It was a rainy night in New Orleans, US. At a bus station, I watched a young girl cry as her baggage(行李) was taken down. It seemed she'd lost her ticket. She begged the bus driver not to leave her behind.

     “Losing your ticket is like losing your money,” the bus driver said, and left her in the rain.

But then an old man stood up and blocked the driver's way. “How can you leave that girl out there? You know she had a ticket. You can't just leave her here. You can't leave her in a city where she doesn't have a friend. You will meet your schedule, but she might meet her end.”

      The driver showed no sign that he'd heard or even cared about the young girl's problem, or how her travels went.

    So the old gentleman said, “I'll pay for her fare. I'll give her a little money to help her on her way.”

    He went and bought the ticket for the girl. “How can I repay the kindness you've shown tonight?” She asked. “We're strangers who won't meet again. A mere 'thank you' doesn't seem right.”

    The old man said, "What goes around comes around. I've learned this with time. Whatever you give, you always get back. Always be helpful to others and give what you can spare.”

    There would be a school party on Friday evening. The girls were talking about what they were going to wear.

    “I'm going to wear a black dress, so everybody will notice me,” said Emily. “How about you, Linda?”

    “I'm not sure. Maybe jeans (牛仔裤), an old shirt, and a hat. People will notice me more than you!” Linda said.

    “But what are the boys going to do at the party?” asked Jane. “Do you remember the last school party, last year? They just stood there, and we girls had to dance by ourselves!”

    “I hear that some of the boys learned how to dance this summer. Maybe it'll be better this time,” said Mary.

    The party was held on Friday evening. Groups of students arrived. The music began. The girls stood in a line on one side, and the boys on the other side. Mr. Green, their teacher, tried to get them together, but failed. After a while, Tim said, “I don't want to stand here the whole time. The party is only for two hours. It'll be over soon.” He started to dance. All the others watched him. Then David asked Emily if she wanted to dance. Then Jack and Linda. Then, all began to dance. Soon there were more dancers than watchers.

    My grandfather Jack is 96 years old, and he has an interesting life. He has travelled a lot in his life in the Far East. He visited the Taj Mahal in India and the Pyramids, in Egypt. He hunted (狩猎) lions in Africa, and rode a camel in the Sahara Desert. He says the most beautiful place he has travelled to is Kathmandu in Nepal.

    Jack has married twice. His first wife died when she was 32. He met his second wife Maria while he' was cycling round France. They have been married for 50 years, and they have lived happily in a small village since they got married.

    Jack says that he has never been ill in his life. The secret of good health, according to my grandfather, is exercise. He goes swimming every morning. He has done this since he was a boy. He also has a glass of wine every night! Perhaps that is his secret!

    Betty and I are best friends. Our birthdays are on the same day, so every year we have a birthday party together. But this year, we had a costume party instead.

    While we were writing the invitations, my mum came in and asked, "Why not invite John?" John had been in our class for only a few months, but he was already getting better grades in Maths than anyone else in class. I wrinkled (皱起) my nose, "Mum, he wears the same pants to school every day. How could he even afford a costume?" Mum said nothing. The next day, mum gave me an envelope with a shopping certificate (凭证) in it. "I thought it would be nice for you to give this to John" Mum said. But how? We didn't want to make John embarrassed. We discussed it for a long time. Finally, Betty and I had a good idea.

    On the day of our party, kids arrived, dressed differently. John arrived, in an old sheet (床单), but still in the same brown pants as usual. We danced, ate snacks and played games in groups. Before eating the birthday cake, Betty said in a loud voice, "Now it is time for the great prize game. It is the following riddle…" It was a maths game. None of us was surprised when John came up with the right answer first and walked off with the envelope.

    Everything went on well as we planned. John wore a new pair of pants and a new shirt the next week. He felt happy. So did we.

    When we help others, we need to find a proper way, or we may hurt them in another way.

    Vera is thirteen years old. She was born on July 27th. Mrs. Smith is her mother. Today is Vera's birthday. There is a party for her, Lots of her friends come to her birthday party. A birthday cake is on the table. There are some bananas, oranges, strawberries and apples on the table, too. But Vera doesn't like them. What does she want? Can you guess?

    Just then Vera sees a red card in her mother's hand. It says, "Happy birthday to you, dear(亲爱的) Vera. There is a nice present for you. Open the box on your dresser, you can find it."

    Vera runs to her dresser and opens the box. Ah, a nice T shirt! How glad she is!