prison for 180 days for refusing to follow orders. He told me how he was black listed so that he couldn’t get a job. All the rights we take for granted were taken away from him. Why? Here was a man who was being punished—and for what? For refusing to kill the lady?  For being a hero?  “I have no regrets,” the homeless man said. “I may be homeless now, but I never killed that lady. I never killed anyone in the army. It didn’t feel right. I didn’t go there to do that. I went there to save people.” He continued, “I can live with being homeless—that’s okay. But I wouldn’t be able to live with killing innocent people.”

On that lonely Friday night, I met a hero. It just never occurred to me that a hero could be a smelly old man left on streets.

All of my childhood and early adult life my mom weighed over 220 pounds. She never came to any school events. I have no memory of my mother attending anything with me at all. I often wondered if she maybe didnˈt love me enough to support me.

I would hear stories about when my mother was younger. She used to be the familyˈs number one dancer，dancing all night. I had never seen this dancing woman，though; the woman I grew up with had traded in her dancing shoes for house slippers.

As I became an adult，I began to understand people better. I soon realized that my mom loved me. After a while，I understood that my mom was in pain; however，I didnˈt know how to help her.

Fortunately，from somewhere，she found the strength to help herself. After more than twenty years of fighting against obesity(肥胖症)，my mother completed an eighteen-month diet that left her ninety pounds lighter than before. A new woman was born！At age twenty-eight，I got a new mom！It wasnˈt so much her new body that was the surprise，but rather her new spirit.

To celebrate her new size，my mother joined a “Mrs. Forty-Plus” competition，where she would have to model，give a speech and provide a dance performance. She told our family that she didnˈt care if she won－she simply had always wanted to perform on stage.

The competition was intense(激烈)！Her speech brought tears to everyoneˈs eyes，and her performance copying Janet Jackson stopped the show. That night，at age forty-three，my mother was crowned “Mrs. Forty-Plus”．She was the first person in our family to ever win such a title. With this new woman，my mother was born again. She gave herself a new chance in life－as a model，a dancer，a mother and a friend. At age twenty-eight，I met my “hero”．

I wanted to have tea with Nirad in a tea break during a retreat (静养). I was holding the cup so he could sip (小口喝) tea. I was being careful and poured a small quantity in his mouth. I enjoyed concentrating on each moment and listening deeply to do a good job with serving tea.

We were immediately connected and befriended each other during this time. Two other retreat participants joined and then there were four people talking about varieties of topics which ranged from how Nirad progressed in his education to cool ones like how he maintains his weight, etc. These conversations brought smiles and it seemed that we all knew each other from long time ago. In subtle (巧妙的) ways, we quietly felt the connection.

When we finished tea, I felt like tying a wristband for Nirad. The wristband had the letters that read “WE” on one side and “ME” on the other if read upside down. This beautiful gift was received from the Moved By Love team (a non-profit volunteer organization in India). I told Nirad that my youngest brother is about his age, and he gave me a sweet, calm smile.

I felt deep content during this teatime. I had actually lived those moments, being sympathetic and friendly. It was an experience of joy. Later, during the retreat, each time myself and Nirad happened to greet or talk, we smiled naturally and felt connected.

It's sad that we don't connect deeply, even with our family or friends. We are just too busy running after things, going nowhere. We don't seem to concentrate or care enough for people during our conversations. I had these valuable realizations later.

On the last day of the retreat, I told Nirad, “This was the best teatime I ever had in my life.” He gave me a warm, unforgettable smile.

It was evening when my parents and I ventured across Nemeiben Lake，in Northern Saskatchewan.This vast lake had a unique reputation as being the best fishing and tourist resort in the province.

With the boat undocked and the gear and luggage stored beneath the security of the seats，we set off into the setting sun at 8：30.

Unlike my parents，I had never been on a fishing boat before and was captivated (被迷住)by the speed and grace in which it traveled through the waves.The lake was deserted as the sky began to darken and looked more threatening by the minute.

Suddenly the boat hit something with such a force that we all fell over in our seats.The whole boat shook for a moment，before water started to trickle slowly over the stern.My father went to the back and after many attempts to start the engine，he began to look very worried.The water was now rushing in at a much faster rate，tipping the boat at an awkward angle.

We tried our best to hold on to something.The worst was yet to come.With our life jackets secured and fastened，we waited as the boat sank deeper into the water.We were soon immersed (浸入，沉入)in the chilly depths.The biting cold was more terrifying than anyone could have imagined.

My parents，who were dressed in floater jackets，clung desperately to each other，trying to keep their heads above water.I，on the other hand，wasnˈt so fortunate.A strong gust of wind blew briskly across the lake，bringing with it，torrential rain and threatening thunderstorms.The strong waves carried me on into the night.The waves continued to pound violently，forcing me underwater.

The following morning a fisherman found us.By that time，our body temperatures were twenty-four degrees，which meant we were nearly dead.Later investigation showed that we had been in the water for fifteen hours.

Whatˈs the main idea of this passage?

Unlike the other lakes in Northern Saskatchewan，the Nemeiben Lake ________.

What is the reason which caused the accident?

When I was 17， I read a magazine article about a museum called the McNay， once the home of a watercolorist named Marian McNay． She had requested the community to turn it into a museum upon her death． On a sunny Saturday， Sally and I drove over to the museum． She asked， "Do you have the address？ ""No， but I'll recognize it， there was a picture in the magazine．

    "Oh， stop． There it is！"

    The museum was free． We entered， excited． A group of people sitting in the hall stopped talking and stared at us．

    "May I help you？" a man asked． "No， "I said． "we're fine．" Tour guides got on my nerves． What if they talked a long time about a painting you weren't that interested in？ Sally had gone upstairs． The people in the hall seemed very nosy（爱窥探的）， keeping their eyes on me with curiosity． What was their problem？ I saw some nice sculptures in one room． Suddenly I sensed a man standing behind me． "Where do you think you are？" he asked． I turned sharply． "The McNay Art Museum！" He smiled， shaking his head． "Sorry， the McNay is on New Braunfels Street． ""what's this place？" I asked， still confused． "Well， it' s our home．"My heart jolted（震颤），I raced to the staircase and called out，" Sally! Come down immediately!

    "There' s some really good stuff（艺术作品） up there．" She stepped down， looking confused． I pushed her toward the front door， waving at the family， saying， "Sorry， please forgive us， you have a really nice place． "Outside， when I told Sally what happened， she covered her mouth， laughing． She couldn't believe how long they let us look around without saying anything．

    The real McNay was splendid， but we felt nervous the whole time we were there． Van Gogh， Picasso． This time， we stayed together， in case anything else unusual happened．

    Thirty years later， a woman approached me in a public place． "Excuse me， did you ever enter a residence， long ago， thinking it was the McNay Museum？"

    "Yes． But how do you know？ We never told anyone．"

    "That was my home． I was a teenager sitting in the hall． Before you came over， I never realized what a beautiful place I lived in． I never felt lucky before． You thought it was a museum． My feelings about my home changed after that． I've always wanted to thank you．"

April 23,2016 marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. Organizations in Britain have planned numerous events to honour him.

In Stratford-upon-Avon, his birthplace, the tourism organization has a great number of free events, including performances of Shakespeare's plays, and a dazzling fireworks display. And the BBC is broadcasting a live show from Stratford-upon-Avon, celebrating Shakespeare's widespread influence on the world. In England's capital, the London Shakespeare Centre and King's College London are holding a series of public performances, exhibitions and activities. It isn't just England that honours the anniversary of the death of this extraordinary writer. In Washington,D.C., the Folger Shakespeare Library, which houses the world's largest collection of documents relating to William Shakespeare, is displaying a series of exhibitions.

Shakespeare is probably the most famous author and is considered a genius by most. He wrote around 38 plays and 154 sonnets(十四行诗), and his work has been translated into over one hundred languages! He penned beautiful metaphors(暗喻), serious dramas and amusing tales.

Shakespeare also invented many new terms and phrases. If someone's behaviour suggested he/she was not being honest and should not be trusted, Shakespeare called his/her actions suspicious. If someone was being silly and perhaps looking like a fool, Shakespeare found his/her actions laughable. And Shakespeare called people who offered their opinions on the quality of something critics. Today, for instance, food critics and film critics give audiences their opinions of food and films. The familiar phrase “break the ice” comes from Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew. The “ice is broken” when a difficult conversation or meeting is calmed by some basic introduction, such as a simple game. More common words coined by Shakespeare include road, gossip, lonely, bump and hurry.

Four hundred years after his death, Shakespeare surely lives on, in everyday speech, as the most famous writer of all time!