John is an American boy. His family is in China now. John likes chocolates (巧克力) very much. But his mother doesn't give him any. They are not good for him, she thinks. But John has a very nice grandfather. The old man loves him very much, and sometimes he buys John some chocolates. Then his mother lets John eat them. She wants to make the old man happy. One Sunday evening John says in his room, “Please, God. Make them give me a big box of chocolates tomorrow. It's my birthday.” His mother says, “God can't hear you, my boy.” “I know, but my grandfather is in the next room. He can hear.”

    My father is tall and has short gray hair. He wears glasses with heavy black frames(框架). Today I find a picture of him in 1986. What a surprise! In the picture, he's 15 years old. He's short and he has glasses with small round frames. He has long black hair and it's really straight. He's wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt with the word “love”. I'm 15 years old now. I'm of medium height and I have short hair. My hair isn't black, it's brown. My dad thinks it's strange, but my friends think it's great. I wear glasses, but my glasses have square(方的)， red frames. They are so cool. I never wear blue jeans. I like big, baggy pants and long T-shirts. Most of my T-shirts have pictures of my favorite actors or singers on them.

    I have a lovely daughter, whose name was Eloise. She is only nine years old. I picked her up from school and went to the supermarket for a few things. I was hoping to be in and out quickly.

    I found a short line with just one person ahead(在……前面) of me. It was an elderly woman, and she was paying for her things with only change(零钱). It took a long time. After a whole day at work, I began to lose patience.

    But then I watched the young clerk(职员). He helped her count her change, ever so tenderly(体贴地) taking it from her shaking hands. I listened to him repeatedly say to her, “Yes, madam.” When she asked the clerk if she had enough money to buy a bag, he told her she did. Then he went two lines over to get one for her. Never once did this clerk get annoyed(生气的) or roll(滚动) his eyes. He was patient and kind.

    As I was watching him, I saw Eloise was, too. I realized that my daughter was learning an important lesson from a complete stranger.

    After the woman was finished, the clerk began ringing up my things and thanked me for my patience. I thanked him, too.I found the manager and told him about the clerk's kindness and patience.

    Then we left the supermarket with a full cart(手推车), but also with a heart full of thankfulness for such an important lesson. Sometimes just one act of kindness is all it takes to encourage others to do the same. Being kind to others can also make you feel good.

    Barbara Finch, from England, started a friendship with Elizabeth Martin from New Zealand when the two were just 14 years old. And they have been penfriends for the past seventy years.

    "Seventy years is a long time and such a lot has happened," says Barbara. "I've lost my husband and my son, and she's lost her husband and her daughter. With things like that, her friendship means a lot to me."

    The two started writing letters to each other in November 1947. At that time, Barbara was a pupil. In her school, there was an exchange teacher from New Zealand. She helped her students to find penfriends from her country. Among the many penfriends, Barbara and Elizabeth were the only pair to form a long-term friendship.

    Now both 84, the pair continue to send weekly emails to tell each other about their daily lives. Barbara, who's a proud great-grandmother, has kept every single letter and card Elizabeth sent her over the years.

    "We email each other now rather than write letters, partly because it's quicker but mostly because there's no cost," Barbara says.

    The pair not only write to each other, but they also meet face to face. They have visited each other 15 times—Barbara flying to New Zealand 10 times and Elizabeth flying to England 5 times.

    "Her family has become a second family to me. She says I am the sister she never had," Barbara says.

    A student was going to spend his holiday in a cool mountain village. That evening he stayed at an inn (小旅馆) near the railway station (火车站). Before going to bed, he went to the boss of the inn and said, "Excuse me, sir. Will you please wake me up at a quarter to five tomorrow morning? I'll take the five o'clock train."

    "Oh, sorry, sir," the boss said in a hurry, "I'm afraid I can't. I won't be able to get up so early." The student was disappointed. When he began to return to his room, be stopped and asked, "Have you got an alarm-clock (闹钟)? Maybe it can help me."

    "Wait a minute, then." The boss said and brought out an alarm-clock. "Here you are, sir." "Thank you very much." The student said happily. But he found it was rusty (锈的) when he had a look at it. And it sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. He asked, "Will it ring in time?" "I don't know, either." said the boss, "But it doesn't matter. You just give it a good shake at a quarter to five. And it will ring on time."