I was born in a poor family, so I started working early. At the age of thirteen, I got my first job: working on a farm. I got up at 5:00 am and worked for 8 hours. After finishing a day's work, I was paid ＄2.4. Even though it was only a little money, this did not make me upset. I believed that I could make more money in the future.

    During High School, I was interested in sports. By playing different kinds of sports, I stayed healthy and have a strong body. And that was helpful for me to do more jobs.

    When I was 17, I had my first dream－buying myself a car. At that time, I was doing a part –time job at a car store .Sending things to gas station (加油站)every weekend. Later, I did a another part–time job after school on weekdays. And at the same time, I tried to save money.

    Finally, I bought my first car. When I was given the car key that day. I felt my dream was achieved and I was so proud. I was the only student in the school that had a car.

    Everyone wants to get the nice things in life, but are you willing to work for it? Just remember that in order to achieve your dream, you have to be positive and work hard?

    It was a very hot day. A lion and a sheep were both thirsty (口渴的). The sheep found a small pool. Just when the sheep started to drink water from the pool, the lion came up to him and shouted, "I should drink first. I' m the king (大王) of all the animals. Get out of my way!"

    "No," said the sheep. "I should drink first. I found the water."

    "You will drink it all up," said the lion. "There won't be any left, and I' m almost dead (死的) with thirst.'

    "And I haven't drunk water all day," said the sheep.

    So they started to quarrel. They shouted louder and louder, and the lion even ran after the sheep to the top of a small hill.

    Suddenly the lion stopped. He looked up into the sky. The sheep looked up, too. A vulture (秃鹫) was there. All the animals knew and were afraid of him. He is Bird of Death, who likes to jump on the bodies of dead animals and eat them. The lion and the sheep knew it

    If we go on quarreling, said the lion, "we will both die of thirst, and the vulture will eat us. Go to the water and drink, but don't drink it all."

    The sheep did as the lion said, and the two animals weren't thirsty anymore.

    Linda was a sixteen-year-old girl in Canada. She was feeling bad for several days. Her mother took her to a hospital and the doctors found out that she had cancer(癌症). Linda's life changed. She began to go to the hospital often for treatment(治疗), and she also became depressed.

    The hospitals and the doctors were good, but Linda did not have hope herself. Linda's mother called a flower shop close to the hospital. "I want some beautiful flowers for my daughter. She is a teen girl with cancer. "She told the shop owner.

    Later, the flowers arrived. Then Linda saw something unusual. It was a card. It read, "Linda, I own(拥有)this flower shop. I had cancer when I was fifteen years old. I am 24 years old now. Good luck. My heart goes out to you.

Yours,

Alice

    Linda smiled. She finally felt some real hope. She found the will(意志)to live. Little things make a big difference. All of us can give little things like kindness encouragement and hope to others.

    David walked down the street. All he wanted to do was to play basketball with Jim. But his mother told him to return his sister's books to the library on his way to Jim's house.

    In his eyes, books and summertime just don't go together. He thought he had read a lot during the school year. And he had never set foot inside a public library. Today he'd just drop the books off in the outside return box, but it was locked. He had to go inside to return them.

David walked inside the building a few minutes before closing time. He put the books into the return box. After a quick drink of water and a short stop in the toilet, he'd be on his way to meet Jim. He walked out of the toilet. The library lights were turned off. He was locked — in a library.

    David tried to use the telephone, but he couldn't find one. As the sun began to set, he searched for a light and found a little one on the desk. He used a pencil to write a note on a big piece of paper. It read," I'm locked inside. Please call for help." He put it on the front door. Surely, someone passing by would see it. He then turned his attention to the library itself.

    He was surprised to discover that this place was not so bad. Rows and rows of books! When he saw a book about Michael Jordan on the desk, he picked it up. He opened the book and began to read. He felt that being locked in the library didn't seem to be such a terrible thing.

    One day King Henry was hunting in a forest. Towards evening he told his men to ride home by the main(主要的) road while he went home by another.

    As he came out of the forest, he saw a little boy. "Well, my boy," said the king. "Are you looking for your father?" "No, Sir," answered the boy. "I am looking for the king. They say he is hunting in the forest." Oh, if that is your wish, "said King Henry, "I'll take you to the place where you will see him."

    The boy got up and sat behind the king. On the horse, the king and the boy began to talk. "They say that King Henry always has many men with him," said the boy. "How can I know which he is?" "Oh, it's easy. All the other men will take off their hats, but the king will keep his on." "Do you mean that the one with his hat on will be the king?" "Of course." Soon they came into the main road. The king's men greeted the king by taking off their hats. "Well, my boy," said King Henry, "Which do you think is the king now?" "I don't know," answered the boy," it must be either you or I, because we both have our hats on"