Tom and Mike are good friends. They are kind to children.

    They want to find summer jobs. One day Tom tells Mike that Beidaihe Kids Summer Camp needs help with sports, music and computers. They are both very glad to hear(听说) this. Tom can play basketball and volleyball and he can swim, too. Mike can play the violin, the trumpet, the drums and the guitar. Tom and Mike like computers very much. Can they join the Summer Camp?

    One day, Mr. Smith is going to take a train to his hometown. When the train starts, one of his shoes falls to the ground. The train is running faster and faster and he can't pick it up. Then he quickly takes off(脱下) the other one and throws it on the ground near the fallen shoe. A little boy on the train asks him, "Why do you do that?" "I've already lost one shoe." Mr. Smith answers. "If a man picks them up, he may get a pair of shoes."

    Last year, I went to Beijing Qizhi Special Education School for community service (社区服务). Before we took the bus, my friend asked me a question, "Why are you here?" I did not know how to answer the question.

    The school was not far from my school, but it looked like it was in a different world. A group of children were waiting for us. A boy walked toward me. He held my hands and pulled me to the ground. I kissed the earth and tasted nature.

    I could not understand what he was doing at first, then I was very angry. Though I was very angry, I controlled my anger.

    A teacher stopped this awkward (尴尬的) silence when she shouted at the boy. "What are you doing right here, right now?" she said. "You will never see your mum again if you keep doing this. Now, say sorry!" "Sorry," he cried fearfully and nervously. I said nothing, but I realized something about this child. After lunch I asked the teacher for information about the child's parents.

    She said that the child was very different from other students because of an illness. His family could not afford to treat him. He needed the kindness of his family, but they had abandoned him. So he depended on the support from the ' teachers and community service workers like us.

    I suddenly realized I could answer the question my friend asked me at the beginning of the day.

    Community service workers help others and make everyone feel better. There are so many people in the world that need help. Playing with lonely children may not make a big difference. But it can light a corner in the children's hearts, making them know they are loved by people.

No one knows when the first kite was made. The first record of a kite was more than 2,000 years ago in China. Han Xin, the leader of an army, wanted to bring down a king. He decided to dig a tunnel (隧道) into the king's palace. He flew a kite over the wall of the palace to make sure the length of its string (线). In this way, he could determine how long the tunnel should be. His men in the tunnel took the kite string with them. When they reached the end of the string, they knew to dig up.

  Kites have been flown in Japan for hundreds of years. In the 1700s, kites were flown in autumn to give thanks for a good harvest. They were also flown to send good wishes to couples who had their first son. Today in Japan, kites are often flown as part of a celebration, such as the beginning of a new year. And kite festivals are held each year in many parts of the country.

  Kites have been used for scientific purposes in the western world. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin tied a key to a kite and flew it in a storm to find out that lightening was a form of electricity. In the 1890s, Lawrence Hargrave invented the box kite to test ideas about flight. From 1898 until 1933, the United States Weather Bureau (气象局) used box kites to collect weather data. The Wright brothers also experimented (试验)with kites. What they learnt helped them make the first airplane flight in 1903.

    One weekend, Taylor, an eight-year-old girl, went shopping with her parents. She asked her parents to buy a toy she wanted. Instead of giving her money to buy the toy, Taylor's father encouraged her to make money by herself. "How can I make money?" Taylor thought for a while and had an idea, "Why not make cakes and sell them at church to raise money to buy the toy?"

    The next day, Taylor started her plan. She first needed some money for tools and materials. So she borrowed $40 from her parents and promised to pay it back. Then she began to make cakes by herself. To her parents' surprise, she made $175 by selling the cakes that Sunday.

    Everyone thought Taylor would buy the toy she wanted. She certainly had made enough money for it, but she didn't. Instead, Taylor decided to buy business cards and had her father's phone number on them. Then she began handing the cards out. More people knew Taylor and came to buy her cakes. Even large companies began to try buying her delicious cakes.

    Though Taylor has made a lot of money, she still works hard at school. She also likes to take part in other activities. So Taylor must carefully manage her time. For example, instead of watching TV after school, Taylor might have to bake (烘焙) a lot of cakes for customers. When she has dance lessons on some days, she needs to get her baking done on time so she isn't late for class.

    Making cakes may take time and be hard work, but Taylor sees the fun in it. "I think making cakes is mostly my hobby," she says. She also decorates the boxes that are used to pack the cakes. Taylor uses all kinds of decorations to make sure each box looks special for her customers. People love the extra feeling Taylor gives them by decorating the boxes, so more and more people come for her cakes.

    Taylor's cakes are becoming very popular. She achieves a sweet success.