David walked down the street. All he wanted to do was to play basketball with Jim. But his mother told him to return his sister's books to the library on his way to Jim's house.

    In his eyes, books and summertime just don't go together. He thought he had read a lot during the school year. And he had never set foot inside a public library. Today he'd just drop the books off in the outside return box, but it was locked. He had to go inside to return them.

David walked inside the building a few minutes before closing time. He put the books into the return box. After a quick drink of water and a short stop in the toilet, he'd be on his way to meet Jim. He walked out of the toilet. The library lights were turned off. He was locked — in a library.

David tried to use the telephone, but he couldn't find one. As the sun began to set, he searched for a light and found a little one on the desk. He used a pencil to write a note on a big piece of paper. It read, “I'm locked inside. Please call for help.” He put it on the front door. Surely, someone passing by would see it. He then turned his attention to the library itself.

    He was surprised to discover that this place was not so bad. Rows and rows of books! When he saw a book about Michael Jordan on the desk, he picked it up. He opened the book and began to read. He felt that being locked in the library didn't seem to be such a terrible thing.

    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.

    I can't remember when I started collecting rubbish. It might be when I got tired of(厌倦) seeing rubbish in the forest near my home. I used to love going there to play with my dog. But one day there was so much rubbish there that I became very unhappy.

    I decided I had to clean up the forest. I made my first trip to clean the forest that afternoon. I took a big black rubbish bag with me. Ten minutes after starting picking up rubbish, my bag was full! It had cans, bottles, broken glass and newspapers in it.

    I go to the forest four times a year to pick up rubbish. I often stay there for three hours. After each trip, I look at all the rubbish. If any of it is recyclable, I will keep it. It makes me feel great to do something for the environment. I will keep picking up rubbish until people stop dropping it.

    Zhao Yishen, the 33-year-old artist, is carving a woodblock (雕刻木板) carefully, with a chisel in his right hand. To carve the woodblocks, he has to hold this position for six hours. He has been carving woodblocks since 2012. “It feels good and looks beautiful when a Chinese character slowly appears on the woodblock under your chisel," says Zhao.

    Zhao is now the only full-time carver working at a workshop that creates woodblock-printed books in Beijing. As a teenager he loved to read ancient Chinese books in the library, and the curiosity of how the books were made led him to get a job at an ancient books woodblock printing studio in Yangzhou in 2011 after graduating as a law major from university.

    Block printing was listed as a UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. Zhao started to learn the skill from Chen Yishi, one of the skill's masters, in 2012.

    "The first step is to learn how to sharpen your chisel, "says Zhao. “After using it for a while, you need to sharpen it again." After that, the woodblock must be put at a certain angle that is deep enough to show up the characters and also to make sure the cuts are deep enough-but not too deep. Then Zhao puts the paper, face down, onto the wood after brushing oil on the paper. This helps to transfer the characters onto the block. Once the carving is finished, the woodblock is brushed with ink and paper pressed onto it. It is ready to print.

    In Zhao's mind, the inked woodblock is a work of art. After a year of learning from Chen, Zhao found a job at Zhuyu Shanfang in 2013. His carved woodblocks have been used for several books over the past six years. "I just learned the basic skills, but to master it, I still need years of practice,” says Zhao. “A good craftsman can carve an entire book with every single character aligned in order."

    Mr. Grey was the manager of a small office in London. He lived in the country, and went to work by train. He liked walking from the station to his office if it wasn't raining, because it gave him some exercise.

    One morning he was walking along the street when a stranger stopped him and said to him, "You may not remember me, sir, but seven years ago I came to London without any money in my pockets. I stopped you in this street and asked you to lend me some money and you lent me￡5, because you said you were always ready to take a chance (机会) to give a man a start on the way to success."

    Mr. Grey thought for a few minutes and then said, "Yes, I remember you. Go on with your story!"

"Well," answered the stranger, "would you like to take another chance?"