One morning it was shining brightly when I woke up. I looked at the alarm clock. It said 3:45! It had stopped! What time was it? I climbed out of bed and went downstairs to the kitchen. The kitchen clock said 8:30—I was late! My parents were away. My aunt had gone to work without checking if I was up. The school bus went at 8:00. I had missed it. I rang my friend Tony on his mobile phone.
    “Tell the teacher I'll be in as soon as I can!”I said.
    “Come on your rollerblades,” Tony said. “It will be faster than the bus.”
    I washed and dressed in a hurry. I grabbed an apple to eat on the way. That was my breakfast! Then I put on my rollerblades and set off for school. It took half an hour to get to the school. I took all the shortcuts I knew. I went across the park — even through some backyards! When I got to school, I was very hot and my legs ached. I had missed math, our first lesson of the morning. But I made it just in time for history, our second lesson. I was very happy because history is my favorite subject.

    Our dog Abbey died last month. My 4-year-old daughter Lucy missed her a lot and asked if we could write a letter to God to make sure he could look after Abbey well. I told Lucy that I thought we could, and she dictated(口述) these words:

    We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Lucy and addressed it to God/Heaven. Yesterday, we received a package addressed "To Lucy" with this note:

    Once there was a boy. He loved sweets(糖果) very much. He always asked his father for sweets.

    The boy's father thought hard about how to stop the child asking for so many sweets. There was a saint(圣人) living near their house. The boy's father decided to take the boy to him. He thought he might make the child give up (放弃) sweets.

    So they went to the saint. The father said," Great man, could you ask my son to stop asking for sweets all the time?" But it was difficult for the saint, because he liked sweets, too. Then he told the father to bring his son back after one month.

    During that month, the saint tried to stop eating sweets. At last, he did it. When the boy and his father went back a month later, the saint had a long talk with the boy. From then on, the boy did not ask for sweets any more.

    The boy's father felt surprised and asked, "Why didn't you ask my son to give up sweets when we came to you a month ago?" The saint answered," How could I ask a boy to give up sweets when I loved sweets myself? During the last month, I gave up eating sweets."

    A person's example(例子) is much more stronger(更有力的) than just his words. When we ask someone to do something, we must do it ourselves, too.

Zhang Li, a 12-year-old boy, from Sichuan, was lazy before. He hardly ever did any housework. But now, things have changed. Washing dishes, cooking and making the bed... all of these have become important parts of his daily life.

This big change is the result of a new program at his school. Starting from last term, his school asked all the students to do housework. It wanted to help students to improve their life skills.

At the beginning of each month, every student gets a list of housework to do every weekend. Their parents help keep an eye on their performance. They can do housework, such as washing cups and cooking food. On holidays like Mother's Day, students should prepare gifts for their mothers.

Wang Dan, 13, has learned several life skills through the program. "I was afraid of fire," she said. But she tried to overcome her fear(害怕) and finish her cooking tasks. At the same time, she also learned how tired her mother is after doing housework every day. On Mother's Day, she made a cake for her mother to show her thanks. "I've begun to know better about my parents and want to help them more." she said.

Other schools in Sichuan are also developing (发展) programs to teach their students life skills. On May 2, another middle school held a life skill competition. Students had to finish many tasks, such as cooking and washing clothes. They showed their skills and proved that they are growing up.

 Once upon a time in a small town, there was a young boy named Tim who always felt bored after school. His afternoons were filled with nothing but the same old routine(常规事), and he longed for something exciting.

 One day, as Tim was walking home from school, he noticed a group of his classmates playing baseball in a nearby park. They were passing the ball loudly and happily. Tim felt a pang of pity for himself, as he had never been part of such an enjoyable activity.

"What's the matter, Tim?" asked his friend, Sarah, noticing his unhappy feelings. Tim answered, "I wish I could join them, but I' ve never played baseball before, and I'm afraid I' ll be bad at it."

 Sarah, being a confident(自信的) and encouraging classmate, said, "That's no problem at all! We can learn together." After that, she explained that there was a volleyball game later. They could practise passing the ball for that.

 Feeling hopeful, Tim agreed to join Sarah for some practice. They went to the school's volleyball court, and she taught him how to pass the ball with confidence. Tim found the activity to be both relaxing and enjoyable, and he began to score points in their friendly matches.

 As the days went by, Tim's skills improved, and he became less bored after school. He started to look forward to the chance to play with his classmates. He went from being a boy who. found everything boring to one who was excited about after-school activities.

 One day, during a close and exciting game, Tim made a fantastic play that helped his team win. His classmates cheered loudly, and he felt pleased and proud of himself. He realized that trying new things and stepping out of his comfort zone(区) could be exciting and rewarding(值得的).

 From that day on, Tim's life was far from boring. He enjoyed the journey of learning new sports and making new friends. He learned that sometimes, all it takes is a choice to change one' s life for the better. And so, Tim's after-school hours became a time of enjoyment, growth, and the magic of discovering new interests.