When I was young, I wanted to be a model, so when a national competition was nearby, I asked my parents to take me for an audition(试演) and they agreed, I was selected and told I had potential. They said that for only $900 I could attend a weekend event that a number of the most famous modeling agenies(中介) from around the world would attend. At 13, my hopes of fame and fortune(名利) clouded my judgment and I begged my parents to let me go. We have never been rich, but they saw my enthusiasm and at last they agreed.
I imagined being signed by some famous model companies. For .months, any boredom or disappointment that I faced disappeared because I knew I would soon have the chance to be a real model. I thought I would appear in the covers of famous magazines!
Of course, I wasn't signed, but what hurt the most was being told that if I grew to 5'9' (about 1.75 meters) I could be a success. I sprayed for a growth spurt(冲刺) because I could not imagine giving up my dream. I met with a local modeling agency and the agent required $500 for classes, $500 for a photo shoot(拍摄), and $300 for other fees. My parents only agreed after hours and hours of my begging.
The agency sent me out on a few auditions but with every day I did not receive a call, I grew more disappointed. The final chance came in July after I had decided to focus on commercial modeling. There was an open call(公开挑it) in New York City. We spent hours driving and spent another few hours waiting, only to be told that I was too short, I could hardly stand it.
Years later, I realize that the trip to New York was good as it made me notice I didn't actually love modeling, just the idea of it.1 wanted to be special and I naively(天真地)decided to reach an impossible goal. The experience has made me stronger and that will help me in the future.
【小题1】The author wanted to be a model, because_______.

根据要求改写句子，每空一词。

1.The boy likes making model planes at home. (对划线部分提问)

_______ _______ the boy like _______ at home?

2.There is a knife on the table. (单数改为复数)

There ______ ______ _______ on the table.

3.I often watch two hours of TV on Sunday. (对划线部分提问)

______ ______ TV do you often watch on Sunday?

4.We play some special Halloween games this week. (改为否定句)

We ______ play _____ special Halloween games this week.

5.The park opens at 8:00 a.m. and closes at 5:00 p.m. (改为同义句)

The park _______ _______ from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Mr Chen is a farmer who   1  in western China with his wife and two sons. One year ago, he discovered that he had cancer. The doctor told him that he needed   2  at once. And he said the operation would   3  thousands of yuan. It was too much money for Mr Chen and his wife. They had no job and    4   were at school. The situation seemed  5 .
Two weeks later, however, Mr Chen got some   6  news. He was told about a health care project which provides medical treatment for poor patients in   7  China. They  8  to pay only half the cost or even less. Thanks to the project and the kindness of  9  family and neighbours, he was able to receive an operation just   10  to prevent the illness from getting worse.  11  he has returned to his family.
The   12  of this health care project is to improve the situation for poor people in western China. So far, the project has helped more than 5,000 people   13  medical aid. The Chinese government is   14  working together with other countries and international organizations to do this. They hope to develop a new health care model   15  China. As our country develops, we must remember the responsibilities(责任) of caring for the weakest members.

Nathan Sawaya's childhood was a lot of fun. He drew cartoons, wrote stories, and played with plastic toy bricks (积木). His grandparents bought his first set of toy bricks when he was five years old and he's been building with toy bricks ever since. He even took his building bricks to college with him! Instead of books and a computer, he had a model of Greenwich Village made of bricks on his desk.
Nathan started as a lawyer but gave up His highly-paid (高薪的) job to become an artist that uses toys in his art. He uses toy bricks to build everything from the Statue of Liberty(自由女神像) to Superman! He has more than 1.5 million colored bricks in his working room in New York which he uses to make pieces of art. He started by building small models but then decided to do something big and created a self-portrait (自画像). It took him two days just to build the eyes.
Nathan's work has appeared in museums around the world. Children love his art because it is made out of the same toys that they play with at home and adults love his work because it is fascinating. Since it began in2007, Nathan's exhibition "The Art of the Brick" has been very popular with museum visitors everywhere.
"I'm proud that I took a dream I had as a child, to become an artist, and I have actually made a job out of it," says Nathan. "To do what you love in life is the most important thing."
【小题1】What did Nathan put on his desk at college?