Leo was a small and thin boy who lived in a small village. Some boys in the village often made fun of(嘲弄) _________ and Leo was afraid.

One day, an old wizard(术士)went by the village and saw Leo being made fun of. So when the bad boys left, he gave Leo a lion’s tail. “It’s a _________ tail,” the wizard said. “When someone wears it and acts bravely, he or she will turn into a strong _________.” Leo hung the lion’s tail behind his body and decided to teach the bad boys a lesson.

But when the boys came, Leo was afraid and tried to _________. However, they caught him. Suddenly, Leo _________ the tail and remembered what the wizard had said. He became brave. He looked them in the eyes and said he would make them _________ doing that. Leo felt the goose bumps(鸡皮疙瘩)all over his body. “This must be the _________ that I am turning into a lion.” he thought. The boy ran away in fear. Leo wanted to catch them, but he found his legs were short _________.    

When the wizard saw it, he came to Leo. Leo was very happy, although a little _________ because his lion body had lasted only a short time.

“You are great,” said the wizard. “But have you ever seen a lion fighting? No one fights with lions __________ they know how brave and strong lions are.”

It was true. Leo had __________ seen a lion fighting. He understood that a truly __________ boy would make the bad boys afraid and that what really worked was not the tail but the heart.

Last December, students at Duluth Edison Carter school in the US took part in a food drive(募捐). They were on their way to collect food and other things for their local food bank.

Since lots of people in the world are still suffering from hunger, food banks are set up to help them. They collect and store food and give it to people who cannot afford to buy it. There are thousands of food banks in the world. Some people donate(捐赠)food or money to them, and some work as volunteer in the banks. The students from Duluth Edison Charter School had their own task—they had collect what poor people needed for their holiday.

Each grade received different requests(需求)from the food bank. Some needed to collect potatoes and vegetables from the farm. Some went to bakeries(面包房)to ask for cakes. And for seventh grader Isabelle Sydow, she had to make gift boxes with her teammates. In her own words, the reason for donating is simple. “Not everybody has everything they need, and we think it will be nice to give everybody what they need for the holiday,” said Sydow.

Students collected a total of 1,409 items for the food bank and donated $262. “Thanks for your help,” said Eric, the leader of the local food bank. “The poor people will have a nice Christmas just like everybody else.”

At my primary school, I was one of the smartest kids there. I never studied, but always got perfect scores. I was also a prodigy in music according to myself. I could sing better than almost everyone else in my school. I was pretty sure that once I got to sixth grade, everyone would be surprised by me.

But actually, they weren’t.

When I arrived at my new class, I couldn’t wait to show everyone what I could do. However, there was always someone else who could do them better. My grades began to suffer. More talented(有天资的)girls often sang solo(独唱). I believed I wasn’t smart. I believed I wasn’t talented. I believed I was a failure.

Over the next two years, I had to work very hard. Every prize for the singing competition was given to me for hard work and effort. Grades were still very low but improving little by little. I worked really hard. However, I was never the best at everything.

I haven’t realized until recently that I really don’t have to be the best at everything. I was too hard on myself. In fact, when I did badly in a test, my classmates never laughed at me.

No one is perfect. There will probably always be someone better than me at something. Anyway, there are about seven billion people in this world. I will never be the number one at everything, and that’s really okay.

These days so many things are going digital(数字化)，and books are too. People can buy e-books or cheap books online. This means that some bookstores have a hard time staying open.
38．

Bookstore sales in the US went 2.5 percent from 2014 to 2015. They have found success by trying new things, such as holding events, adding a coffee shop and food and creating a fun experience for book lovers.

“That’s what small bookstores have to offer,” Nicole Sullivan, owner of Denver’s BookBar, said. “a more personalized(个性化的)experience and a sense of community.”
39． The Shakespeare and Company Bookstore in New York is adding the Espresso Book Machine, which can print any book you want in five minutes at the store. This special machine is great for people looking for books which are hard to find.

And sometimes, if you can’t beat them, it’s okay to join them.
40． Second Story Books in Washington DC is one of them. It sells books on Amazon and makes more money.

While bookstores still face difficulties, it seems there are ways for them to succeed.
41． You are sure to enjoy a really special experience.

Have you ever been to the US? Do you find anything a bit strange there? No matter how many times a European visits the US, he or she just
57． get used to the culture there. Let’s take a look at what they have complained(抱怨)about most.

“How are you?” is used as a greeting(问候), not a
58．. When a shop worker in the US says “How are you?”, it’s just a way of saying “Hello.” No matter how often this happens to European, they always think that the American are asking about their health or well being. Often, they will answer it and ask right back, and
59． an answer.

In European countries, you only tip(给小费)after a meal if you are very
60． with the service, or a tip is not expected. However, Americans would like to tip anyone in the service industry,
61． waiters, drivers and hotel workers. And good service means a good trip. So for some Europeans, it is hard to find out how much they should tip and
62． should be tipped. Certainly, it brings them a lot of trouble.

What was living in the ISS like?

Living in space is common to astronauts. But what if it is a task of nearly a year?

US astronaut Scott Kelly was in the International Space Station (ISS) for 340 days. It is the longest time a US astronaut has spent in space at a time. Kelly's stay is part of the Twins (双胞胎) Study. When Scott Kelly spent nearly a year in the ISS, his twin brother Mark Kelly lived on Earth. They gave scientists more ways to study human space flight.

Usually living in the ISS for such a long time is boring. Was it the same for Kelly? Let's take a look.

Good morning, everyone!

It's time to enjoy a sunrise. But for Kelly, it was one of the 16 sunrises he saw each day in the ISS. Isn't that cool?

Work comes first.

During his stay, Kelly and his partners did about 400 science experiments. One of them was about planting vegetables. And they did it! Growing vegetables will be helpful for longer space journeys.

Moving with microgravity(微重力).

As we all know, space is a place with microgravity, which influences human bodies. So Kelly did exercise more than 700 hours in the ISS. That is about two hours of exercise a day. Microgravity also makes some easy things difficult. Kelly often slept in a sleeping bag, or his arms would float (飘浮) in front of him all the time.

Boring? Why not do something for fun?

Kelly loved taking photos from space and sharing them with the world online. Even President Obama is his fan. Under one of his photos, Obama wrote, "Hey, loving the photos. Do you ever look out of the window and just freak out (吓坏了)?" "I don't freak out about anything, Mr. President, except getting a question from you," Kelly replied.

为了丰富学生的校园生活，学校正在筹建各种俱乐部，如英语俱乐部（English club）、写作俱乐部（writing club）、音乐俱乐部（music club）……你想参加哪个俱乐部？你对该俱乐部活动开展有何期盼？为什么？请在校园英语论坛上分享你的想法。