One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem — inability to read.

    In the library, I found my way into the “Children's Room.” I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.

    There on the book's cover was a beagle which looked identical to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.

    Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very sl owly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated fr om his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.

    My mother's call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.

    I never told my mother about my “miraculous” (奇迹般地) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.

    Hawaii, 2nd Edition

    Original price: $ 22.95

    Sale price: $ 20.95

    Summary: Hawaii is one of the world's premier vacation destinations, and this practical and fact- packed book shows why. Like other Traveler guides, it's a treasure of special features - walking and driving tours, in-depth Hawaiian history, a sample of the best of each island's activities, plus a selection of hotels and restaurants in every price range.

    Be the Pack Leader

    Original price: $ 25.95

    Sale price: $ 18.95

    Summary: Bestselling author Cesar Millan takes principles of dog psychology a step further, showing you how to develop the calm energy of a successful leader and use it to improve your dog's life and your own life. With practical tips and techniques, Cesar helps you understand and read your dog's energy as well as your own energy so that you can take your connection with your dog to the next level.

    Celebrate Hanukkah

    Original price: $ 15.85

    Sale price: $7.85

    Summary: The US astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman brought a menorah(烛台) and a dreidel (陀螺)on his Space Shuttle mission in 1993. Hoffman observed the traditional spinning of the dreidel, but wisely left the menorah unlit in several thousand liters of rocket fuel. Also included is the author's sure-to-please potato pancakes' recipe.

    A New Perspective of Earth

    Original price: $26.85

    Sale price: $ 20.85

    Summary: The author Benjamin Grant describes a unique collection of satellite images of the earth that offer an unexpected look at humanity. More than 200 images of industry, agriculture, architecture and nature highlight incredible patterns while also revealing a deeper story about human influence. This extraordinary photographic journey around our planet captures the sense of wonder gained from a new, aerial point and creates a perspective of the earth as it has never been seen before.

I moved to a new city and took a job in marketing. I didn't really understand whether it1me. I enjoyed doing things that I felt had2—I could see their benefit and feel their impact. As the months passed, I felt it just wasn't for me. I needed to find a way out.

A job advertisement for a(n)3for a new youth magazine came at exactly the right time. I applied and was4. My role was to help teams of young people edit their5and help them with their work. I had assumed the magazine would be a(n)6of games and dull reviews, so I was7when one of the first pieces written was about social welfare.8, I found something I was interested in.

I felt a9in me straight away. I had a purpose again. Days were lost to discussing hot topics and10the words of their strong and opinionated (坚持己见的) voices.11in their world, I could see myself making a difference to the team's12ability. As our website13increased and the work shifted to reflect what our14wanted, I developed a greater15of what young people might want to read.

The biggest change the job brought, 16, was to my well-being. It is rare you find yourself in a job you love, one that you are happy to17each day. I was thriving (充实）in this18environment, inspired by the talented young people I was helping to19their careers. Now, I realize that there are jobs that will keep you happy,20and inspired.

    When I awoke, it was morning. I tried to stand up, but I could not move.

    At first, I thought that yesterday's dangers had made my body too weak and too tired to move. Then, suddenly, I heard some very strange noises. As I listened, I heard the sounds of people around me, but I could see no one. "So I am not alone here! Thank God!" I thought. I tried to turn my head, but I could not move it in any direction. I turned my eyes down to look at my body and saw that I had been tied down to the ground with hundreds of small ropes.

    Just at that moment, I felt something moving up my leg. It was small and light and I thought that perhaps it was a small animal like a mouse or something. I felt the thing touch my chin and looked down to see what sort of animal was climbing on me.

    I had never been as shocked in my life as I was at that moment. Standing on my chest was a tiny person! The little man stood on my chest, pulled out a tiny sword, and pointed it at my head. As I stared at him in surprise, the little man shouted something in a strange language. "Hekinah degu!" he said. I had no idea what this meant, but I guessed that it was not a friendly greeting.

    I did not know what to do, but I wanted to get free from the ropes. I moved my body back and forth, trying to break the ropes. When I freed my left arm, the little people began to shout loudly. Quickly, I used my arm to pull off the ropes that held my head to the ground.

    A moment later, hundreds of small arrows flew through the air and hit my hands and face. They felt like tiny needles in my skin. I shouted in pain and raised my hands to cover my face. Many small men jumped onto my body and began to attack me with their swords. I guessed they were angry. I was trying to escape from them, so I decided the best thing to do was put my hands down and lie quietly.                                       (Adapted from Gulliver's Travels)

Pet lovers were very angry. Last May, a news article online said three states had passed laws limiting the number of pets that each household could have to only two. The news spread quickly, as many people shared the article on Facebook and other social media sites. But pet owners had nothing to worry about—the article was made­up.

Many fake (虚假的) news are harmless, but others might have played a role in real­world events. When it comes to online news, even adults can have a hard time telling fact from fiction. Education experts say kids should start learning how to tell the difference.

Of course, there are plenty of reputable websites you can visit to read the news. Well­known news organizations, such as The New York Times and the Associated Press, have their own sites.

But many other online "news" sources aren't always reliable. And many students have trouble finding out when articles aren't entirely true or are trying to persuade them to think in a certain way.

Why would someone purposely publish an article that isn't true? The most common reason is to make money. Websites are paid by the companies that post ads on them. Companies want to place their ads on sites that get a lot of visitors. So people create fake news with attention­catching headlines to try to get users to click on them.

Some of the biggest websites are trying to stop the flow of fake news. Last November, Facebook and Google banned fake news sites from advertising on their pages. Facebook is also working with fact­checking organizations to identify and flag fake articles. But experts say the best way to slow the spread of fake news is for people to be more skeptical(怀疑的) of what they read online.

    The popular image of the mountain climber is of a person carefully climbing a steep cliff with a network of safety ropes, but it is not the only kind. Many climbers now enjoy bouldering. It's more accessible and better for the environment.

    Here is an example of a climber addressing a bouldering problem.

    Figure 1: The climber has two routes she could take, one to the left and one to the right. The left one appears easier because it has a jug within easy reach, but look what happens if she chooses that direction. She gets stuck on the rock and has to go back down. Sometimes that is even more difficult than going up.

    Figure 2: The climber takes the one to the right this time. Using a foothold and placing her right hand in a crimp, she is able to lift herself up and locate other handholds. After only a few moves, she is able to throw her leg over the top of the boulder and pull herself up.

    A teacher once told each of her students to bring a clear plastic bag and a large bag of potatoes to school.  every person that the students refused to forgive in their life, they (choose) a potato, wrote on  the name of that person and the date, and then put it in the plastic bag. Some of their bags were quite heavy.

    They were then told to carry these bags with them everywhere for one week, (put) them beside their beds at night, on their car seats when driving, and next to their desks at work.

    During this time, they carried the bags around with them, they realized what a weight they were carrying, andthey needed to pay attention all the time, so as not to forget them or leave them in  (embarrass) places. Of course, the potatoes were becoming  (rot), and smelled very bad.

    This is the same as the price we pay for keeping our pain and  (happy) with us! Forgiving others is not only a gift to them, but also a very good gift to ！