I have invented robots which improve the work of cars. My love of making things began______I was a kid. I really became excited about inventing after I learned about Thomas Edison.

One day in fourth grade, our______gave us a project in class. We had to write to a company and learn about the products. I thought and thought. _______I chose the Thomas A. Edison Company. Soon after, the company sent me a book about the life of Thomas Edison. How I enjoyed reading and re-reading about his   ____! I like the recorded sound and the electric light most. The inventions were clearly printed on my brain.

My dad noticed my interest in inventing and______me. He showed me how to turn my ideas into plans and then into new things. Once, I surprised my dad______a model plane I made. Later, we found a______model plane in a store. I learned that different inventors often invent similar things. It is not unusual for this to happen. I also learned that not all great ideas______. Failure is a common part of the inventing.

As my father and I worked together, I began to realize that my dad was quite an inventor himself. He was always______a better way to do a simple job. His guiding hands, together with my______ in inventing, led me to become an engineer and an inventor. Of course, I also thank Thomas Edison. He is my hero.

Your English teacher has introduced a play to your class. Read the play.

Characters: Benny, student, 14 years old

Peter, students, 15 years old

Susie, student, 14 years old

Grace, student, 14 years old

Time:   One Sunday afternoon in autumn

Place:   Sunny Park

(The four teenagers have just finished the picnic. They are tidying up.)

Benny:   Wow! That was a great picnic. I’m so full that I can hardly move.

Grace:   That’s no excuse for not tidying up, Benny. Come over here and help me pack up the leftover food. Peter, can you put out the fire, please? And clean up the plate.

Peter:   (Speaking unhappily to himself) How can I always get the dirty and difficult jobs?

It’s not fair.

(Peter throws a bit of water on the fire. Then he picks up the ashes (灰烬) with an old newspaper and wants to throw them into the long grass. )

Susie: (Sounding surprised) What are you doing , Peter? That’s d…

Peter: Whoops…the newspaper has caught fire.

Susie:    And the grass… Benny, Grace, help! Help!

(Benny and Grace come over quickly. They help put out the fire completely.)

Peter:    Oh, no. What have I done?

Grace:  You know that we should do everything carefully, don’t you?

Peter: (With his head in his hands) Yes. What have I done? What have I done?

   Tony, a nine-year-old kid, is sitting at his desk when suddenly he wets(尿湿) his pants. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he can’t possibly know how this has happened. It has never happened before. He knows the after-effect (后果)—When the boys find out, he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they’ll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

Tony puts his head down and say to himself, “Oh, no. What can I do? I need help now!”

He looks up and notices the teacher coming, with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking to him, a classmate named Emily is carrying a glass that is full of water. Emily falls down in front of the teacher and drops the glass of water in Tony’s pants. Tony seems to be angry, but all the while he is saying to himself, “Thank you, dear! Thank you , dear!”

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the person that everyone laughs at, Tony is the person of sympathy (同情). The person that everyone laughs at should be him, but now it is Emily.

She tries to help, but they tell her, “You’ve done enough, you stupid!”

At the end of the day, as they were waiting for the bus, Tony walks over to Emily and says in a low voice , “ You did that on purpose, didn’t you ?”

Emily says back in a quiet voice, “I wet my pants ,too.”

School Activity: the “Exercise Month”

A number of important school activities are coming up, and the biggest one is the “Exercise Month”.

What is our aim(目的)?

The “Exercise Month” is organised by the Youth Sports Club. The main aim of this activity is to improve our school members’ knowledge about the importance of exercise.

What are our activities?

The “Exercise Month” will take place from 15 December to 15 January. During this month, a lot of activities will be held to show the importance of exercise.

●Writing Competition The topic of the writing competition is “Exercise and Me”. The length of the writing is 500 words for this competition.

●Talk The talk will be given on 18 December. The speaker will be Dr Chiu from St Stephen’s Hospital. He will then answer our members’ question about exercise.

●Exhibition(展览) The exhibition will be held from 19 December to 3 January in our school hall. The history of different kinds of exercise, and the winning and excellent writings from the competition will be on show.

●After-school Exercise Classes The after-school exercise classes will run from 18 December to 14 January. In these classes, experienced coaches from the local exercise clubs will also help our school members to make practical exercise plans.

What are you holding in your hand while you are taking the examination? Right. A pen.

Though it is small, the pen has changed the history, improved the trade of countries, recorded events, carried news, and done far more work for human beings than all other tools.

Progress without it would have been almost impossible. The invention of the wheels, the introduction of steam engine(蒸汽机), the use of electricity, all these have changed the lives of millions of people, but the pen has done more. It has taken away mountains, and it has prepared the way for all progress and development of the society.

In the past the pen did all the work if you wanted to keep any writing for some time. The lawyers took up their pens and wrote the law of the country from the days when papyrus(纸莎草纸) was first used. The most famous letters in the world were written with a pen. It was with a pen that the greatest thinkers of all time wrote down their thoughts.

The pen is very utilitarian. We cannot sign a bill or write a letter or buy a house without our pen. An agreement is worthless till our name is written with a pen. The writers encourage the world with it. The students take their examinations with it as well.

Our coming into the world is recorded with a pen. Before we have been at school, our name is written on the name list with a pen. We cannot be married till we have signed. A pen records the important events in our life.

Let us remember that we hold in our hand the most powerful instrument which man owns. The pen is a magic tool. Whenever you use it, enjoy it.

Critical thinking(批判性思维) is trying to improve the way you think. People use critical thinking in every area of life to solve problems and evaluate claims(评估主张).

Like every other skill, critical thinking takes practice. When a problem comes our way, we need to think critically to decide how to solve it. When we see an advertisement, for example, we should stop and think. Advertisements are made to make people feel certain that they are true, and then people can buy the products. But is what the advertisement says true? Is it making a claim? Or does it only interest us? Critical thinking is important and stops us from making poor choices. In fact, we are using it if we ask questions naturally about what we see.

Practice makes perfect. While you are growing in critical thinking, you’ll become a wiser and more thoughtful person. There are many ways of doing practice. Here are a few.

★ Read about a topic people disagree on. Look at articles or books on all sides of the subject. For each side of the subject, think carefully and evaluate it.

★ When you see or hear a claim, ask questions about it. Who is making the claim and why?

★Evaluate your own thinking. Where and why do you think uncritically? How can you improve?

Critical thinking should be part of everything we do. It may help you to succeed at work or school. Make yourself into a habit of critical thinking. Change your thoughts and change your world.

I have a photo album (相册). It’s a present from my classmate—David.

I got to know David on the
66． (two) day of middle school. We both liked playing basketball and collecting stamps,   s
67． we always had a lot of things to talk about. Once I traveled with him to his hometown in the countryside. He showed me   a
68． and I saw many interesting things. We had a
69． (wonder) time. It is really nice to have such
70． good classmate.

However, last summer, David
71． (go) to another city because of his father’s job. Before leaving, he gave
72． (I) a photo album. “It has the memorable events we have experienced together. I have also written some
73． (note) under each of these photos,” he said. I was
74． (deep) moved.

I always look at the album when I think
75． David. I really miss him.

When to Say Thank You