Last week, my schoolmates and teachers were organized to climb the East Mountain located 20 kilometers away from their school. As soon as we arrive at the foot of the mountain, we set about climb with great passion. On our way up, we had so much difficult walking along the steep hill that we were tiring out. But with the teachers 'help, we managed to reach for the top of the mountain that we were greeted by the bright sunshine and beautiful view. Seeing from the top, the city looked like a huge garden. This mountain climbing activity turned out to be great success. Not only did we take a break from our heavy school work, and we also had a chance to get close to nature.

   Little Tommy was the pride and joy of his parents. He was a little boy, very bright and happy. So with no doubt his parents sent him to kindergarten, and it was certain that he would grow up very well.

At the end of the first week, Tommy brought home pictures he had coloured. His parents were a bit puzzled why his drawings were done in black crayon But they said nothing.

Another week passed and Tommy’s pictures were technically correct and well drawn for a 5-year-old but still in black. His parents thought, perhaps he was colour-blind（色盲的）. So they took him for a check-up.

The doctor told them not to worry. Tommy was healthy in every way. However，the pictures still came home in black. The teacher was contacted and she related that Tommy was the top of her class in everything, very well liked by all of the other children and showed no signs of any problems.

In kindergarten for a month, Tommy’s mother was anxious. She made an appointment with a child psychologist（心理学家）, who did a brain scan for Tommy. His character was well formed, and he was a precocious（超前的）learner. Perhaps he needed more challenging activities.

By Thanksgiving the fridge and various walls and doors of the family home had displayed Tommy’s black pictures, black dogs chasing a black ball in a black field, black houses, black suns, black airplanes, black turkeys, everything black.

Tommy’s grandmother was visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday and noticed all of the black drawings. She immediately asked Tommy, “Why are all of your drawings done in black crayon?”

To which he replied, “Because Grandma, by the time the crayon box gets down to my end of the table, there are only black crayons left.”

Grandpa’s Investment Pays Off

When I was a student, my family went through a few rough financial years. We _______, but with much effort and many worries.

I had a pick-up truck that was _______ breaking down and the thought of the 600 km drive to school in it was a（n）_______ one. As I drove away from home one day, my uncle walked up. I stopped and he _______something onto my dashboard（仪表板）.

He leaned against the window, speaking softly. “Years ago,” he said, “when I was a _______ student myself your grandfather once did this to me. I _______ one day I would return the _______. And now I have.”

Then he _______ without looking back, and I _______ he did so in order to hide his emotions.

A few miles later I opened the __________. It contained a few bank notes. It was a gift __________ more than two decades later to a second generation; it is almost like a full circle, __________ I’m the only one who bears my grandfather’s name. The amount（金额）was not large. Twenty years ago it had been __________ to buy a full trolley of groceries，or a few tanks of fuel. At this moment it was just a（n）__________, something to express his good intentions. But my uncle was jobless at the time and I almost had no money. Therefore for both of us, it was a（n）__________ amount.

I paid it forward some years later to another poor boy with an old car, __________ the amount for inflation（通货膨胀）. As far as I can __________ that boy has been the only one I’ve told this __________ to-until now. I can only __________ that one day he will pay it forward too.

I couldn’t help but feel that Grandpa made a good __________ all those years ago.

Last summer I had chance to visit Paris. That attracted me most was the Eiffel Tower, which has became a symbol of France. I was deep impressed by its height. I had never seen such a tall building before! It is made of iron and it is about 10,000 tons in weight. There are 1,665 steps from the bottom to the top. Climb the tower made me very tired, and I was very excited. I took a lot of photo in Paris.

I have much memories and experiences to share with. I am so lucky to have seen such a culture so different from my own. I would remember my trip to France forever!

   I was one of the young US soldiers in Saudi Arabia. At one time before the Internet，our only lifeline to friends and family was the mail we sent and received.

One evening the mail soldier called my name and，instead of a letter，handed me a large box from my grandmother in Oklahoma. One of the great hardships of the war for me was the absence of my grandmother's cooking—her fried chicken and onion，corn bread，and，most of all，her desserts. But on that evening I was about to take a gastronomic（美食的） journey home: I opened the box and found two dozen pies made by my grandmother.

A man from New York approached and asked me what I had received. I couldn't answer；my mouth was full of pie. So I just offered him one. “So nice！”he said. “What are they？”He had to wait a few moments for an answer，but eventually I explained. As insurance，I offered him another pie to keep him quiet.

Once a day for the next three weeks，I imagined returning home to my grandmother's kitchen，if only I had had a few sweet bites at a time.

Some of my earliest memories are associated with my grandmother's pies. She had been baking pies since before the Great Depression. She would have astonished the judges on today's TV cooking challenges. I remember coming across a persimmon（柿子）tree once while out hiking. It was autumn，and the fruit was soft and sweet. I picked a few dozen and brought them to Grandma. Guess what！The next day I walked into her kitchen to find a persimmon pie waiting for me.