Here is a photo. The two girls have big blue eyes and long brown hair. They are both ten years old. They are in the same class. The one in a yellow skirt is Lily. The other one (另一个) an orange skirt is Lucy. Their father (父亲) is Mr. White. He is in a brown coat. Their mom is Mrs. White. She is in a black dress. Who is that boy in a blue cap? He is Lucy and Lily's brother(哥哥), Bob. He is a high school student. Look! Lucy and Lily are in a green car.

    A man in Pakistan is now working to help children get an education. When he was a child, he did not go to school because he was too poor.

    It is reported that Pakistan has 25 million children who do not go to school. That is the second­highest number in the world. Only Nigeria has more. Many Pakistani children must work to support their families.

    Mohammad Ayub was once one of those children. He is now a firefighter. He also manages a small school. VOA recently visited the school in the capital Islamabad.

    Ayub started with just one student in 1982. He saw a boy cleaning cars for days. He asked him, "Why don't you go to school?" The boy answered that his parents were dead and he had to work to help support his five brothers and three sisters.

    Ayub was also an orphan and he, too, had to work to help support his five brothers and three sisters. He said, "When my father died, everyone who came to the funeral said they were sorry, but no one helped." He sold newspapers and did other work to earn enough money to pay school fees for his brothers and sisters.

    Ayub wanted to help the young boy who washed cars, but he did not have enough money to pay the boy's school fees.

    Today, Ayub teaches many children at his school in a public park. Some of the children attend other schools in the morning, but come to Ayub in the afternoon to get help with their homework.

    Ayub has helped a large number of poor children since he began teaching. Many of them come from very poor areas near the park.

    Ayub said," I used to argue with kids who worked ' Why are you washing someone's dishes or their clothes? Why don't you study? ' "

    One of the children he advised to attend classes was Farhat Abbas. Ayub found him working with his friends about 12 years ago. "He followed us back home. He told our parents he wanted to teach us and asked them to send us to his school, "Abbas said.

    Today, Abbas is taking classes at a college and is helping Ayub.

    Many children are out of school, and those who do attend classes often get a poor education. Information gathered by an organization shows half of all Pakistani children in the 5th grade do not understand basic mathematics and cannot read a story in their language.

    A group in Islamabad reports Pakistan spends less on education than any other country in South Asia.

    When I just moved to Los Angeles（洛杉矶）, I didn't have a car.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, but I wanted to prove（证明）them wrong.

    I asked my neighbor, Mrs. White, to take me to the bus station in the center of the city, so I could try taking the bus home.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. When I got there, I went inside and got a bus timetable（时刻表）. I looked at the map and worked out that I needed to take three buses to get home.

    I bought the tickets and went outside to wait at the bus stop for the Number 8 bus. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. I gave my ticket to the bus driver and took a seat. At the right stop I got off. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. I waited and waited. A man was also waiting for the same bus. He said that it wasn't unusual for the bus to be late. Half an hour later, it finally came. To make the matter worse, the third bus broke down halfway and the driver had to fix it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. So when I finally got home, I was very tired. Maybe getting a car in Los Angeles wasn't such a bad idea!

Why Live Near the River?

Imagine pioneers traveling west in the 1800s. In those days, it was hard to find running water and shops where to buy things. As time went by, most pioneers had to make their homes near a river so that they could get water easily.

How did rivers help people live in the past?

Back in the pioneer days, people grew their own food, caught their own fish, and collected their own water.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}People also used rivers as roads, traveling on boats. Traders shipped goods (货物) to people from other areas.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

When building many factories right next to rivers for the water's power to make machines work, some people choose to live near a river for working. They use the river to ship large goods, and some of them work at these factories where power factories provide electricity for homes and businesses.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Who wouldn't want to live near a river?

Some people are nervous about living near rivers because rivers can cause floods (洪水). Every once in a while, floodwaters rise higher than a house, ruining (毁坏) many things in the house.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Such waste causes water to smell bad and pollutes the crops (作物) we eat. Water and crops in polluted areas can make people very sick.

How do people decide where to live?

 {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Rivers can provide jobs and fun activities in a beautiful place. However, those living by rivers should be willing to accept possible problems as well.

Till now I can't forget that day. It was a cold snowy morning after the winter {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (假期). I got up early and went to a new school. It is the most famous one {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (在……之中) middle schools in New York. I was walking alone slowly and worried about lots of things because it was the first time for me to stay {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (在国外). It was early and there were no other people on the road, so it was {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (寂静) outside. 

Suddenly a girl on her bike got into trouble. She fell off the bike and tried hard to get up but she {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(未能达到) Without thinking, I went over and helped her. She said "thank you" with a smile and then rode away. Her words warmed me a lot. 

Finally, I got to school. The teacher introduced me to the {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(整个；全部) class Then he asked me to sit beside a girl. I felt so nervous that I didn't look at her. Soon the bell {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (响铃) for the firs class. Their textbooks were different from those at my old school. While I was {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(考虑;斟酌) asking the teacher for help, an English book appeared in front of me. "Let's share. " To my surprise, it was the girl I helped that morning. Later on, we became good friends. 

From that I learnt: To help others is actually to help {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(我们自己). Life teaches us not only {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (知识) but also experience. I hope I will always help others in my life.