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.

    On December 14，2017，we were sorry to hear that Yu Guangzhong, a famous poet died of illness in Taiwan. He was born in Nanjing in 1928. His mother's hometown is in Wujin，Changzhou. So he called himself a southern person.

    Later, he went to Taiwan. In 1952 he graduated from Taiwan University. Then he graduated from University of LOWA in 1959. He taught at Soochow University, Normal University, Taiwan University , and Chengchi University. He got a lot of prizes in literature(文学)，such as.Wu San lien Literature Prize, China Times Award, Golden Tripod，National Arts Award and all the major(主要的)Awards in Taiwan. He is famous both in Taiwan and in Mainland.

    He was in Taiwan, but he always missed his hometown in Mainland. In one of his poems Nostalgia(乡愁) ，he showed his feeling of homesickness. Let's enjoy his famous poem Nostalgia.

Nostalgia

When I was young，                   But later on,

Nostalgia was a tiny, tiny stamp.          Nostalgia was a low，low  grave.

Me on this side，                      Me on this side，

Mother on the other side.                And my mother ;inside.

When I grew up，                     And at present，

Nostalgia was a narrow boat ticket.        Nostalgia becomes a shallow strait.

Me on this side，                      Me on this side，

Bride on the other side.                  Mainland on the other side.

    Bob Smith is old. He has two big houses and a new car. He has no wife, but he is a father of four children. He has two sons and two daughters. One son is from Canada. His name is Jack. The other is from England. His name is Mike. One of his daughters is from China. Her name is Meimei. She is eleven years old. The other is from America. Her name is Lucy. She's eleven, too.

    Bob Smith is not the children's real father, but he loves them very much. The children love their "father", too. Bob Smith has many toys for the children. He gives different toys to different children. The boys play with toy cars. The girls play with doll and toy animals. Bob Smith is their good friend.

Dear Cheng Xiaoyu,

    I'm Betty White. I'm from Boston, America. My parents are "teachers at Harvard University(哈佛大学). My brother Dave and I are students at Dale School. I'm in Class One Grade Five. Dave is in Class One Grade Six. Dave likes English and I like PE(体育). After school, I play basketball with Dave at Harvard University. I know your name from "the Internet(因特网). I want to be your friend. My telephone number is 654 098.

Yours,

Betty