—That is only an excuse. The truth is he is too lazy to get up early.

    My first star performance Among my many“first times”in the[US，the one that was most important to me was my first musical performance.

    We put on a musical called“Guys and Dolls”at our school. I played the1of a sergeant（警长）in a band. I had one line（台词），2I had to sing it without a microphone.

    The teacher and director，Ms O'Connor，was a3artist. Under her strict training，we were4giving a great show. I was very excited5I imagined how I would look on stage with my bright red 1950s caps（斗篷）and6my friends would like my clothes.

    Then，suddenly，I started to7uncomfortable every time I said my line. I felt like the audience（观众）was all staring at me. Was I doing OK？Were my 8pretty？Because of these9 ， my movements and facial expression became unnatural（不自然的）. Instead of enjoying the10 ， I performed like a walking puppet（木偶）. Luckily，Ms O'Connor11me onto the right way. She saw my worries and said to me，“I understand how you feel. It is12. As I always tell my students：love the art in yourself，not yourself in art. ”

    She was right. When we love the art in ourselves，it doesn't13if we are acting alone or in front of a big audience. It's not about how much the audience thinks of us. It's about how much effort（努力）we have put14our performance.

    I began to forget myself on the stage and started to think of my role in the story. The show was a15. It was also an important life lesson for me.

    My dad was my everything.1bad could come to me when my daddy was around. But my dad also had a problem. He was an alcoholic(酒鬼). One day while watching cartoons, I heard the back door  2^. In came my dad. He was drunk(醉). I ran to him and shouted, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." When I was about to reach him, my mom 3 me. Why was she holding me back from my dad?

    "Let me go to my daddy. He needs me！" I shouted. "No, Cindy, he'll hurt you. You need to stay back，" my mom said to me. Then my dad came out carrying as much as he 4 .Without looking back, he walked out of the door. That was the only time when I saw my dad drunk. And it was the first time when I saw my hero(偶像)  5 .He came back a few weeks later with a 6 mind .And he has not had a drink since then. He is not perfect(完美的)，but I still look up to him. Many years later, when I had enough courage(勇气)to ask my mom about it, she told me something I'll  7 forget. "I found the hotel he was  8at, Cindy .I told him that he could have his drink, but not his daughter.9 he could have his daughter but not his drink. He 10you."

—Of course.

— So he does. They ________________ the hometown for nearly two years.

  One day a little mouse was thirsty(口渴的)．She looked everywhere for water to drink．She climbed up on a table．And she saw a bottle on the table．The mouth of the bottle was 1  ．The little mouse looked inside the bottle．“Aha，there is 2  milk in it．That's great．''She went into it and drank．

    She drank and drank．After a moment she had drunk enough．Her stomach was too big and she couldn't come   3the bottle．She cried for help．Just then a cat came up to the table．  4 he heard the cry the cat jumped onto the table so 5 ，“You'll be my nice lunch．''The little mouse was very clever and she6 for a moment and said，“Brother Cat，you mustn't roll(滚)the bottle．”“ 7  ?”asked the cat．“l would get dizzy(头晕目眩的)，”said the mouse．The cat said that he would let her  8quickly．So he began to roll the bottle．Suddenly the bottle fell down onto the floor and broke into  9 ． The little mouse ran  10 as fast as she could．When the cat jumped off the table and ran after her，the mouse had already gone into her home．

    June came and the hottest month of the year began. A lot of travelers came to the city by the sea. All of the hotels were full except Mr. Johnson's. The prices of all the rooms were the lowest in the city but few people stayed there. The fire broke out three times in a year and four travelers died in the accidents. Most workers left there and found jobs in other hotels. Mr. Johnson had to do most work himself.

    It was eleven o'clock. Most rooms were still empty. Mr. Johnson worked for the whole day and was very tired. He went to close the gate when a young man came in, with a big bag in his hand.

    "What can I do for you, sir?" asked Mr. Johnson.

    "The cheapest room in your hotel."

    "OK," said Mr. Johnson, "but it's on the top floor."

    "It doesn't matter. I think you have a lift in your hotel."

    "Of course, sir," said the manager. "It'll take you right there. By the way, may I keep your bag for you?"

    "No, thanks. There's nothing expensive in it but a long rope."

    Oh? What do you bring it with you for?"

    "I'm afraid another fire will happen in your hotel. If it does, I'll throw the rope out of the window so that I'll be able to escape from (逃脱) it."

    "Yes?" Mr. Johnson said in surprise. "So you have to pay for the bill before you go to your room."