love reading, too.

When I first took skiing lessons, I found it exciting. For skiing racing, there's no question that I'm better than most boys. I think it's fun. I mean, it is a challenge. It's where I picked up the idea of needing a challenge in my life. In order to improve my skiing skills, I have read many books and magazines about it.

An Qi 15 years old China

I'm different because I prefer to drop out of the world to create my own world. I'd like to build a house on a mountain. And I choose to live without electricity, a telephone, or even indoor plumbing(水管装置).

I have many hobbies such as traveling, reading writing and spending time with children. I love children because they are smart and creative. They always have many strange ideas. It makes me excited.

I want to do something for Hope Project and become a country school teacher.

21. Which hobby do the three students all have?

A. Writing. B. Reading. C. Skiing. D. Traveling.

22. We know that Joe Miller ______.

A. does well in drawing cartoons B. thinks skiing is too dangerous

C. doesn't like to follow others D. enjoys living somewhere quietly

23. An Qi wants to be a country school teacher because ______.

A. she loves children B. her parents are teachers

C. she wants to travel D. she comes from the countryside

　　B

　　Bill Bowerman was a track coach. He wanted to help athletes run faster. So he had learned how to make running shoes. He had also started a shoe company with a friend. It was 1971. Running shoes at the time were heavy．They had spikes (鞋钉) on the sole (鞋底). The spikes tore up the track and slowed down runners.

　　To make a lighter shoe, Bill tried the skins of fish. To make a better sole, he wanted to replace the spikes. Bill dug through his wife Barbara's jewelry box. He hoped to find a piece of jewelry with an interesting pattern. He would then copy the pattern onto the new soles. Nothing worked. Bill was defeated.

　　Then, one Sunday morning, Barbara made Bill waffles (华夫饼) for breakfast. Bill watched her cook. He studied the criss-cross pattern on a waffle iron.

　　Inspiration struck. The pattern on the waffle iron was just what Bill was looking for. The squares were flatter and wider than sharp spikes. The pattern would help the shoes hold any surface without tearing into it.

　　When Barbara left the house, Bill ran to his lab. He took the liquid chemicals that, when mixed, would harden into the sole of a shoe. He poured the mixture into the waffle iron---and the Waffle Trainer was born.

Bill's company put the Waffle Trainer on market in 1974. It was a huge hit. Maybe you've heard of that company---it's called Nike. And today it's worth around $100 billion.