On the first day of school our teacher introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

    I turned around to find a little old lady with a warm smile. She said, “Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old.”

    “Why are you in university at such a YOUNG age?” I asked. She replied, “I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of kids, and then retire and travel.”

    I knew she was joking. I was curious what might have encouraged her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

    “I always dreamed of having a university education and now I'm getting one!” she told me. We became friends. Every day we would talk nonstop after class. I always enjoyed listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me. And Rose easily made friends wherever she went.

    At the end of the term we invited Rose to make a little speech. She cleared her throat(喉咙) and began, “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. I've learned a few secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.”

    “There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity(机会) in change...”

The story of the red-crowned crane

    Have you ever heard of the song "The story of the red-crowned crane"? It is about a girl called Xu Xiujuan.

    Xu xiujuan was born in Zhalong, Heilongjiang Province in 1964.Her father's job was to look after red-crowned cranes. Xiujuan started helping her father when she was young. She soon showed a great love for these white birds. She become good at raising them.

    When Xu Xiujuan was 21, she got a job at a nature reserve in Jiangsu Province . She enjoyed taking care of the baby cranes. If a bird become sick, she took good care of it stayed with it every day until it was strong enough to fly again.

    In September 1986, one of the birds went missing .The workers in the nature reserve looked everywhere, but no one could find it. Xiujuan was very worried. She looked for it day and night for two days. On the second night, while she was looking for the missing bird, she fell into a river and died. She was only 23.

    Later, a song was written in memory of Xiujuan. Though Xiujuan died young, people always remember her when they hear the song or see a red-crowned crane.

    In this August, I had a trip called "Cultural Trip: Germany, Italy & France" to go to Europe with a group of American students.

    This was not my first time to other countries, but it was unusual one. Why do I think the trip Unusual? Travel agencies (旅行社)usually have travel buses for tourists, What about us ? For five days, we traveled along Germany by bike. We were tired but happy! For some times on the trip, something went wrong with someone's bicycle. But at the end of the trip, everyone was safe and happy.

    In Italy, we went to a kitchen to learn to cook Italian dishes, we made a great dinner and ended by making the chocolate cake. I gave full marks to that night!

    France was the last stop, we went to the capital of France, Paris. We went to the Eiffel tower and we even got onto it. The tower is 324 meters tall, It has three levels(层) for visitors. There are restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level is 276 meters above the ground. If you climb from ground level to the first level, you need to climb over 300 steps. There are another 300 steps from the first level to the second level. That's why people usually get onto the top level by lift.

When I got the driving license last summer, Mom and I took our first trip around an empty car park. Then I found that my mother was not the best 1 for me. It wasn't because she shouted at me, or told me that I was doing2 . As you can imagine, my mother's "helpful instructions" only managed to make me more nervous. 

Since I could no longer3 with her, the job was placed in the hands of my father. I loved him,4 I just did not see Dad as someone I could be comfortable learning from. He almost never talked. We shared a（n）5 father-daughter relationship. He'd ask how school was, and I'd say it was fine. Unluckily, that was the most of our conversations. It was just like spending hours with a 6 silently. 

As we got into the car for the first time, I was not 7 at what happened. Dad and I drove around, saying almost 8 , besides a few instructions on how to turn. As my lessons went on, however, things began to change. Dad would 9 the radio so I could enjoy his favorite Stones music. And he gradually began talking. I was soon hearing about his first meeting with Mom, "basic body" gym class, and other 10 from his past. 

Dad's sudden talk was shocking until I thought about 11 he was telling me so much. In all the years, I always 12 why my father never spoke that much. I never considered it was because I had never spent time 13 . Homework, friends, and even TV had all called me away from him, and I never thought my 14 father had anything to say. 

Since I began driving with him, my driving ability has greatly improved. More importantly, the 15 between my father and I has also improved. Just living with him wasn't enough—it took driving with him for me to get to know someone who was a mystery. 

New Year's Day is a big festival for people all over the world. However, people celcbrate it in different ways.