Even though I just had lunch not long ago, I was felling hungry again. I went to the kitchen to look for something to eat. That was when I discovered the pudding in the fridge. It was made from milk, sugar, eggs and fruits, and it looked so yummy. I noticed that there was only one left.

    I was putting the pudding on a plate when my brother came into the kitchen. He found the pudding and asked for it. “It's mine! I was the only one who found it!” I shouted. “You are my elder brother, you should give it to me!” said he. Then he started pulling the plate towards himself and I did the same.

    Suddenly, the plate moved to one side and the pudding slipped (滑动) out of the plate. It landed on the floor and turned into a yellow mess. My brother and I both looked at each other, feeling amazed and disappointed at the same time. It was such a waste!

    To my surprise, Ollie, our pet dog, walked over to the mess on the floor. It began to lap up the pudding happily, within minutes, the mess on the floor was gone. Ollie licked (舔) its lips when it was done.

    After watching Ollie finishing the whole pudding by itself, we realized      . If both of us had shared the pudding, we would both have got to eat half of it. It was because of our greed (贪婪) that we ended up with nothing. That day, my brother and I learnt a good lesson.

    "Everything happens for the best." Whenever I faced disappointment, my mother would say this to me.

    After I graduated from college in 2002, I decided to find a job in radio as a sports announcer (播音员 ).I went to Chicago and knocked at the door of every station. But unluckily, I was refused every time.

    At one station, a kind lady told me that big stations wouldn't hire(雇用) an inexperienced person and suggested that I try my luck at smaller stations. Following her advice, I went back to Dixon. There were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, and my father said a newly-opened store wanted a local sportsman to work for it. I applied for the job, but I was refused again.

    "Everything happens for the best," Morn reminded me. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Lowa. The program director, Peter, told me they had already hired an announcer.

    I left his office, and felt totally disappointed. While I was waiting for the elevator, 1 heard someone calling. It was Peter. "What do you know about sports? Do you know anything about football?" Then he asked me to broadcast (播报) an imaginary game. Pleased with my performance, he offered me a chance to work there.

    On my way home, I thought on my mother's words, "If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn't have happened if not for that previous (先前的) disappointment. "

    My cousin and I have very different living habits. I think I have a good habit. I take an active part in sports. After school, I often play ball games with my classmates. I don't like indoor activities. I'm hardly ill, and I haven't caught colds for years. I get up at the same time every morning and go to bed at the same time every night. I always sleep for nine hours each night, and I always feel refreshed (精力充沛的) in the morning.

    My cousin, however, has a very bad living habit. She never does exercise. She even hates walking to the bus stop from her home. She prefers indoor activities. She likes to play computer games and watch TV. She is overweight and often falls ill. She always goes to bed late and gets up at the last minute. She often feels tired in the morning.

    Max is one of my good friends. I first met him two years ago when he knocked on my door (敲我的门)."Hello," he said warmly. "My name is Max, and I've just moved in next door, so I'm your new neighbor."

    Max is a handsome, well-dressed young man in his twenties. He is quite tall and thin with brown eyes and black hair. He likes wearing sports clothes. He works in a hospital and goes to work early every day.

    He has a great sense of humor (幽默感). I love to listen to his interesting stories. What's more, he is a very kind-hearted person, and is always ready to help people in need. He often does volunteer work (志愿者工作) in an old people' s home. Because of him, more and more young people in our neighborhood want to help there.

    He enjoys dangerous sports such as bungee jumping (蹦极跳). He is a great dancer, too. He goes to the dance club every Tuesday and Saturday.

    All in all, life is never boring when Max is around. Who wouldn't be happy to have him as a friend and neighbor?

Ray Charles，a black singer and pianist of the USA．He had won 12Grammy Awards （格莱美奖） and performed at 10，000concerts around the world．Many musicians called him simply"the Genius"．

    Ray Charles was born into a poor family，without a father．When he was 5years old，his younger brother died，and around the same time，Charles started to lose his sight．By the age of 7，he was completely blind．He had already been learning the piano for a year，and when he went blind，his mother knew this would be the only way he would make any money in the future．All his life，Charles remembered her saying："Do it right，or don't do it at all．"

    Later he went to a school for blind and deaf children．There the teachers also encouraged him to study music．Sadly，while he was still at school，his mother died．He left school and in the early 1950s Charles organized a group of players．He sang，played the piano and wrote music．He made many classical CDs with famous artists such as Elton John and the Beatles．

In 2003a film of his life Ray was made．The part of Charles was played by a younger actor and musician called Jamie Foxx．The film director brought Foxx to meet Charles．After they had been playing together for two hours，Charles，then aged 73，jumped up and said："He's the one…he can do it．"A year later Charles died，aged 74．The film of his life has been as popular as his songs and means that the memory of Charles'music will live on．

    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 had already got better grades in math 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(信封) with a shopping card 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's time for the great prize game. It's the following riddle..."It was a math 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.