Anny was a five-year-old girl. One day when she and her mother were in a department store（百货商店）, Anny saw a plastic pearl necklace (珍珠项链). What a beautiful necklace! She wanted it very much, so she begged（乞求）her mother to buy it for her. The mother said, “Well, I can buy you the necklace, but when we get home, we should discuss what you can do to pay for it. Can we do that?” Anny agreed with much happiness, and she got the necklace.

    How much Anny loved the necklace! She wore it everywhere and every minute. Anny also did part - time jobs to make pocket money. She worked very hard. Soon she succeeded in paying off the price for the necklace.

    Anny's daddy knew how she tried her best to get the necklace. He also knew how much Anny cared about it. One night, he asked Anny if she loved him. “Sure, Daddy.” the little girl said. “Then how about giving me your necklace?” “Oh, no, Daddy! Not my necklace!” Anny cried. “Oh, dear, it's fine.” her father gave her a kiss.

    Several days later, Anny went to her daddy, with her lips(嘴唇) trembling(颤抖). “Here, Daddy. I love you.” She held out her hand. Inside it was the plastic pearl necklace that she loved so much.

    When he saw this, Anny's father smiled with surprise. He then pulled a cute box out of his pocket. Inside the box was a real and colourful pearl necklace, which was waiting for Anny for so long.

    "Be proud of what you do," my father always told me, "whether you are a boss or a cleaner." When I was 15, I got a summer job in a hospital. I was told that my duties would include sweeping floors. I smiled and remembered Dad's words.

    Even though my job was the lowest, it made me feel excited. I saw it as a challenge because it was my first job. I learned to be on time and tried to do everything well. In return, I was treated with respect(尊敬) by doctors, nurses and patients. Each morning I imagined that the dirty dishes would make patients sicker if I were not there to wash them clean. After breakfast was done, I started sweeping the floors of all patient rooms and cleaning toilets. Though I was tired, I wanted the job to be done well. People would say, "That young boy really does a good job." That gave me pride.

    Working in the hospital taught me that being proud of one's job is important. It does not matter whether the job is sweeping floors or managing a large business. Through every job I have ever had, my father's words have always stayed with me. I have swept floors, and I have been a manager. I think Dad would be proud of me.

    Mrs Brown lives in a small town in Australia. There is a big farm near the town.

    On Saturday morning, she goes to her small shop. She opens the window of the shop and looks at the farm. It's very beautiful. There are many cows, horses and small animals on the farm. Suddenly she sees a kangaroo with her baby. It's interesting to see them! The mother kangaroo is wearing an old jacket. They stand there and look hungry. Mrs Brown gives some bread to them. The kangaroos get it. Then they become happy and jump away. Suddenly a wallet drops on the floor from the jacket pocket. She picks it up and finds $ 300 and a photo in it. That is a man's photo with his name "John" on it. "John? I have a brother. His name is also John,"Mrs Brown says. "Is this man my lost brother?" she thinks.

    She takes the wallet with her and begins to look for the man. She asks many people in the town, and then she comes to the farm and asks the farmer. Hey! It is John, her lost brother. They are very happy to see each other.

    He was a poet (诗人) known for the nostalgia(思乡之情) he expressed in his poems. Now, it's time for us to express our nostalgia for this great writer. On December 14, famous Chinese poet Yu Guangzhong passed away in Taiwan, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

    Born in 1928 in Nanjing, Jiangsu, Yu and his family moved to Taiwan in the 1950s.He lived and worked there until his death.

    Nostalgia(《乡愁》) is Yu's famous poem in which he expressed his homesickness for the Chinese mainland when he was in Taiwan. Published in 1971, the poem was popular among Chinese all around the world. Even those who little about literature(文学) are familiar with lines from the poem. The poem is chosen in Chinese high school textbooks.

    Besides his achievement in poetry, Yu was also a successful essay writer, and translator. He once translated English poet Siegfried Sassoon's poem In Me, Past, Present, Future Meet into Chinese. It is regard as an accurate and powerful translation, in which the most famous line is "心有猛虎，细嗅蔷薇" for "In me the tiger sniffs the roses". Yu spent his whole life writing.

    I came to study in the United States a year ago. Yet I did not know the real American society until I was hurt in a car accident because after the accident I had to see a doctor and go to court.

    After the accident, my roommate called a doctor for me. I was very thankful and decided to repay him one day. But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done. I was surprised. He had good reason to charge me, he said. And if I wanted to collect money from the person who was responsible(负责的) for my injury(受伤), I'd have to have a good lawyer(律师). And only a good doctor can help me get a good lawyer. Now that he had helped me find a good doctor, it was only fair(公平的) that I should pay him. But every day I went to see the doctor, I had to wait about 50 minutes. He would see two or three patients at the same time, and often stop treating one so as to see another. Yet he charged me $115 each time. The final examination report only has ten lines, and it cost me $215.

    My lawyer was all smiles the first time we met. But after that he didn't want to see me at all. He knew very well the other party was responsible for the accident, yet he hardly did anything. He simply waited to collect his money. He was so irresponsible that I decided to dismiss him. And he made me pay him $770.

    Now I had to act as my own lawyer. Because of my inexperience, I told the insurance(保险) company the date I was leaving America. Knowing that, they played for time…and I left without getting a cent.