My friend Paul called me on Sunday afternoon. He was very1 . "Hi, Dan, " he said. "Someone stole my chocolate cake!" "That's terrible!" I said. "2 me about it. "
"Well, this morning I decided to bake a cake. When the cake was done, I left it on the table. Then I walked the dog. 3 when I came back I found the cake missing. "
"Who else was in your house?" I asked. "My two roommates were 4 at home, " replied Paul. "But they denied taking the cake. I know you're very good at 5 the truth. Help me. ""OK. I'll be there in about 20 minutes, " I said.
When I got to Paul's house, he took me into the kitchen. There I saw a（n）6 plate on the table. Some chocolate cake crumbs（蛋糕屑） were seen on it.
"When you went to walk the dog, how long were you away?"I asked. "About half an hour, " Paul replied. "Someone must have been very hungry. He ate the whole cake very7 .
First, I asked Paul's roommate Todd about the cake. "I didn't take the cake, " he said. "I was in my room talking to my sister on the phone. You8 call to ask her. "
Then I asked his roommate Sean. "Then I was going to the post office to 9 a package（包裹）, "he said. "I can show it to you. "
"Could they both be telling the10 ?" asked Paul. "No, " I said. "Sean wasn't. The post office isn't open on weekends!"
During the Warring States period（战国时期）, King Huiwen, the king of Zhao, got a treasure called Heshibi. The king of Qin wanted it and said he would like to give 15 cities to Zhao in order to get Heshibi. So King Huiwen asked Lin Xiangru, an official of Zhao, to take Heshibi to Qin.
When Lin arrived in Qin, the king of Qin was so delighted to see Heshibi. However, he didn't say anything about the 15 cities at all. Then Lin came up with an idea. He said that there was a small flaw（瑕疯）in Heshibi. Hearing that, the king of Qin handed Heshibi back to Lin. Taking it, Lin took a few steps back and stopped in front of a large column, saying that he would break both Heshibi and his own head if the king of Qin broke his promise.
The king of Qin quickly took out a map and showed Lin the 15 cities, but Lin wouldn't trust the king of Qin any more.
Knowing that after a few days, the king of Qin was very angry. However, in order not to break the relationship with Zhao, he had to allow Lin to return to Zhao safely.
A couple of months ago, my daughter Amy lost her trombone（长号） when she got out with her father. We were very sad and angry. We felt angry for the person who took it. We learned that telling friends about our sad things makes us feel better and less worried.
We received sweet messages from friends showing their care for us. Amy received the sweetest letter reminding us that although things in life can be lost and make us upset, we can still find kindness around us.
And then, another student at a different school heard about the situation and decided to give his trombone to my daughter. It turned out that it is the same kind as the lost one. We met this young man who only asked one thing：Amy should never stop learning and making music.
We were so thankful and happy. Amy had her first concert a couple of weeks ago. One thing about kindness is that to the receiver of kindness it might not feel necessary, but to the giver who wants to change things for the better it becomes really necessary.
We are really thankful for everyone's kindness. And we are thankful the trombone got lost in the first place. It taught us so much about other people's healing（治愈） power, even people we have never met before.
We all know that the Nile is the longest river in the world. But do you know there are many other famous rivers, too?
Although the Nile is the lifeline of Egypt, in fact, it's shared by Ⅱ countries in Africa. The river is 6, 671 kilometers long and it's the main source of water in two countries：Egypt and Sudan. It has two tributaries （支流）the Blue Nile and the White Nile. And the White Nile is longer than the Blue Nile. Where does the Nile finally end?In the Mediterranean Sea.
What's the world's second longest river?It's the Amazon River, about 6, 440 kilometers long. It's not the longest river in the world, but it has the most running water. The river lies in South America. It moves from the west to the east, running through three countries—Peru, Colombia and Brazil. It starts in a snow mountain called Mismi in Peru and finally gets into the Atlantic Ocean near Brazil.
As the world's third longest river, the Yangtze River is also Asia's longest river. About one—third of China's population live in the basin of the river. People usually believe that it starts in the Tanggula Mountains. Running through 8 provinces, 2 municipalities（自治市）, it gets into the East China Sea in Shanghai.
The Mississippi River and the Yenisey are also two famous rivers in the world. All the rivers feed the earth and humans.
How much food do you buy each week?Is your fridge always so full that you have to throw away some unwanted food?The number is so large. Why is this?What influences does food waste have?And what can we do to reduce food waste?
The main cause of food waste is our modern lifestyle. People are usually not checking their fridges before shopping. Another reason for wasting food is that farmers and supermarkets throw away products which are considered unacceptable.
Food that is wasted has some influences. Food waste leads to a waste of resources used in food production, including land, water and energy. The food waste is buried（掩埋）or left to go bad. This produces a kind of "green house" gas, which results in global warming and climate change.
Lessons about food problems should be taught at school. Also, we need to think twice before we go shopping. When we're eating, we should eat up the food we ordered or cooked.
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A. What's worse, food waste has a bad influence on the environment. B. About 1. 3 billion tons of food is wasted in the world each year. C. The good news is that food waste can make people buy more things. D. It could lead to excessive（过度的） buying. E. Clearly, something must be done to reduce food waste. F. They often refuse to sell things that are of the wrong shape or look bad. |
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encourage, change, succeed, consider, look through |
My grandpa Joe is 85 years old this year and he and my grandma（marry） for 60 years.
His memory is becoming much（bad） than before and he is really slowing down. Yesterday, he asked me to take him to the supermarket and I was thankful that he would like to ask mehelp. As many of us know, he shouldn't drivehe hardly ever remembers any addresses. I thought it would also be good for Grandma to spend time by（her） for a while, not having to worry about Grandpa for a few hours. I watched him（walk） slowly around the supermarket. I had no idea what he was searching for actually. I just thought he wanted to be out of the house.
However, when I watched the things he put in the shopping cart, I noticed that they were some of my grandma's favorite things. He got a bottle of her favorite soda. He（careful） picked out a bag of her favorite grapes. He even （buy） her a small lemon pie. . . And then, my eyes were full of tears as I watched him move to the fresh flowers and pick her the（beautiful） roses in the world!He（success） in remembering all these that day.
"The bike is too old. Let me throw it away, " said Mum. "Don't throw it away, Mum. It means a lot to me, "I nearly cried. I like my old bike because it is my first bike. It wasn't bought by my parents, but by myself, with my one month's hard work.
Ten years ago, I learned to ride a bike with my father's help. I had a special feeling①____my friends rode past me on their cool new bikes. How I wanted a new bike of myself!I knew it was impossible even if I asked my parents to buy one for me. They worked so hard for the family but still didn't have any extra（额外的）money for a bike!
I knew myself well and I always tried to get what I wanted by myself. That summer vacation, I didn't spend much time playing outside like most kids. Instead, I found a part—time job. I worked two hours a day in a factory, and I could get 15 yuan a day!15 yuan was really a lot of money for me at that time. I finally got 450 yuan!It was enough for a bike!
I told my parents about my part—time job, and showed them the money. They were so surprised!Of course, they allowed me to buy a bike!It has been my best friend②____then. I rode it to almost every corner of the town, happily and proudly. "Mum, could I keep it?" I begged again. My mum finally agreed. I was overjoyed and jumping up and down because I could keep my old friend. It is very important to me!
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Everyone knows that a good sleep is important for our health. But not everyone knows how important it is to sleep in the dark. A new report says sleeping with the light on could be bad for our health.
Researchers say turning off the light when we sleep helps us to keep away from diabetes（糖尿病）and heart disease. Sleeping with the light on could increase the risk of getting these diseases. The researchers said around 40 percent of people sleep with some kind of artificial（人造的）light. They said even light from a television or an alarm clock could be bad for our health. They added that the worst thing to sleep with is light. Sleeping in the dark is more difficult for people who live in cities, where there is a lot of outdoor light at night.
The researchers are from the North western University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, the USA. The lead researcher, Dr Phyllis Zee, is an expert in sleep medicine. She said it is healthier for us to turn off all lights when we sleep. Her team had a study of the blood sugar levels of 20 people after nights of sleep. ①____Dr Zee said this is because light stimulates brain activity, which raises blood sugar levels.
Dr Zee said there are some things we can do to solve the problem：turn off the lights, never sleep with white or blue light, use a blackout curtain or wear an eye mask.
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