On a rainy day, about 150 volunteers worked for eight hours to clean up Carson Creek that is near a river. About nine tons of trash (垃圾) was taken out from there.

         "We did a good job," said Alan Specter, the organizer of the event. "We've planned to come back here one more time, three years from now. Of course, we hope that there won't be so much trash next time."

         The trash came in all shapes, sizes and colors: bottles, bicycles, batteries, furniture, clothing, plastic bags, dolls and even a golf bag with a full set of golf clubs (高尔夫球杆).  

         The dirty and tiring work was done by two volunteering groups - Save the Bay and Watch the Whales. Most of the volunteers came from a local police station and a fire station. And some of them were old people who had already got retired.

         That day, it rained a little. All of them wore boots and raincoats. The work took place along a two-mile river with over 500 big yellow trash bags everywhere.

         No one found anything that cost much. A five-year-old boy found an earring which he thought might be worth a million dollars. He said he'd sell it. Then he'd donate half of the money to Watch the Whales, and use the other half to buy his favourite ice cream every day.

         Many people laughed at the boy's story. However, it was easily found that the environment there did become better.

    Jenny looked at the store window. There was nothing that she wanted more than a Happy Hannah doll. It was $29.95. Unluckily, Jenny didn't even have the 95 cents.

    As she crossed the street, she thought about doing her brother's housework, cleaning the floor, washing the dishes all month, but even then she would have only eleven dollars. Suddenly, something small and pink in the snow caught her eyes.

    Jenny walked over and picked it up from the snow. It was a beautiful wallet. She opened the wallet and found many dollars and a woman's driver's license in it. Jenny put the wallet into her bag quickly. She turned around and walked back.

    Jenny's heart beat(跳动) fast as she went into the store. She had long dreamed about this moment, but something didn't feel right. As she got to the Happy Hannah dolls, she pushed away her feelings. She grabbed(抓起) one and walked toward the checkout.

    As Jenny was waiting to pay, her mobile phone rang. It was her grandma. Jenny's heart was suddenly filled with love and warmth when she thought of her. She put the doll down and answered the phone.

    “Hi, Grandma? I'm going to be a little bit late tonight...Alright...I love you, too.” Jenny left the store and walked all the way to 301 West Street. The woman who answered the door looked sad.

    “Here, I found this in the snow,” Jenny said.

    “Oh, good God! This is the money for the orphanage(孤儿院)! Thank you!”

    After doing her brother's housework for three months, Jenny finally got a Happy Hannah doll. She was so happy because she could play with her doll and look her grandma in the eye.

    Charlie and his family don't always live in their house. Sometimes they live in a houseboat. There are 4 rooms in the bottom of the boat. One of them is his parents' bedroom. Another one is his bedroom. Then there is a kitchen and a bathroom. Charlie's bedroom is small, but he likes it very much. It has a small window. He doesn't open it because it's under the water. When the boat is in the water, Charlie can look out of his window and see many fish under the water. Once he saw an old car under the water. He thought it was funny to see the fish swim through the car windows.

    In the school year, Charlie's family keep their boat on the bank (岸) of the lake. In summer Charlie and his family often take their boat out to the middle of the lake. They stay on the lake for a few weeks. Then they go fishing for their food. Charlie's mother grows vegetables in pots on the boat, so they also have vegetables to eat. When it is very hot, they jump into the water and go swimming. Charlie thinks a houseboat is the best place to live in.