Dear Kate,

    I can't believe I'm already in my sixth week of university. I meant to write earlier but there just seems to be so much going on all the time—lectures (讲座) to go to, interesting people to meet, societies to join, etc. Now I keep forgetting things, or being late for lectures. Sometimes I think I'll never learn to deal with it all！Is there any way I can get my act together？What do you think?

Love,

Sheryl

Dear Sheryl,

    It was great to hear from you. I'm not surprised you feel a bit overwhelmed. I think you can make a list each morning of things you have to do that day. Try to include everything on your list, from going to a lecture to returning your books to the library. And draw up your own study timetable and stick to it. When you've got a minute during the day, don't forget to tick off things that have been completed.

    The university social scene sounds very good. You seem to be really living it up. I remember how popular and outgoing you were at school, so it must be tempting (诱人的) to say "yes" to every social invitation. It's not a good idea to go out every night, though！You won't forget to pace yourself, will you？Just avoid doing too much at one time!

    I'll be able to make the weekend of the 22nd. I'm really looking forward to seeing the college and meeting some of your new friends. I believe by the time we meet everything will be going well in your life!

Love,

Kate

    There was a man playing the piano in a bar. He was a good piano player and always performed in this bar. People came in just to hear him play. But one night, a customer told him that he didn't want to hear him just play the piano any more. He wanted him to sing a song.

    The man said, "I don't sing."

    But the customer was persistent (执着的). He told the bar manager, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want that man to sing！"

    The manager shouted across the room, "If you want to get paid, sing a song. Our customers are asking you to sing!"

    So he did. He sang a song. A piano player who had never sung in public did so for the first time. And everyone was surprised by his song "Mona Lisa". He got lots of applause (掌声) that night

    He had such a talent for singing, but he just had been sitting on his talent for the past years! If without such a chance, he may have lived the rest of his life as a no ­name piano player in a no ­name bar. However, now he has become one of the best ­known singers in America.

    You, too, have skills and abilities. Maybe your "talent" is not as great as the singer above, but it may be better than you think! And with effort, most skills can be improved. So, in your life, you should be brave enough to try doing different things and find out what talents you really have!

    A few months ago, Jason asked his parents to buy him a computer. All his friends already had one, so his mom and dad agreed. During the first few weeks, Jason spent a lot of time in front of his computer because he had to learn how it worked. He was really interested in learning all about it and he even started writing computer programs himself.

    One day Jason found a website where he could play chess either against the computer or against other people from all over the world. From then on, Jason seemed to have just one interest in life, his computer. Whenever his parents told him that he was spending too much time with his computer, Jason went into denial. He did not think that he had a problem at all.

    Then the unthinkable happened：Jason's computer broke down. But his parents decided not to buy him a new one. Jason said that he needed a computer for school, and he promised that he'd spend less time with it. But his parents refused to give in. Finally, Jason felt so hopeless that he took the only way out and killed himself.

    Robert Johnson, a psychologist (心理学家) on the subject, says, "Computer addiction (沉溺) is an illness that can influence anyone of us. Nowadays, increasing numbers of people are spending more and more time working with computers. While this isn't a problem for most users, some people, especially teenagers, often use the computer to get away from the real world. This is especially true of shy people. For them, meeting people online is a way of hiding their true selves. In cyberspace (网络空间), they can be whoever they want to be and create their own virtual (虚拟的) world. But what happens when they can no longer enter their virtual world？"

    The famous American gorilla (大猩猩) expert Diane Fossey had a completely new way to study gorillas—she pretended to be one of them. She copied their actions and way of life—eating plants and getting down on her hands and knees to walk the way a gorilla does. It was a new relationship.

    Diane Fossey was murdered in Rwanda (卢旺达) in 1985 and her story was made into the popular film Gorillas in the Mist (迷雾森林十八年). It was a long way from King Kong, which is about a gorilla as a monster (a frightening animal), and helped to show a new idea: the real monster is man, while the gorilla is to be admired.

    Today there are thought to be around 48,000 lowland gorillas and maybe 400-500 mountain gorillas in the wild. From the Congo (刚果) in West Africa, to Rwanda and Uganda (乌干达) further east, they are endangered by hunting and by the cutting down of their forest homes.

    Sometime ago, I found in my letterbox a little magazine from the World Wide Fund for Nature. It had two photos side by side. One was of a young gorilla. "This is a species of mammal(哺乳类动物), "said the words below it. "It is being destroyed by man. We must save it for our own good." The other photo showed a human baby. The words also read: "This is a species of mammal, "but then went on: "It is the most destructive (破坏性的)on earth. We must retrain it for its own good. "

    If you are hungry, what do you do? Have your favorite meal and stay quiet after that.  But it never lets you know, because you keep it busy thinking about your friends or favorite stars. So it silently serves your needs and never lets itself grow. When mind loses its freedom to grow, creativity gets a full stop. This might be the reason why we all sometimes think "What happens next?" "Why can't I think?"

    Why reading but not watching TV? It is because reading has been the most educative tool used by us right from childhood. Since it develops other aspects of our life, we have to get help from reading.

    Once you read a book, you run your eyes through the lines and your mind tries to explain something to you.  Now this seed is unknowingly used by you to develop new ideas. If it is used many times, the same seed can give you great help to relate a lot of things which you would have never thought of in your wildest dreams! 

    This is nothing but creativity.  Within no time you can start talking with your friends in English or any other language and never run out of the right words.

    So guys, do give food to your thoughts by reading, reading and more reading.  Go and get a book! 

A. The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed.

B. Why not do some reading while you are hungry?

C. Just like your stomach, your mind is also hungry.

D. Now what are you waiting for?

E. Hunger of the mind can be actually solved through wide reading.

F. Reading can help you make more friends, too.

G. Also this makes a significant contribution to your vocabulary.

    A lawyer and a woman were sitting next to each other during a long flight. The lawyer asked her if she would like to play a fun game. The woman was1and just wanted to take a nap (小睡), so she politely refused.2, the lawyer continued to explain how the game 3, "Now I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you4me…"

    Again, she politely refused and tried to get some5. The lawyer thought he would easily win the game, so he made another6, "If you don't know the answer you7pay me $5, but if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $50."

    This8the woman's attention. Figuring that there would be no9unless she played, she finally10to play the game. The lawyer asked the first question, "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?"

    The woman didn't say a word, reached into her purse, pulled out a five dollar bill and11it to the lawyer. Now it was the woman's12. She asked the lawyer, "What13a hill with three legs and comes down with four?"

    The lawyer looked at her with a(n)14look. He took out his laptop computer and began15. Disappointed, he sent e­mails to everyone he knew, with no16. After one hour, he17at last. He woke the woman and handed her $50. The woman took the $50 and turned away to get back to sleep.

    The lawyer18the woman again and asked, "So what is the19？"Again without a(n)20, the woman reached into her purse for a bill. She handed the lawyer $5, and went back to sleep.

    Once a group of 50 people were attending a seminar. Halfway through his talk, the speaker stopped and decided (create) a group activity. He went around the hall and gave each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his or her name on the balloon(use) a marker pen. Then all the balloons were(collect) and put in another room.

    The speaker then led the group to the room full of balloons and asked them to find the balloon  had their name written on, within five minutes. Everyone was (hurried) searching for their name, bumping into (撞上) each other, pushing each other around. It was chaos (混乱). At the end of the five minutes no one could find (them) own balloon.

    Now each person was asked to randomly (随便地) collect balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within two minutes everyone (have) their own balloon. When everyone quieted down, the speaker began to talk, saying that this was exactly what was happening in our lives. Everyone is hurriedly looking for happiness, but not (know) where it is.

    Our happiness sometimes lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness

     you will get your own happiness.

    The summer holiday is approaching, which makes me very exciting. I have been looking forward to relax myself and I'd like to go fishing, climb high mountains and rides my bicycle. I think I can play football or play the chess with my father as well. How a wonderful time I will have during the summer holiday! But my father has differently opinions. He doesn't want me to go out. He's afraid that I'll be knocked down a truck, fall into rivers, fall off a tree or fight with other. What's worse, he's afraid I will get lost. I hate being treated like a bird keeping in a cage. I need freedom but I will try to persuade my father.

参考词汇:sign up报名  essay contest征文比赛

注意：

1）词数:100左右。

2）可以适当发挥，以使短文连贯。