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    Last summer, Mac Hollan, a primary school teacher, was cycling to Alaska with two friends. On the way, his friends had to stop for a bicycle repair, but they encouraged Mac to ride on, and they would catch up with him soon.

    Mac began to cycle alone. A few minutes later, Mac heard quick and loud breathing behind him. "Man, that's a big dog!" he thought. But when he looked to the side, he saw immediately that it wasn't a dog at all, but a wolf, quickly catching up with him.

    Mac's heart jumped. He searched and took out his can of bear spray（防熊喷雾）. With one hand on the bars, he fired the spray at the wolf. A bright red cloud enveloped the animal. To Mac's relief（宽慰）, it fell back, shaking its head. A minute later, however, it was again by his side. It even attacked the back of Mac's bike, tearing open his tent bag. He fired at the wolf a second time, and again, it fell back, only to quickly restart the chase（追赶）.

    Mac was riding hard now. He waved and shouted at passing cars without slowing down.

    At that moment, Paul and Becky were driving their car on their way to Alaska. They found a dog-like animal running alongside a man on a bike. As they got closer, they realized that the "dog" was a wolf. Mac heard a large car behind him. He kept waving and shouting as the wolf was catching up closer. And the car did stop in front of him at the right time.

    "Miss Smith! What rough (粗糙的) hands Mary Jessup has! "said Daisy Marvin, as she walked home from school with her teacher.

    "In my opinion, Daisy, Mary's hands are the prettiest in our class"

    "Why? Miss Smith, they are as red and hard as they can be. How they would look if she tried to play on a piano! "Daisy said.

    Miss Smith took Daisy's hands in hers, and said, "Your hands are very soft and white, just the hands to look beautiful on a piano; yet they don't have one beauty that Mary's hands do .Shall I tell you what the difference is?”

    "Yes, please, Miss Smith." Daisy looked at Miss Smith, with eyes wide open.

    "Will, Daisy, Mary's hands are very busy. They wash dishes; they make fires; they hang out clothes, and help to wash them, too; they are always trying to help her poor, hard-working mother."

    Miss Smith continued, "Besides, they wash and dress the children; they mend their toys and dress their dolls; yet, they find time to bathe the head of the little girl who is so sick in the next house to theirs."

    "They do good deeds (行为) to every living thing. I have seen them patting the tired horse and the homeless dog in the street. They are always ready to help those who need help."

    "I shall never think Mary's hands are ugly any more, Miss Smith." Daisy said that with tears in eyes.

    "I am glad to hear you say that, Daisy; and I must tell you that they are beautiful because they help others gladly and cheerfully."

    "Oh, Miss Smith! I feel so ashamed of myself and so sorry, "said Daisy, looking into her teacher's face with shining eyes.

    “My dear, beauty doesn't lie in how one looks but what he does."

    When Chinese people talk about Chinese tea culture today, they won't miss an important person in Chinese history-Lu Yu, respected as a "Sage of Tea (茶圣)" for his achievements in the Chinese tea culture. He is best-known for The Classic of Tea, the first work on growing, making and drinking tea.

    Lu was born in Jingling in 733 A.D.As a child, he became a student of Zou Fuzi. Thanks to his teacher's guidance, he learnt a lot. He often made tea for his teacher. He also took care of his fellow students' health using his knowledge on tea and herbs (草药) .

    Lu Yu often went to the countryside to gather tea leaves and herbs. On one of those trips, Lu Yu found a spring. The water was quite clear and clean. When Lu made tea with this spring water, he found the tea tasted better than usual. From then on, he realized the importance of water quality in making tea.

    In 752 A.D, Lu Yu finished his studies and returned to Jingling, where he met Cui Guofu. Both men shared the same interests in tea, literature (文学) and poetry. They soon became good friends. Since then, the two spent much time travelling, drinking tea and writing poems together.

    This period was important to Lu Yu as a man of literature. Culi, with his rich experience and skills in writing, became a coach of Lu. He provided necessary help with Lu's writing. It was during this time that Lu finally wrote the amazing work, The Classic of Tea.

    Do you know a saying about the swan feather (天鹅羽毛)?

    This saying comes from a historic book called Lu Shi. According to the story, a Tang Dynasty official (唐朝官员) in Yunnan wanted to show his respect to the emperor. He sent a man named

    Mian Bogao to bring some gifts to the emperor. One of the gifts was a beautiful swan, and it was a very valuable gift at the time.

    Mian took good care of the swan on his way to the emperor. One day he passed by a lake and wanted to let the swan drink some water. But as soon as he set the swan free, the swan flew away, leaving only some feathers on the ground. Mian was very worried, but he didn't run away. He decided to tell the emperor what happened. He picked up a feather and kept going on his trip.

    When Mian met the emperor, he told him what happened and said, "This swan feather is light, but it carries my deep respect for you. "The emperor was happy with Mian's honesty and sincerity (真诚). He forgave Mian. People now use the saying to show that a good gift doesn't have to be expensive. What matters is the sincerity it carries.

Meiyu, born in 1991, is from Turkey(土耳其). She is the youngest child of her family. After high school, many people learned English or Japanese, but Meiyu decided to learn Chinese in university. She learned Chinese for four years in Ankara University in Turkey, and got her name Meiyu there.

Meiyu fell in love with Chinese after going to university. She became more interested after she knew more about Chinese history. In the beginning many people did not understand her decision. But they all said Meiyu had made a right choice when she graduated from university in 2013. Since then, more Chinese have been visiting Turkey. The trade between the two countries also requires Chinese-speaking people. ＂Speaking Chinese means more job opportunities.＂ said Meiyu.

Now Meiyu has been in Wuhan, China for about two years. Besides going on studying Chinese, she shows great interest in Chinese kung fu as well, so she spends her free time on kung fu training with her coaches. Not only can kung fu help improve her health, but she is also fascinated by the history and culture behind it. Meiyu said, ＂The more I know about China, the luckier I feel to have been here. But the truth is that fun and pain go together in the process of learning.＂

Meiyu will graduate in June this year. Her friends want her to stay in China, but her parents hope she can come back home. Meiyu thinks it is difficult to decide. ＂Even if I go back to Turkey, I will choose Chinese language education as my job,＂ said Meiyu.

    They say that "travel is the best teacher" and there is no better example of this idea than the Ming dynasty travel writer and geographer Xu Xiake (1587-1641). His book The Travel Notes of Xu Xiake, not only encouraged a love of travelling among Chinese people but provided important scientific information about the country's land and geography.

    Born into a wealthy Jiangyin family, Xu became interested in books about different places at anearly age and wanted to travel. When he was 18, however. Xu's father died and so, it seemed, did his travelling dreams. He now was responsible for the family farm and taking care of his 60-year-old mother as tradition required.

    But his mother had different ideas. Understanding her son, slove of travel and valuing the knowledge he could get from such experiences, this modern-thinking woman refused to keep her son at home. She agreed that Xu could travel for three months every year, when there was less farm work.

    So at the age of twenty and with his mother's support, Xu set off for the first time, leaving behind not only his mother but his new wife as well. He would repeat this goodbye each year for most of the next 30 years. During this time, he travelled throughout the Ming kingdom, carefully studying the lands he passed through and recording his experiences and many discoveries in a diary. This diary, which once had over 500,000 words, would eventually become The Travel Notes of Xu Xiake.

    Although rich, Xu avoided comfortable travel, preferring to go almost everywhere on foot. This way he could research the environment in detail and get a true picture of the natural world. Many of his trips were to hard-to-reach mountain areas, and through wild forests where few people lived. His willingness to face hardships came at a cost however. Progress was slow and tiring and he was frequently sick, robbed and beaten during his journeys

    Sadly Xu became seriously ill during his last and longest journey, a 4-year trip through the Southwest of China. He died in 1641, soon after returning to his hometown for the last time. When his diary was finally printed years after his death, much of it had been destroyed or lost. Although incomplete, it still made Xu a travelling legend around the world.

    An elephant and a crocodile were once standing beside river. They were disputing which was the better animal。

    "Look at my strength," said the elephant. "I can pull up a tree, roots and all, with my trunk"

    "Ah! But your skin is not nearly so thick as mine," replied the crocodile." No knife or tooth can cut through it."

    Just as they were coming to blows, a lion happened to pass.

    "My dear friends!" said the King of all animals, going up to them. "Let me know the cause of your disagreement."

    "Will you kindly tell us which is the better animal?" cried both at once.

    Certainly, "said the lion, pointing across the river." Do you see the soldiers metal hat on that wall?"

    "Yes!" replied the beasts.

    "Well, then," continued the lion, "go and get it, and bring it to me, and I shall be able then to decide between you."

    Upon hearing this, off they started. The crocodile, being used to the water, reached the opposite side of the river first, and was soon standing beside the wall.

    Here he waited till the elephant came up. The elephant, seeing that the crocodile had no way of reaching their goal, raised his long trunk, and took down the hat quite easily.

    They then made their way together back again across the river. The elephant was trying to keep up with the fast-moving crocodile in the water and became careless. When he was forced to turn sharply to avoid a floating tree branch, the elephant dropped the hat and it fell to the river bottom. The crocodile noticed the accident, so down he dived, and brought it up in his huge mouth. They then returned, and the crocodile laid the metal hat at the lion's feet. The King took it up, and turning to the elephant, said:

    "You, because of your size and trunk, were able to reach the hat on the wall but, having lost it, you were unable to get it back. And you, said the lion to the crocodile, "although unable to reach the hat, were able to dive for it and save it. You are both wise and able in your own ways. One is no better than the other."

    Alice Lee is a high school student studying at a private school. She is doing some voluntary work at an after-school program to help students from poor families.

    On the first day of her work, she noticed that many kids were lining up for free sandwiches and fruits. She was surprised. One of the organizers explains that many of these students don't get enough to eat at home. So a school lunch or an after-meal might be the most food they would get all the day. She has also been told that some hungry kids can receive free lunches, but others are only allowed reduced-price meals, and those students' families have to pay for the part of their food.

    Lee was shocked, she decided to offer help to those who are suffering from hunger, "I want other kids to understand that if you see a problem, you don't have to wait to be an adult to fix it," says Lee. She and a group of friends are using their programme skill to create a new app called Food of Thought, which will allow parents, students, and even kind-hearted strangers to donate money to lunch accounts for students in a nearby school.