浙江省临海市外国语学校2023-2024学年九年级下学期开学...

In our family, we have a special way of telling our sons about Santa without lies. It involves both good acts and Christmas spirit.

When they are 6 or 7, I take1 "for milkshakes" at the local2 . We get a table, order our drinks, and the following speech is made:

"You sure have3 a lot this year. Not only are you taller, but I can see that your4 has been stronger as well. In fact, I think you are ready to5 a Santa Claus yourself."

"You have probably found that most of the Santas that you see are people6 like him. Well now you are ready to do your first job7 a Santa."

The children usually pick someone they know. They choose to find something that the person really needs, and 8 let them know where it comes from.

My oldest son chose the old lady next door. He9 that she came out every morning to get her paper in bare feet,10 he realized she needed slippers. We went to the supermarket and a warm pair of slippers for her. He wrote on a card, "Merry Christmas from Santa", then put the11 under her gate. The next morning, she was out getting her paper, wearing the slippers. You can imagine how12 he was at that moment.

Over the years, he chose a good number of neighbors and friends, always coming up with special presents just for them. One year, he polished up his bike and gave it to one of our friend's daughters. This family is too13 to get a new one for the girl. When she saw the bike in the yard with a big bow on it, the look on her face was almost as14 as the one on my son's.

When the time came for my next son to join the "Santa club", my oldest came along to help with the speech.15 of the club's members have ever felt that they had been lied to — because they were let in on the Secret of Being a Santa.

①People surely meet lots of difficulties in life. But life is all about choices. You choose how you deal with situations. You choose how people influence you. The key is: It's your choice how you live life.

②My friend Michael is always happy and always has something good to say. If someone is having a bad day, Michael will tell the person how to find the good side of the situation. 

③One day I asked Michael, "How can you always be so happy?" Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, ‘Mike, you have two choices today. You can choose to be happy or you can choose to be unhappy.' I choose to be happy. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be sad or choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it."

④Soon after that, I left the big factory that I had worked in for years and start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life. 

⑤Several years later, I heard Michael had a serious accident. He fell from a 10-meter-high building. I saw Michael about six months after the accident. I asked him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. "As I lay on the ground, I remembered I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live." Michael replied. "Weren't you scared?" I asked. Michael continued, "When I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read ‘He is a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action. I told them I chose to live and operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing thought.

⑥I learned from him that every day we have a choice to live fully. What is your choice?

Teachers have always had to face the problem of students cheating, whether in a public school or a private school, whether among the low-achieving students or ‘straight A' students. Why do students cheat?

The main reason that students cheat is the high pressure from family. Students want their parents or grandparents to feel proud of them, or at least not to be disappointed in them. Another main reason is that it's likely to get the correct answer rather than considering student's abilities in school. As a result, what students care most is only scores. In addition, some students cheat simply because they're busy or lazy.

Cheating can help you get ahead when it works and it is easy to do. The cheaters get good grades without spending much time studying. Some people think cheating makes difficult things seem easy. Cheating is a way for them to win and get what they want now. Honor and dishonor are meaningless if they win. They easily see the advantages in cheating, but oftenignore the dangers in playing by their own rules instead of society's.

Cheating successfully once often leads to cheating again and again. It can quickly become a habit that turns into a lifestyle. Without cheating , cheaters become afraid of failure. That is to say, it prevents the student from getting the chance to experience the achieving process. What's more, student who cheat may feel worried about getting caught, whether they are caught or not. These kids may feel guilty or embarrassed. Research has shown that not being able to experience trying hard directly affects one's self-confidence. Research has also shown that low self-esteem is the main cause of sadness.

So cheating is like using drugs——it feels good at the moment but it has rather bad effects. The best way to teach our students is to put cheating out of their mind and love learning truly, to help them experience the satisfaction that comes from the knowledge as well as the self-confidence. There's an old saying that characters never win and winners never cheat. Kids who don't cheat are true winners. Because when they win, they do it honestly.

At age seven, before she even started second grade, Neijae Graham-Henries became the world's youngest female barber(理发师). Now ten years old, Neijae volunteers to give free haircuts to kids going back to school and to people in need. We asked her about it.

What sparked (点燃) your interest in becoming a barber?

My brother had signed up to take a six-week introductory (入门的) course. But after the orientation, he said he was not interested. I told Mom that since my brother didn't want to attend, I would. Finally, I was the only girl in the course.

What do you do at the barbershop where you took the course?

I've volunteered at the owner's events in the city to cut hair for people who have no homes or jobs. I've also given free back-to-school haircuts. And I practice under the watchful eye of licensed barbers.

    ▲    ?

Happy! It gives me a chance to help others look their best. A haircut can change someone's appearance. When a person sits in my chair, they're going to look their very best because I'm very detailed(细致的). Right now, I prefer cutting kids' hair. When doing community service, I give haircuts to both kids and adults.

What advice would you give kids about pursuing(追求) anew interest?

It's important to believe that you can do anything if you put the effort in the work. We all have a purpose to achieve during life. Don't be afraid to go for it! I had no idea about barbering but wanted to give it a try, and I am so glad that I did.

Let's face it, all of us have our own bad habits. We may bite our nails (咬指甲), others might break into others' words often. Young people always stay up at night.  Have no fear! Today I will teach you to beat your bad habits.

 Those bad habits would produce bad influences and would finally lead to bad results. So pay attention to yourself on personal development and build your social circle.

Recognize (确认) the bad habits you want to break.  If you don't believe you have a bad habit or you don't know why some things just keep happening to you over and over again, get answers from the people around you. They may help you recognize whether your habit is bad or not.

Decide how serious you are about breaking the habit. If you know it clearly, you will be able to achieve your goal. You can write down when, where and why you do the habit,  Think about what you wrote.

Think about a healthy habit that could take the place of your bad habit.  Catch yourself doing the bad habit and stop yourself, practice the healthy habit instead. Practice this as often as you want. The more you practice a behavior, the sooner it will become a habit.

—I think it's Jane's.

Do you know that we are using up the Earth's fresh water faster than we can replace it? We need water to stay alive and if we don't use water , we will run out!

Water is needed for just about everything we do. We need it to farm, to wash, to provide power, to control fires and—most importantly—to drink.  water, we would all die. 

So we should all save water if we want to have enough to stay alive. Using less water  saving money and saving energy. Saving water is EASY. Here are some  tips:

* Have shorter showers and only half fill the bath. 

* Turn the tap off while you soap your hands or brush your .

* Fix any taps or hoses（软管）that drip—every drop counts!

When I was 9 years old, I loved to go fishing with my dad. He could catch many fish while I couldn't catch  (something). I felt so surprised that I kept asking him why. He  (answer), "Son, if you want to catch a fish, you have to think like a fish." I didn't know how to think like a fish. I was  (worry), as I'm not a fish.

The problem troubled me for many years. As I grew much  (old), I began to know what my dad really meant. So I read some  (book) on fishing and joined the fishing club. I learned a lot about fish. For example, fish prefer shallow (浅的) water  the shallow water is warmer. Gradually, I was good  fishing and catching them. When I grew up, I entered the business world. I  (tell) by my boss, "We all need to think like salespeople." But I didn't think so. My dad never said, "You need to think like a fisherman." I tried  (provide) the best service for customers. I understood that what we all need is to think more like customers. It's really not  easy job.

要求：1. 文中需包含所给问题的相关信息，并可作适当想象和发挥；2. 文中不得出现自己的真实姓名、班级和校名；3. 词数100词左右，开头已经写好，不计入总词数。

Dear Robin, 

I'm glad to hear that you are coming to our school and interested in our extended courses.

……

Yours, 

Li Ping