Hello, my name is Kate. I have studied in a nursing school for three years. During my second month of the school, our teacher gave us a small test. I answered the questions very quickly until I read the last one,“What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” I thought this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman a few times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how could I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.. Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. “Of course"said the teacher,“As a nurse, you will meet many people. You should care all of them, even if al1 you do is just to smile and say "hello"I've never forgotten that lesson. Later I learned her name was Dorothy.

An unforgettable lesson

Kate would never forget a small test when she studied in a nursing school. In the test, she found the last{#blank#}1{#/blank#}  surprising. The question was “What is the first name of the cleaning woman in the school?” Kate thought it must be a{#blank#}2{#/blank#}   . So she finished all the questions{#blank#}3{#/blank#}  the last one. .However, later she found that she was completely{#blank#}4{#/blank#}  . Her teacher said that the last question was not a joke. He told his students that it was necessary for a nurse to care about{#blank#}5{#/blank#}  person they met.

    Last weekend John went camping with his parents and his sister, Mary. They took a tent, sleeping bags, water and food. They arrived at the campsite at about three on Saturday afternoon. First they went cycling along thelake for more than two hours. When it was getting dark, they returned and began to enjoy their dinner. Everything tasted delicious.

    Soon it was time to put up the tent. John helped Dad pull the tent out of the bag. Then, they found there were no poles (杆子) to hold it up.

    "Oh," cried John. "I forgot to bring the poles. What could we do?"

    Dad looked up at the sky. There were many stars in the sky. The night was clear and the air was warm.

    "It's OK," Dad said. "We don't even need a tent." He put the sleeping bags on the ground.

    They slept well that night. The sun was shining on them when they woke up the next morning.

    "It is my best camping trip," said John.

    Mike and Peter are good friends. They are students. Mike's birthday is in the eleventh month of the year. Peter's birthday is on October 1st. Mike likes playing basketball, but Peter likes playing soccer. Mike often wears spots shoes to play basketball. He likes white spots shoes. Mike's birthday is coming. Peter goes to a sports store with his friend, Bill. At last, they buy a pair of white sports shoes for Mike. When Mike sees the shoes, he is very happy.

    Recently, Gina felt sad. Several unhappy things happened to Gina. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} After hearing her words, the friend invited her to her home for tea and said, "All trouble will disappear after tasting tea."

    Gina couldn't believe her, but she still decided to go for relaxation. At the friend's home, her friend took out a square box and said, "I asked someone to buy the tea from China. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} "Then, her friend opened the box slowly, took out a spoon of tea carefully, put it into the teapot(茶壶)gingerly. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Only one minute later, the friend poured out a cup of tea and asked Gina to taste it. Gina drank it but nearly puked(吐）it out. She shouted, "Is this tea? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} " The friend just smiled She repoured boiled water into the teapot. After a minute, the friend poured out another cup and asked Gina to try the second one. Gina took a drink and found it was not as terrible as the first one but still bitter(苦的) {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When Gina drank the fifth cup, a sunny smile shone on her face. She said, "It tastes good! I've never tasted such a wonderful flavor(味道)."

    The friend said, "Life is just like this! Only when we taste it patiently can we feel happy."

    I love to write! Even since I was a little girl, I wrote stories on my notebooks and on little scrips of paper. I told stories to my friends. As a grown-up, I have written over 100 books! That's a lot! As a teacher, it's my goal to encourage all of my students to love to write.

    Writing is easy if you're careful enough, I told them. Everyone I meet is a possible character.

    Everything I see or I do is a possible scene in a book. Start looking around you. You'll be amazed at what you discover.

    Anyone can be a writer. You just put your pencil on your paper and write what you like to read, step by step.

    Create great characters. If you know your characters well, they'll write the story for you.

    Interest the reader right at the beginning. You can start your stories with dialogue or action. If you can make the reader ask questions, then he has to keep reading to find out the answers.

    Following the steps. The steps for every story is almost the same: Introduce the characters and the conflict(冲突); things get worse; all seem lost; the hero saves the day!

    Balance is the key. Remember, when writing, it never hurts to add a little humor.

The Art of Paper

    Chen Zijiang is a paper cutting expert whom I interviewed for my article on Chinese Art. Paper-cutting is something that he learned to do from an early age.

    "It is a Chinese folk art with a long history," Mr. Chen told me, "Paper cuts of animals have been found in tombs. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}" He added that by the Southern Song Dynasty, paper-cutting had become an important part of everyday life.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}They are paper cuts for decoration, for religious purposes (宗教目的) and for design patterns.

    Paper cuts for decoration are often seen, on windows and gates. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}They are also used on presents. A present for parents whose child has recently been born might show a paper cut of children, for example. Paper cuts which show the Chinese character for double happiness are often used to celebrate weddings.

    Paper cuts for religious purposes are often found in temples{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The third kind of paper cuts are these used to make patterns on clothing. They are also sometimes used to decorate jewelry (珠宝) boxes. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.