For ten weeks, in a great house on the island of St Thomas , Dr John C. Lilly tried to teach a six-year-old dolphin to speak English Margaret Howe, an experiment (试验) helper, would live day and night with Peter, a dolphin. And they would eat, bathe, sleep and play together from Sunday to Friday, with only Saturdays off for Margaret. She lived her life in swimming clothes — with a coat on colder evenings — and cut her hair short so that she could get on with Peter more easily.

      After a few days, Peter was becoming more and more interested in winning her attentions. He threw a ball against her shower towel to get her to play. As time went by, he only wanted to play ball with her and not on his own.

      The problem was that, just at the time Peter and Margaret began to get on well just as two best friends, the experiment ended and the lab was closed. After a few weeks, Margaret received the sad news that Peter had killed himself by refusing to breathe, and sinking to the bottom of his pool.

Dolphins may not speak English — but, just like humans, they know all about broken hearts.

    It is nice to hike with kids, but you must know something about hiking if you want to take a happy, relaxing trip.

    Start early, know what to do in a heavy rain and carry sunglasses. Take snacks, toilet paper and a bag with you. Take a whistle(口哨) for kids. You may use it if children run away.

    Find a partner. Kids are naturally competitive, and you can use this to your hike. They will try to do better than each other when they go hiking. They also will keep each other interested in something new.

    Do something easy. It's good to play easy games. You can say "Does anybody see anything red that matches my shirt?" Kids will be easy and happy to answer this kind of questions.

    If you aren't excited, they won't be either. When your kids find something they are interested in, you must show your interest in it, too.

    Mrs. Smith is Jim's mother. She loves her family very much. She often buys food, fruit and clothes for Jim and his father. Now many clothes are on sale at good prices.

    Mrs. Smith comes to the store and she wants to buy some clothes. It has sweaters in all colors for ￥15 each (每件）and sports shoes for only ￥28. Mrs. Smith likes the red sweater and she buys one for herself. She buys a pair of sports shoes for her son. The T-shirts in the store are just ￥18! She buys a white one for Mr. Smith. And that's not all. The socks, in all colors, are ￥2 each. She buys five pairs.

    Seven years ago, Kevin Stephan, then aged 11, was playing baseball when a player accidentally hit him with a bat (球棒).

    Kevin fell down and his heart stopped. Penny Brown, the mother of another player, was watching the game. Penny usually worked in the evenings as a nurse, but luckily that evening she wasn't working. Penny ran to help Kevin and saved his life.

    Nearly seven years later, Kevin was washing up in the kitchen of the Hillview Restaurant in Buffalo, New York State. Normally, 18-year-old Kevin had classes in the afternoon, but that week there were exams and he didn't have any classes. At about 2 p. m. , Penny Brown was having lunch with her family in the restaurant. She was eating when some food got stuck in her throat. She was very frightened because she couldn't breathe.

    Kevin was a volunteer firefighter in his free time and he ran to help. A waitress tried to help her, but the food was still stuck in Penny's throat. Kevin pulled his hands quickly into her stomach and saved Penny's life. He didn't know it was Penny, but his mother, Lorraine Stephan, was also having lunch in the restaurant. She realized that Penny was the woman who saved Kevin's life, seven years ago, at the baseball game. Both Penny and Kevin were completely amazed by the coincidence (巧合)!

    I've loved my mother's desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as Mother sat writing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens, and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.

    Years later, during her final illness, Mother kept different things for my sister and brother. "But the desk," she said again, "it's for Elizabeth."

    I never saw her anger, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me. She showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter.

    They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was "too emotional". But she lived "on the surface".

    As years passed I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me.

    I posted the letter and waited for her answer. None came.

    My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace-it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn't be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.

    Now the present of her desk told, as she'd never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside-a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded(折叠)and refolded many times.

    Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose. Mother, you always choose the act that speaks louder than words.