Dear Tony,

    How are you?

    I'm in England now. I'm writing this1in English. I have got some new friends here—Kate, Kevin and Ronny. They are 2 a football match on TV at my home at the moment.

    I like English breakfast—I always eat comflakes(脆玉米片)with a lot of milk. Every morning I get up at 6 o'clock 3 the milkman comes at that time. I can get a big bottle of milk from him. In the morning school starts at 9:00 and the classes finish at 12:30. In England, students have lunch at school. In the afternoon we4 have two lessons and we go home at 4:00 pm. I always have many things to do after school.

    I am very5 every day, but I'm still happy.

Yours,

Daming

Today is Tom's birthday. He is seventy years old. But there is nobody being1him. He feels very disappointed. He can't find his happiness anywhere. His sons who are busy, working don't care for him on his special day. 2the cake is very delicious, he doesn't want to touch it. He just3his children to come and stay with him.

Nowadays, many people are so busy that they4visit their parents. However, blood is 5thicker than water. Our dear parents make every effort to bring us up, so we are supposed to treat them well when they become old.

Every time I read the saying, "Actions speak louder than words." I think about my  three-year-old sister. She is unable to speak 1or in complete sentences. But her actions are able to speak for her. I have2many lovely moments with her.

I enjoy playing with her. Sometimes she makes me laugh. She used to take our father's phone, run towards me 3it and point it at me. She wanted me to play her favorite cartoon for her. When the cartoon was on, she would be very happy. Sometimes we wouldn't hear 4from her for a while. She was so quiet. And when we 5her, we would sometimes find her doing something naughty like drawing on the walls. She would be so happy when she was given  chocolate.

My parents say that when I was little, I acted just like my sister. When I play with her, I feel like my early childhood days have returned.

A father and his son went to a kite-flying festival. The son was happy when he saw the sky 1with colorful kites. He wanted to fly a kite, too. The father then bought a kite for his son.

The son started to fly the kite. Soon, his kite was high up in the sky. After a while, the son said, "Father, it seems that the string is 2the kite from flying higher. If we cut it, it will be free and fly even 3. Can we cut it?" The father cut the string off of the reel (线轴). The kite started to go higher. This made the little boy 4.

But then, slowly, the kite started to 5. It soon fell to the ground. The son was surprised to see this. He asked his father, "I thought that 6cutting the string, the kite would fly  higher.

7did it fall down?"

The father explained, "The string was not stopping the kite from going higher, but was helping it 8in the sky. You helped the kite go up in the right  9using the string. But when you  cut the string, it could no longer support the kite."

We may sometimes feel like there are certain things that are holding us back and stopping us from growing. But 10, these might be the things that support us the most.

    Mother's Day is always a fun time at my house every year. This year is no exception. My brother and I want our mom to feel1by giving her a day off from family chores. In the moming, I woke up before everyone else to hang up a poster that 2"Happy Mother's Day!". My dad also got up 3and helped set up a rose bouquet in a vase.

    When my mom woke up, she read cards we laid out next to her bed with a big smile. While she was watching the morning news with my dad, it was time to 4 my cooking skills. I made some delicious food with my brother's help. My mom and I love board games, so after a short 5 around the neighborhood, we played all of her favorites. In my family, playing a fun boardgame turns into a big 6 and can become very heated. One of us always becomes a loser after being beaten in the game. The afternoon games made all of us tired. A delicious takeout dinner from my mom's favorite restaurant 7 us. The festivities 8 with ice cream and more quality family time, while watching one of my mom's favorite movies from her teenage years.

    It was such a 9 day, and it was great to be able to show my mom how much appreciate her and thank her for 10 she does for our family. Mother's Day should be everyday.

    When I was a child I always wanted to be "important". I wanted to make my parents 1by doing some notable achievements that would surprise the rest of the world. I wanted to make myself2beyond my wildest dreams. I wanted to be the 3of attention. I wanted to stand out in a4. In short, I wanted to conquer( 征服) the world! Naturally, in response to these dreams, I listed all of the noble 5. Finally, I figured engineers were cool because my idol is an excellent engineer.

    How much time do you spend in front of a screen every day? If your answer is about one hour.

    Then maybe you are one of the1teenagers in the world.

    Scientists did a2.They asked students aged 13 to 18 how long it3them to have fun on phones and computers. They also asked about4feelings of happiness. They found that those who spend more time on their smart phones are unhappier. "Spend no more than two hours a day on digital media(电子产品), 5try to spend more time with friends and on exercise. These two activities bring greater happiness." Jean Twenge, the scientist who led the study, said.

    My father and I always had a bit of trouble in our relationship. It's not that we didn't love each other. It's just that we used to have 1 opinions. My dad is one of the most hard-working men I know, but I was a 2. I played sports as a kid, but 3 when I was making progress. Then I showed an   4 in music. My father got excited and 5 me a guitar when I was about eight. But I didn't like it until I was a teenager. During those teen years, I took up my guitar and 6 playing along.

Then I went to college. My father thought I should focus more on my 7 while I should have more fun playing music. I dreamed to be a musician. When I grew into a young man, I suddenly fell 8 ill one day and it was discovered that I had a terrible kidney(肾) disease. I had to accept treatments all my life, or get a transplant(移植).

    I felt like there was a heavy 9 on my shoulders. Life became hard for me. But I was lucky enough because of my loving parents who 10 me and took care of me. While trying to 11 just what to do with my life, my father got tested to see 12 he was the right man to give me his kidney. I tried to refuse, but he'd hear 13 of it. He saved my life at last.

    Two years ago, I 14 a band. He had always wanted to play in a band, but 15got the chance when he was young. It was one of the greatest gifts I could give to him.