It was at least two months before Christmas when my nine­year­old Almie Row told her father and me she wanted a new bicycle.1Christmas drew nearer, her desire for a new bicycle seemed to2or so, we thought.We bought the latest sage, Baby­sitter's Club dolls, and a doll house.Then，3 ， on December 23rd, she said that she 4wanted a bike more than 5else.It was just late, what with all the details of preparing Christmas dinner and buying last­minute gifts, to take the time to 7 the “right bike”for our little girl.So, it was Christmas Evearound 9：00 p．m.，with Almie and her six­year­old brother, Dylan nestled snug in their beds.Now we could only8the bicycle and the 9of our daughter.

       “10I make a little bicycle out of clay and write a note that she could trade in the clay 11for a real bike？”her dad asked.“Since this is a(n)12item and she is ‘such a big girl'，it would be much better for her to pick it out.”So he spent the next four hours13working with clay to make a tiny bike.

           On Christmas morning, we were14for Almie to open the little heart­shaped package with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the15 ． Finally, she opened it and read the note aloud.“Does this mean that I16this bike that Daddy made me for a17one？”

      “Yes，”I said.

         Alimie18tears in her eyes when she replied，“I could never trade in this beautiful bicycle that Daddy made me.I'd19keep this than get a real bike.”At the moment, we would have 20heaven and earth to buy her every bicycle on the planet!

Notes：

①sage n ． 鼠尾草　②trade in以旧换新  

        What happens inside the skull of a soccer player who repeatedly heads a soccer ball？That question motivated a challenging new study of the brains of experienced players that has caused discussion and debate among soccer players，and some anxiety among those of us with soccer­playing children.

        For the study，researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York selected 34 adults，men and women.All of the volunteers had played soccer since childhood and now competed year­round in adult soccer leagues.Each filled out a detailed questionnaire developed especially for this study to determine how many times they had headed a soccer ball in the previous year，as well as whether they had experienced any known concussions (脑震荡) in the past.

Then the players completed computerized tests of their memory and other learning skills and had their brains scanned，using a complicated new MRI technique which can find structural changes in the brain that can't be seen during most scans.

        According to the data they presented at a Radiological Society of North America meeting last month，the researchers found that the players who had headed the ball more than about 1,100 times in the previous 12 months showed significant loss of white matter in parts of their brains involved with memory，attention and the processing of visual information，compared with players who had headed the ball fewer times.

       This pattern of white matter loss is “similar to those seen in traumatic (外伤的) brain injury”，like that after a serious concussion，the researchers reported，even though only one of these players was reported to have ever experienced a concussion.

       The players who had headed the ball about 1,100 times or more in the past year were also generally worse at recalling lists of words read to them，forgetting or fumbling the words far more often than players who had headed the ball less.

        The values of artistic works，according to cultural relativism (相对主义)，are simply reflections of local social and economic conditions.Such a view，however，fails to explain the ability of some works of art to excite the human mind across cultures and through centuries.

        History has witnessed the endless productions of Shakespearean plays in every major language of the world.It is never rare to find that Mozart packs Japanese concert halls，as Japanese painter Hiroshige does Paris galleries.Unique works of this kind are different from today's popular art，even if they began as works of popular art.They have set themselves apart in their timeless appeal and will probably be enjoyed for centuries into the future.

        In a 1757 essay，the philosopher David Hume argued that because “the general principles of taste are uniform (不变的) in human nature，”the value of some works of art might be essentially permanent.He observed that Homer was still admired after two thousand years.Works of this type，he believed，spoke to deep and unvarying features of human nature and could continue to exist over centuries.

       Now researchers are applying scientific methods to the study of the universality of art.For example，evolutionary psychology is being used by literary scholars to explain the long­lasting themes and plot devices in fiction.The structures of musical pieces are now open to experimental analysis as never before.Research findings seem to indicate that the creation by a great artist is as permanent an achievement as the discovery by a great scientist.

Howdo you stay true to yourself when you're surrounded by friends and/or familythat have an opinion on everything you do? It's not easy!       Here are four tips which can help youlive a dynamic life.

Staytrue to yourself by listening to the only opinions that really matter—your ownand those from people who believe in and encourage you. Deep down you knowyourself better than anybody else.

Don't fear people

       The reason most people don't take risks, orlive on the edge is the fear of what others might think of them. If you want tolive the life you truly deserve, you must give up the need to be liked byeverybody.

Value yourself and your choices

Whenyou do, others will too. Own the choices you make in your life.       When you believe in yourself, in time, otherswill believe in you too. Show confidence in your choices, and what you standfor whether others agree or not.

Focus on appreciation

Nomatter what the circumstances are, there is always something to be gratefulfor. All successful people ask，“Whatam I grateful for? How can I improve my situation and use these tough times toinspire others？”      

Thesesteps, if applied, will help you transform your peace of mind, lifestyle, andproductivity.

a．Focus on your own talents and strengths

b．Never let others' opinions guide your choices

c．Treat every person as they are important.

d．When you doubt yourself, others will doubt you.

e．Stay fearless in everything you will have to do.

f．Be thankful to life and be helpful to others, and you'lllead a successful life.

g．However，thereare great possibilities that you can lead the life you really want.

Whatis the most popular communication tool today?       your answer is QQ or MSN, I must sayyou're a bit old­fashioned. Today, a new form of communication “WeChat”，

which      (own) a Chinese name Weixin,is becoming the most influential text and voicing tool all over the world.

Whatadvantages do WeChat have? First, WeChat is        relatively cheap way of communication; that isto say, it uses network traffic instead of telephone fare.

Next，we can know        is going on at any time. And we can have       (easy) access to information availablethan other messaging tools.

Whatroles does it play        our daily life? According to the latestreport, the registered users on WeChat platform have topped 200 million andWeChat has expanded its business to overseas market. Can you imagine that amobile phone ‘app' is so       (appeal)that it reaches 200 million users within 8 months? WeChat itself has become themost popular mobile chat application in the world. A large        of people have become “WeChataholic”， which means they keep staring at the mobile phone all thetime and can't live without       .However, while enjoying its great convenience, people should not ignore thedanger of       (cheat), forinformation on Wechat is publicly known.