One year, a college in the United States announced that it would offer a lot of money for the pure white marigold(金盏花). The high reward attracted so many people, but in the nature, besides golden, the marigold is brown, and it is not easy to get the white one. So after they were excited for a time, many people had forgotten the announcement.

    One normal day after 20 years, the college received a letter and 100 seeds of pure white marigold. It was an old woman of over 70 years old. Some experts in the college doubted it, but in order not to let her down, those seeds finally took root (根）in the earth. The miracle appeared after one year; the field was covered by pure white marigold.

     Therefore, the old woman who was always unknown to the public became a new focus.

The old woman was a flower-lover. When she read the announcement 20 years ago, she got very excited like others. But her eight children were totally against her decision. After all, a woman who never knew the seed genetics(遗传学) couldn't complete what the experts could never do, so her thought was only a day dream.

     Still, the old woman didn't change her mind and went on working. She planted some of the most common seeds and took good care of them. A year later, when the marigold came out, she chose one faintest(最暗淡的) from those golden and brown flowers and got the best seed. The next year, she again grew them and chose ...Day after day, year after year, through many seasons, the old woman's husband died, her children flew far, a lot of things happened in her life, but only the wish to grow the pure white marigold took root in her heart.

     Finally, after 20 years on the day we all know, in the garden she saw a marigold, which was nearly white, but as white as silver or snow.

     A problem even experts couldn't deal with was solved by an old woman who didn't understand genetics. Was it a miracle (奇迹）?

     To take root in the heart, even the most common seed, can grow into a miracle!

B

    My grandfather Jack is 96 years old, and he has had 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!

    Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents' home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station(加油站) about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register(收款台), I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.

    I took off, but had gone only a few" miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend's. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.

    I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.

    Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I'd left the lights on all day, and the battery(电池) was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership a shop selling cars was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.

    "Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?" I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them wrote to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.

    "Thank you" two powerful words. They're easy to say and mean so much.

    Catherine Banner is becoming the next J. K. Rowling. She started1her book sitting at the back of the2at the age of 14.

    Miss Banner published her first work, The Eyes of a King, which was a best seller.

    "Growing up, I always3stories and writing," she said. "When I was4, one of my favourite games was to staple(用订书钉装订) together pieces of paper and make5into a book with stories and pictures. And later I spent hours after school writing6."

    "I wrote whenever I had any7time. Sometimes I even wrote down a few sentences at the end of the class or between lessons so as not to8them. It was just a bit of fun."

    "I am really excited. It means so9to me. Now I'm looking forward to10what people think of the book."

    Miss Banner began her study in English literature(文学) at Cambridge University in October 2008. The sequel(续集) to The Eyes of a King, Voices in the Dark, was published on September 22, 2009. Then she wrote a third part of her series, The Heart at War. The series were completed in 2012.

Be a Friend

Friends are important (重要的). {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Friends are people you know and like. Do you know how to make friends with others? Here are some good ideas.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

Introduce(介绍) yourself to others. See if they want to be friends with you. Then ask questions and know each other.

Have fun together

You can play sports or games with your friends. What is your favorite thing to do? {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

Help each other

How do you feel today? {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. When your friend is not happy, cheer him or her up (鼓励). And ask your friends for help if you need.

Do you know this? Friends do not have to be the same as you. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They may like different things. So what are your friends like? Tell us about them please!