C

Liang Xianghua, a 22-year-old girl from Guangxi University, has been well-known in China for her sand painting since her first work was used by CCTV.     "Sand paintings really attracted me while I was watching a video performance, I was surprised by how this artwork melted people's heart in minutes" said Liang. "I fell in love with the way the sand pictures, music and the light combined（融合）with each other to make a flow of emotion（情感）. You can express things freely."

In order to master the skills, Liang practised for several hours every day. She said that she couldn't even do the first step well of throwing sand onto the glass. But she didn't give up.     After finding success with her first show, she was invited to do many performances. This made her quite tired. She decided to give a stop and focus on her study. But an invitation from Malaysia changed her mind just as she was about to wash the sand from her hands. This spring, she was invited by a Malaysia middle school to give a performance. Liang didn't want to do a live show, but agreed to do a video for the school, showing its development over the years.     She received praise for her work and the performance was described as an eye-opener for the students. This made her wonder if her art would be more meaningful if she made it for the poor students.     As a volunteer this time, she plans to take part in a summer programme offering help to pupils in a mountain area, and give the most wonderful show in her life.

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    There was a beautiful garden. Every year the king would go to the garden to decide(决定) which flower was the most beautiful one. 

    For the last few years, the rose was always Number One. Because of this, the rose Gulaab became arrogant. It would never let birds stay on its flower. Then all the birds started staying away from Gulaab.

    Behind Gulaab, there was a little yellow flower. People called it Junglee. Junglee wasn't more beautiful than the rose, but it welcomed the birds to stay on its flower. All the birds in the garden liked it.

    This year the king went to the garden as before. The gardener(园丁) pointed at the rose and said to the king, “Your favorite flower, my king.”

    Of course, the king also saw the yellow flower behind it and asked, “What flower is that?”

    “Oh! That's Junglee, a wild flower.”

    “I didn't see a flower like it before. There are so many birds on it. I think it's much more beautiful than the rose. It will be the King Flower of this year!” said the king.

    Sixteen years ago a boy gave me an important gift. It was a smile.

    It was the early autumn of my first year at a middle school, and my old school was far away. As a result, no one knew who I was. I was very lonely, and afraid to speak to anyone.

    Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart break. I couldn't talk with anyone about my problems.

    Then one day, when my classmates were talking happily with their friends, I was sitting at my desk unhappily as usual. At that moment, a boy entered the classroom. I didn't know who he was. He passed by me and then turned back. He looked at me, with a smile.

    Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy and warm. That smile changed my life. I started to talk with other students and made friends. Day by day, I became closer to everyone in my class. The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now.

    One day I asked him why he had smiled, but he couldn't remember doing so!

    It doesn't matter because all the dark days have gone. I believe that the world is what you think it is. If you think it is lonely, you might always be alone. So smile at the world and it will smile back.

    One day, the teacher held up an apple in class, stood on the platform(讲台) and said, "Please smell the smell in the air!" One student raised his hand and answered, "I have smelled it. It is the smell of an apple."

    The teacher stepped off the platform, passed by each of the students and said," Please smell again to see if the smell of the apple is still in the air."

    Half of the students raised their hands to show that they could smell it. The teacher returned to the front of the classroom and asked again if the students could smell the apple. Everyone raised their hands except one student. The teacher came to the student and asked," You really can't smell the apple?"

    The student answered," No, I can't smell it. I don't think it's a real apple."

    The teacher smiled at the student and said to the class," He is right! This is not a real apple."

    All of the other students were tricked. They might have thought that perhaps the apple was not real, but they didn't have the self-confidence to speak up. They just "followed the leader" and went along with the first student.

    Please remember "Believe in yourself first, and then others will believe in you".

    Wendy has a busy day every day. She gets up at six o'clock in the morning and has her breakfast at home. She leaves home at five to seven. It takes her fifteen minutes to walk to school. She has a little rest after lunch, but she works hard in class all day. She plays basketball after school, and then walks home. On her way home she sees a lot of buses, cars and bicycles. She sees flowers and green grass. She sees some children playing happily. She is also very happy. After she gets home, she has a short rest and a glass of water. After that she helps her parents clean the house. After dinner, she watches TV for half an hour. Then she starts her homework. She finishes it at nine o'clock. She goes to bed at nine thirty.