— _______________

— I'd like to buy some mangoes.

have you lived here?

    For years I wanted a flower garden. I'd spend hours thinking of different things. I could plant that would look nice together.

    But then we had Matthew, and Marvin, and the twins, Alisa, and Alan, and then Helen. Five children. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

    Money was tight (拮据的), as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I'd have to say, "Do you see a money tree in the yard? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know."

Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.

    Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be sweeping willow (垂柳), because I saw things blowing around on all its branches. Then I put my glasses on and I couldn't believe what I saw.

    There was a money tree in my yard!

    I went to have a look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree. There was also a note among them, "Thank you for your time, Mom. We love you."

    Later, my children bought me tools, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books.

    That was three years ago. My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and take care of my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me.

    I live in a city where winters are long and cold, and summers are, too short. But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out of my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes--every time.

    I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!

    You're standing with your classmates. Everyone is talking except you. Perhaps you're afraid they will laugh at you when you say. Maybe you just aren't1enough to speak.

    Shyness is like a snake that crawls(爬进) into our mouth and stops us2. But we shouldn't let it stay there.

    I am 29 years old. Even today, that snake still sometimes visits me. When I was in high school, I was so shy that I wouldn't talk to anyone except my parents and best friends. If a3asked me the way to a local shop, it was as if I'd forgotten how to talk. One summer, I got a job in a4and that helped a lot. It meant I had to talk to customers(顾客). I had to tell them how much their meal cost. I had to ask them5they want to drink Coke or Sprite. This job taught me how to speak with people.

    You may be too young to find a part-time job. But you can look for other chances to speak with people. You can offer to help an old woman carry her heavy bag. Or you can go to get a newspaper for your family.

    If you do these things6, the "shyness" snake will soon begin to leave you alone. It'll look for another mouth to crawl into.

    When Chinese people find out that someone comes from London, they often say, "London is a foggy city, isn't it?" British people who visit China often have to say that London is not a foggy city at a! In fact, London used to be a foggy city, but it isn't any more.

    In London, lots of its pollution came from factories, but a lot of it came from coal (煤) because people burned it in，their houses to keepduring the winter. By the 1950s, London's air pollution had become so bad that the government decided to do something to clean up the air. A new rule was made. It said that nwas allowed to burn coal in any British city. Just a few years later, the air became much cleaner.

    Now many Chinese cities meet the same kind of pwith air pollution that London met forty or fifty years ago. However, it is more dfor Chinese cities to solve it. First, more of the pollution comes from big factories than from coal that people use in their houses. If these factories are suddenly c, lots of people will lose their jobs. Second, cleaner fuels are quite expensive. However, the air in many cities is already slowly becoming cleaner, because the government and ordinary people are trying to make pollution less.

    This is not a diet. It's a simple way to lose weight. And you don't even have to give up the food you love or join a gym. You just follow some habits that thin people have. Keep them, and you'll become thin.

    ⑴ Wake-up

    When you wake up in the morning, sit up slowly without using your hands. With legs straight out, bend(弯曲) forward until you feel sore in your back. It will burn about 10 calories (卡路里).

    ⑵ Start with soup

    When you have a meal al, order a clear soup, and have it before having the main food. In this way, you'll feel fuller, so you'll eat less when the main food comes.

    ⑶ An apple (or more) a day

    Apples are full of fiber(纤维) and water, so your stomach will want less. The study shows that people who eat at least three apples a day lose weight.

    ⑷ Stand up and walk around

    Every time you use the mobile phone, stand up and walk around. Heavy people sit on average two and a half hours more each day than thin people. This skill is very important as standing up, and walking around will burn 50 or more calories.

Use these skills, and you will have a big weight loss.