It was a cold snowy morning after the winter vacation. And it was my first day at my new school. I was walking alone slowly and worrying about lots of things. It was early and there weren't many people on the road. Suddenly a girl who was riding a bike on ice fell down. She was trying hard to get up but fell again. Without thinking, 1 went over and helped her. She said" thank you" with a smile and then rode away. Her words warmed me a lot.

    Finally, I got to school. The teacher led me to the classroom and introduced me to the class. Then he asked me to sit down beside a girl. I felt so nervous that I didn't dare to look at her. Soon the first class, English, started. Their textbooks were different from those in my old school. As I was wondering what to do, an English book appeared in front of me. "Let's share," the girl beside me said. "Hi, I'm Carrie." I looked up. It was the girl I helped this morning. Later on, we became good friends.

    From that I learned: To help others is actually to help ourselves!

    I was feeling really down because my long-time friend had died. Then I started a six-week volunteering at a nursing home all day even Saturday. My duty was to serve the meal and clean up. One day I was told to go to Room 117 to make sure the patient was all right. I found a boy of eight sitting in bis bed watching a movie. I was shocked to see a child in this seemingly forgotten nursing home for the old. He was so small and weak that you had to look closely to find him. I grabbed his medical chart and found out :he had a terminal（绝症的) illness.

    We started to talk, and I found out that his family rarely visited, and all he did every day was watching TV I wanted to cry for him, and for my lost friend. As we talked, he had a smile on his face, and I asked him why and how he still managed to stay happy.

    He thought for a moment, and then said that too many people were dead even before they died. They walked around feeling that God had cursed(诅咒) them and they had nothing to live for.

    The boy said that he would not be like that. He woke 'every morning thankful to see another sunrise. He kept his window open so that he could smell the flowers and feel the heat of the sun. He also said that he had hope.

    "Too many people haven't seen much of that around here." He said, "Life is full of hope and we need to live life before it is gone."

    I don't know what happened to him. I guess he passed away, but his lesson lives on. I now wake up and live each day to the fullest. The key to life is not money or fame, but the lesson we learned from it.

    Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living and sometimes I had to work at night. One late night, I got a telephone call from a neighborhood. When I arrived there at 2:30 a.m., the only building was dark except for a single light in the first floor window. So I walked up and knocked at the door.

    “Just a minute,” answered a weak voice. After a long time, the door opened and a small woman stood in front of me. Next to her was a small suitcase.

    Quickly I took her suitcase to the car and then returned to hold her. She took my arm and we walked slowly to the car. She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It's nothing”, I told her, “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”

    When we got in the car, she asked, “Can you drive me through downtown?”

    “But it's not the shortest way,” I replied.

    “I'm in no hurry.” she said slowly, “I'm on my way to a hospice（临终医院）. I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long time.”

    I quietly turned off the meter. For the next two hours, we drove through the city and passed the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived, and some other special places. As the sun was rising, we stopped in front of a low building where two nurses were waiting.

    “How much should I pay?” she asked. “Nothing.” I replied.

    “But you have to make a living.”

    “Oh, there are other passengers.” Without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly and said, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy, thank you.”

    Sometimes people may not remember exactly what you did or said. However, they'll always remember how you made them feel.

    This is Tom. He is a student. He is in Class Four, Grade Seven. There are 25 girls and 20 boys in his class. His English teacher is Mr. Zheng. He is about 31. He is a good teacher. The students all like him.

    Tom has a good friend. His name is Jim. He is from Canada. He is in Class Four, Grade Seven, too. Tom and Jim live in China now.