“Problems and worries are normal (正常) in life,”says Laura. But I think talking to someone helps a lot. If we don’t talk to someone, we’ll certainly feel _______.”

Laura once lost her _______, and worried for days. She was afraid to tell her parents about it. She even walked three miles to school each day because she didn’t have any money. She just kept _______ of the problem again and again in her mind. “If I tell my parents, they’ll be angry!” But in the end, she talked to her parents and they were really _______. Her dad said that he _______ made careless mistakes himself. They got her a new wallet and asked her to be more careful.“I will always remember to _______ my problems in the future!” Laura says.

Robert Hunt advises students about common _______. He feels the same way as Laura. “It is best not to avoid our problems. We should always try to solve them.” He thinks that you can first find someone to talk to. This person doesn’t need to be an expert (专家) like himself. Students often forget that their parents have more _______ than them, and are always there to _______ them.

In English, we say that sharing a problem is like cutting it in half. So you’re halfway to solving a problem if you talk to ________ about it.

It’s Saturday night. Mia, 18, is meeting her boyfriend, Nico. He’s an hour late. Mia calls Nico four limes on his mobile phone. The fifth time he answers.

“Hello?”

“Nico? It’s Mia, Where are you?”

“Uhm”

“You’re late! Are you playing computer games again?”

Mia is angry. Sometimes Nico plays EverQuest (an online game) for six or seven hours, and he forgets about her.

Games like Everquest and StarCraft are very popular all over the world. Some gamers play for eight to ten hours every day. A man from India played StarCraft for 50 hours nonstop (不间断地)! Three hours later, he died.

“Some people can’t stop,” says Dr. Park, a researcher in UK. “They don't take a break to eat or sleep. They quit (辍学) school. The game is their life. And that’s not good.”

But there is good news. Eiji is from Japan. He makes special tools for gamers. One is a utensil (器皿). Using it, gamers can eat and play at the same time! With another tool, a player can press a button (摁按钮) and send a message to people (for example, “Bring me a drink!”).

Nico likes Eiji’s tools, but Mia doesn’t. “Oh no,” she says. “Now I’ll never see my boyfriend!”

The Bus Schedule (时刻表)

Smoke fills the sky. The day is as dark as night. Heat makes it hard to breathe(呼吸). This is the world of a wildfire fighter(消防员)!

Wildfires are a part of nature. But, as one firefighter says, “Fire is not a problem. People living near fire—that’s the problem.”A wildfire can destroy(毁坏) everything in its way. But there are ways to fight it.

By air

Smokejumpers(空降森林灭火员) are often the first firefighters to reach a fire. To get closer, they jump from a plane. They are especially important when the area is difficult to walk to. If smokejumpers can’t stop a fire in 24 hours, other firefighters join them. This second group drops water on the fire from an airplane.

On the land

On the ground, firefighters work together to stop the fire. First, one group digs a fire line. This is a long deep ditch(沟). It is difficult for the fire to cross this line.

Then, while those firefighters dig, others start a backfire(回火). They burn the dry grass and leaves between the wildfire and the fire line. When the wildfire comes, there is nothing for it to use as fuel.

Other firefighters cut down dead trees. That way the fire can’t move to other trees. Firefighters risk their lives to keep people safe. Their job takes hard work, and it takes courage.

Welcome to the Excellent Kids Website! Here you can read about excellent children from all over the world and vote (投票) for the Excellent Kid of the Month.

This month we’re proud to introduce Gina from France, Brendan from Canada and Helga from Germany.

Gina, who is thirteen years old, got first prize in the “Young Cook of the Year” competition and is now writing her own recipe (食谱) book for kids.“I want it to be fun to read and easy enough for children to use,” she says. Gina learned by watching her father, who’s also good at cooking, in the kitchen. She wants to encourage other children to cook because “everyone needs to eat, so it’s a skill that will always be useful!”

Seventeen-year-old Brendan used to love running until he had a serious car accident three years ago. He lost part of one leg and didn’t even expect to walk again. Now he’s a runner who has recently completed a marathon (马拉松). “After my accident I wanted to give up,” he says.“But now I’m happy to be alive and able to continue running.”

Helga has always been good at science, but she thought it was too difficult to become an inventor. Then she heard about an accident that had happened when a car hit a train in her town. “That gave me an idea,” says the clever sixteen-year-old. It took her over a year to invent a special machine that tells car drivers when a train is coming. One company(公司) is already interested in selling it, so it may be in the shops soon!

A man and his wife had a small bar (酒吧) near a station. The bar often
73． open until after midnight,
74． people came to drink there while they were waiting for
75．.

At two o'clock one morning: one man was
76． sitting at a table in the small bar. He was
77．.The barman’s wife wanted to go to bed. She looked into the bar several times, and each time the man was still there. Then at last she went to her husband and said to him, “You’ve woken that man six times now, George, but he isn't drinking
78．. Why haven't you sent him away? It’s very late.”

“Oh, no, I don't want to send him away, ” answered her husband
79． a smile.“You see, whenever I wake him up, he asks for his bill, and when I bring
80． to him, he pays it. Then he goes to sleep again.

A fisherman lived with his wife in an old shack (棚屋) by the sea. Each day he caught a fish, and cooked it for his wife. One day he caught a talking fish. The fish asked the fisherman to let him live, and the fisherman agreed. For the rest of the day, he caught nothing else.

When the fisherman got home empty-handed, his wife asked what happened. He told her about the magic fish. “ What did you get in return (作为回报)?” his wife asked. “Nothing,” said the fisherman, which made his wife very angry. “It’s a magical fish, so ask it to grant (准予) your wish. I hate my shack. Ask the fish for a nice house,” she said. The man didn’t want to trouble the fish but he didn’t want his wife to get angry either. He did not know if he should listen to his heart or his wife.

The next day the fisherman went to the sea and told the fish about his wife’s wish. When he got home, his wife was standing in front of a beautiful house.

For a week, she was happy but then she started to complain (抱怨). “Go back and ask for a castle (城堡),” she said. “If you don’t, I’ll be unhappy forever.” The fisherman didn’t want a bigger house but he didn’t want his wife to be unhappy. Again, he did not know if he should listen to his heart or his wife. However, the next day, he returned to the sea and spoke to the fish again. When he got home, his wife was standing in front of a large castle.

Life was good for a few days but early one morning, the fisherman’s wife said, “I want to be queen of the land.” The fisherman couldn’t believe it. “I won’t go,” he told her. “Then, I will never speak to you again,” she said.

After a troubled night’s sleep, the fisherman went back to the fish and in a nervous voice told him the new wish. The fish told the man to return to his wife and said she would be queen of her land.

When he got home, his wife was crying and standing in front of their old shack.

假定你的好友名叫Bill，是一名美国中学生，他打算今年暑假来宁夏旅游。请你根据以上内容和所给提示，用英语写一篇介绍他的短文。短文首句已给出，不计入总词数。

提示：

1. 家庭情况、性格及爱好；

2. 老师及同学对他的评价；

3. 来宁夏旅游的原因。

要求：

1. 词数80左右；

2. 合理增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Bill is my good friend. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________