Last week, I talked with a mother of a young teenager in my class. She was telling me how 1 it was for her son at school, because he was always in an old school uniform that didn't fit him. Since her husband and she both 2 their jobs, they couldn't afford (买得起) a new one. She told me that she was slowly trying to buy a(n) 3 shirt, then trousers, then shoes.

I knew that she didn't want to ask for help. She 4 asked for anything from me. She was just telling me the honest truth. I went to the 5 to take out some money. Then I put it into her pocket and told her to just go and 6 the uniform, and not to tell anyone I did this but her husband.

I also made it clear to her that nothing was 7 — no payback. “It's a gift. Take it, and I can enjoy 8, and that is all I need right now." I told her she was doing me a favor. She felt too 9 to speak and we hugged. I really just felt happy that her boy wouldn't continue to be 10 for his old uniform. I know what that is like, and as a victim (受害者) of school bullying when young, I can say for sure it hurts for a long time. I felt so good to be able to do this!

Joe was a boy with a special ability. He could make himself cry in less than a second. In this way, he could get almost everything he wanted.

One day, Joe met Pipo. Pipo had no family and was very poor. He was asking people for some money in the street. When people offered him some money, he would do something for them in return. Joe decided to help him make some money. He took off his hat, put it face-up on the ground and started crying sadly.

In a few minutes, Joe's hat was full of money, but when Joe gave Pipo the money, Pipo declined.

"It's much more fun making an effort to get things. Maybe I haven't got everything I want, but I've done a lot of interesting things," said Pipo. Joe walked away sadly. He had got everything he wanted, but he'd done nothing interesting the whole day. He hadn't even enjoyed himself by spending almost all his time crying.

That evening, Joe wanted a piece of cake for his supper. When his mum refused, he wanted to cry. But he remembered what Pipo said. So he tried to get the cake in some other ways. To the joy and surprise of his parents, Joe spent the whole evening helping his mother with the housework. In the end, there was no cake. But that wasn't so bad because Joe discovered it was much more fun doing all those things that evening rather than just sitting crying to get a piece of cake.

Dear Han Mei,

I' m afraid I've got a big problem recently. My mother talks too much to me. She always tells me something like "Be careful while crossing the street." "Put on more clothes." "Did you do a good job at school?" and so on. I'm annoyed. What shall I do?

Alice

注意

1）回信内容须针对来信中所涉及到的相关内容进行回复，可适当发挥。

2）词数80左右(信的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数)。

3）不得透露学校、姓名等任何个人信息，否则不予评分。

Dear Alice

……

Yours,

Han Mei

—Sorry, I don't know.

    Most of us have three meals a day. We take food for granted (想当然). And we don't think about it.1experts argue a food crisis (危机) is coming. This crisis is going to make us2the way we think about food.

    Food is in great need3a growing world population. By 1960, the population was three billion. It doubled to six billion by 1999. By 2050, this planet will need to4at least nine billion people. As a result, the food prices will get higher and higher.

    So, what can a5, crowded world do? One suggestion is to eat6meat. Meat uses more natural resources (资源) than grain (谷物). It requires more7to produce one pound of meat than to produce one pound of grain. It also requires between 5 and 10 times more8than vegetables. So, eating less meat will9more land for farming, and it will save water.

    To eat less meat, people will need to change their eating habits. That will not be10. Americans, for example, have11loved meat. In general, they eat twice as much meat as people in other countries. At the same time, in developing countries like China and Brazil, sales of meat have doubled in the last 20 years.12will double again by 2050. Growing need of meat will13to put pressure on natural resources.

    World population is increasing, resources are becoming fewer, and food prices are rising. Therefore, we need to rethink14we eat every day. For meat lovers, we don't need to give up meat15. But we need to eat more grain and less meat!

    Sara looked out of the window and sighed, watching wind blow the trees. She didn't understand why her parents had to cancel (取消) the party. The storm was none of their business. They lived in a village far from the ocean.

    "Sweetie, we'll have your party next weekend," her mother said, "The guests live far from us, and it's dangerous for them to go out today."

    "My birthday is in this week." Sara turned on the television. But almost every station was talking about the storm. "I can't even watch my favourite shows. This storm is ruining everything."

    Her mother sat down. "The storm is ruining many things. Look! Those people are trying to save their houses. Could you imagine if we lost our home?"

    Sara looked at the screen. She knew she'd be really worried if her family lost their home.

    "What's going to happen to those people?" Sara asked.

    Her mother said, "Usually when there's a big storm like. this, people raise. money and send things to the people who lost their homes."

    "What should I do?" Sara asked.

    Her mother pointed to the screen, "Call this number, and you will know what you can do for them."

    Sara nodded, "And maybe I could send my birthday money to them. Those people need it more than I do."

    Her mother smiled, "I'm really proud of you, Sara. Helping others is a great way to weather the storm (渡过难关).”