I planned to go on a vacation with my family. The idea had come me as I1 to a talk on my car radio.

    The speaker said, 'Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love."2myself, I had to say that I spent little time with 3wife Mary. Well, for two weeks that would change.

    After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Mary suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, 4 then I thought, 'Mary's been alone here with kid all week and now she wants to be alone with me." We walked

    On the beach5 the children flew their kites.

    Relaxed and 6, that is how the whole 7 passed. I made a new decision to keep on remembering to choose love.

    There was 8 wrong with my experiment. However, Mary and I still 9 about it today. On the last night, Mary looked at me with the 10 expression.

    'What's 11 matter?" I asked her.

    'Tom," she said in a voice 12 with sadness, 'do you know something 13 I don't?"

    'What do you mean?"

    'Our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you've been so good to me…am I dying?"

    It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I couldn't help laughing 14 .

    'No, honey," I said, holding he in my arms. You're not dying; I 15 to live."

    An artist went to a beautiful part of the country on holiday and stayed with a farmer. Every day he went 1with his paints(颜料)and brush and painted till evening. When it got2 . He went back to the farm and had a good dinner3he went to bed.

    At the end of his4he wanted to pay the farmer, 5the farmer said, "No, I don't want money. But give me6of your pictures. What's money? In a week it will all be finished, but your picture will still be here. "

    The artist was very7and thanked the farmer for saying such good things about his pictures. The farmer smiled and answered, "It's not that. I have a8in London. He wants to be9. When he comes home10month, I'll show him your picture, and he will not want to be an artist any more. I think."

Bonnie and Chester are two squirrels(松鼠). They are good friends. One day Bonnie goes to her friend's home. She sees Chester is not very happy. 

"I can't find my nuts(坚果), " says Chester. . They are not under my bed or in my desk. They are for my family. I must find them. 

"I can help you. " says Bonnie. 

Bonnie sees a white bag under the chair. But the nuts are not in it. Then she sees a photo on Chester's desk. In the photo, Chester has a big brown box. A lot of nuts are in the box. 

"Box? Where is it?" Bonnie thinks. She looks here and there. 

"Look, Chester!" says Bonnie. "What's in the box?"

"Oh, nuts!" says Chester "You're great!"

Then he goes up to the top(顶部) of the bookcase. Chester is happy now. 

Students from a high school in Changchun, Jilin, spent 129 days creating a relief mural (浮雕壁画). Their idea came from the famous painting A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains(千里江山图)by Wang Ximeng.The mural was created on the wall of Changchun No.15 High School's art classroom.

It was completed by 21 students from this school under the guidance of their teacher, Duan Yingzi. The mural is nearly 3.5 meters high and 11 meters long. This piece of artwork has amazed a lot of people on the Internet. According to the teacher, creating this mural is part of the school's special lessons. The process of the creation includes drawing an outline (轮廓), making relief, painting base colors, and then finishing the final artwork. Most of the students in this group had no painting experience. Their teacher helped them learn the painting skills and practise painting many times.

The teacher explained that the most difficult part of creating this mural was the color mixing. "It took us over a month to finish the outline and relief work. In the following two to three months, we focused on perfecting the color mixing." she said. After trying again and again, they finally achieved this great goal.

"Although there is a difference in color compared with that of Wang Ximeng's painting, the students are still very pleased with the final result." she said.The difference is not so significant(显著的). The work still looks very beautiful.

"In the past, students could only see the artwork in books. And they were unable to fully experience its beauty.By drawing the painting, students can have a deeper understanding of the ancient Chinese artists' wisdom(智慧)."Duan said.

Once there was a village. The people there only cared about themselves. One day, a traveler arrived. Hungry and tired, he wished to find something to eat. Then he stopped at a house and knocked at the door. A woman opened the door. The traveler asked, "May I have something to eat?" The woman shook her head and closed the door without thinking. 

Then the traveler picked up a stone and knocked at the door again. 

"Perhaps you would be interested in my special stone soup!" the traveler said with a smile. The woman was surprised by this unusual suggestion. "Stone soup?" she doubted, wondering what that would be. 

"Yes. I just need to borrow a pot of hot water, please, " the traveler added. Though she didn't want to, the woman still gave him some water. Then the traveler put his stone in it. "It already tastes good, " he said. "But if you had a little salt and butter, the soup would taste a lot better!"

The woman brought him what he asked for, but she was not patient. Soon the word spread through the village and many people came, wanting to see what this stranger would do. "It's almost finished, " the traveler said. "But it would be even nicer if there were some carrots and potatoes. "

"I have potatoes, " said an old lady. 

"I have some carrots, " a young man answered. 

A few minutes later, these were added in. Soon, the air was filled with the nice smell. "Is it ready?" the first woman asked. "Yes, but if we can add some meat to the stone soup, it will taste more delicious, " he replied. "I have beef, " shouted a man who was watching from a window. 

Having everything he wanted in the pot, the traveler tasted a spoon of the soup. "Perfect!" he laughed. Then, he gave everyone a bowl of his special stone soup. "It's delicious!" said the villagers happily. At that moment, all of them finally realized the importance of sharing and supporting each other.