Life is not easy, so I’d like to say “When anything happens, believe in yourself.”

When I was a young boy, I was 1_shy to talk to anyone. My classmates often _2_me.I was sad but could do nothing, Later, _3_happened, and it changed my life. It was an English speech contest. My mother asked me to _4_it .What a terrible idea! It meant I had to speak before all the teachers and students of my school.

“Come on, boy. Believe in yourself. You are sure to 5_the contest.”Then mother and I talked about many different topics. At last I chose the topic “Believe in yourself.”I tried my best to remember all the speech and practiced it over 100 _6_.With my mother’s great love, I did _7_in the contest. I could hardly believe my ears when the news came that I had won the first place, I heard the cheers _8_the teachers and the students. Those classmates_9_once looked down on（看不起）me ,now all said “Congratulations!”to me. My mother hugged me and cried excitedly.

Since then, everything has changed for me. When I do anything, I try to tell _10_to be sure and I will find myself. This is not only for a person but also for a country.

My name is Ben. I live with my brother, mother and father in an flat. There are 27 floors in the tall building. My apartment is on the top floor. My father has a car .He parks it in the basement(地下室)of the building.
Our apartment is not in the centre of the city. It is 4 kilometers from the centre. My father works in the city, so he goes to work by train every day. He doesn’t often drive his car. He uses his car only at weekends. He takes us into the country or to the beach on Saturdays or Sundays.
Our apartment has three bedrooms. There is a bedroom for my mother and father, one for me and one for my brother. There is also a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom in the apartment. We do not have a garden, but there is a small balcony. There are some plants on the balcony.
【小题1】 Where is Ben’s apartment?   _______________

 I ________ my mother and I ________ her very much.

A. like; like           B. am like; likes       C. am like; like

Victor’s hobby was collecting stamps. He had stamps from many countries，like England，Canada and China. Can you guess what people gave him as gifts? That’s right—stamps. Victor’s favorite stamps came from France.    1.    .He only needed one. That was a 1974 special edition(版). It was very hard to find.

He looked for it everywhere. He asked his friends and relatives to help him.

      2.     . It made Victor very sad.

“Don’t worry,” his father said to him. “If you have enough patience, you’ll find it one day.”

“I hope so,” Victor said.

Victor also liked wring. He had a pen friend in France.    3.   .Victor’s pen friend, Phillip, usually used new stamps to send letters. Sometimes, his mother gave him stamps to use. Once Phillip’s mother gave him a big， green stamp. It looked old. When Victor received the letter， he was very surprised. On the envelope， he looked carefully at the stamp.      4.    .Victor was so happy. He told his sister，his mother and his father.

“You see,” his father said. “You did find you stamp. So，it’s good to have to things in life.” “ What are they?” Victor asked.

“Friends and patience.” He answered.

A. They wrote to each other every month

B. But nobody could find the stamp

C. It was the 1974 special edition stamp

D. His mother helped him to collect stamps.

E. He had almost every  stamp from 1954 to 2004