Andrew Holleman, a 12-year-old boy, loved playing in the open land near his home. The land was wet and forested, and made a home for birds, other animals and many different plants. It made the perfect place for him to study and get to know the nature. He had seen some red-tail hawks, red foxes, wood turtles and other animals. He also found special native flowers.

      Suddenly it was announced that the “empty” land would be improved by a lot of houses on it. The plants would be removed, the animals would run away and most would probably die. Then the wet soil(土壤) would be covered with extra grounds. When he heard about the news, he was not happy. He was very worried that the land and water would be polluted.

      Andrew wrote down clearly all the research he had done about the area, and how the houses would affect the local environment. He sent letters to members of local government and television reporters. He also called on his neighbors to oppose the building of the houses.

Although he was only 12 years old, he had the courage and wisdom of a person much older. Andrew's teachers described him as gentle, shy and active. His classmates also admired how much he knew about local animals and plants and the environment. Each day after school, Andrew went door-to-door, to ask the people to sign, who did not want the houses to be built. In only one month, he got the signatures of 250 people. In the end, the land remained a safe place for birds, animals and plants that belonged there.

      Andrew won many prizes for his brave and great work to stop the houses being built, and thus help save the environment.

    Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.

    After several months went by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I often said to myself, "I wonder why that woman doesn't wash her window. It really looks terrible."

    One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside.

    Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly seen. Her window was clean!

    Then it dawned on me. I was always criticizing(批评) her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.

    That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own mistake?

    Since then, whenever I wanted to judge(评判) someone, I asked myself first, "Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?"

    Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world around me more clearly and correctly.

    “Reading makes a full man,” novels written by famous writers help us to know more about our history, culture and many other things.

    Jane Austen was one of the most well-known women writers of the world. She was born in England in 1775. Jane liked reading and writing. She wrote a number of famous novels in her life. Among them, Pride and Prejudice written in 1779 was the most popular.

    Ernest Hemingway, an outstanding American writer and reporter, was born in 1899. His life experience had a great influence on his writing style. Hemingway lived in France and Italy between the 1920s and 1950s. Most of his books such as The Sun Also Rises were written at that time. He won the Nobel Prize in 1954 mainly because of the novel The Old Man and the Sea.

    Mrs Smith is going shopping with her son. They are looking for a present for Mr Smith's birthday. Mrs Smith wants to buy her husband a new camera and Tom wants to buy his father a jumper.

    They drive to the department store on the high street. Mrs Smith uses the lift to go to the Electrical Department on the third floor and Tom goes straight to the Men's Clothing Department on the first floor.

    When Mrs Smith gets to the Electrical Department, she finds that cameras are sold in the Photography Department on the ground floor. So she takes the lift down and asks the sales assistant there for some help. She doesn't know much about cameras and needs some advice. The sales assistant recommends(推荐) an automatic camera by Olympus, but it is too expensive. She asks the assistant if he has anything a little cheaper and he tells her about a special offer on the Pentax range. It still seems expensive, so she thanks the assistant and decides to shop around first.

    Meanwhile, Tom is looking at the jumpers. He only has ￡10, so he can't buy most of them. He sees his mother and they decide to go to the smaller shops round the corner.

    Larry and Jo Ann were an ordinary couple. Like any other couple, they made efforts to make ends meet (收支相抵) and do the right thing for their children. They often argued about what was wrong with their marriage and who was to blame (责备). They wanted to make changes.

    "You know, Jo Ann, I've got a magic chest (衣柜) of drawers. Every time I open them, they're full of clean clothes," Larry said. "I want to thank you for filling them all these years."

    Jo Ann stared at her husband and felt strange. This wasn't the first time Larry had done something strange recently, so Jo Ann forgot it quickly. But it happened again a few days later.

    "Jo Ann, that was a great dinner," Larry said one evening. "I appreciate all you have done in the past 15 years. You have cooked lots of delicious food for me and the kids. "

    Jo Ann was growing worried. "What's wrong with my husband?" she wondered.

    Day in and day out, Larry continued his praise.

    Over the weeks, Jo Ann grew more used to her husband's unusual behavior. Her step was now a little lighter and she didn't seem to get upset as often.

    Larry has never told Jo Ann the reason for his change in behavior. So it will likely remain one of life's mysteries. But it's one I'm thankful to live with.

    You see, I am Jo Ann.