Before Father's Day, I found my father was unhappy because he was out of work. I decided to cheer him up by buying him a special Father's Day gift.

One day after school I1to the Agins which was known for fashions and styles. I told Agins that I was looking for a Father's Day present.

“ Do you think he'd like a2?”she asked. “I think he might.”I told her.

She 3a Swiss watch and I told her that would like it.

“ How much money do you have?”she asked.

“ 4dollars.” I replied.

“You're so lucky!”she told me. “It's only $11. You still have $1 for the5 . “ She packed the watch and I thanked for my business, and I rode off home with the gift under my arm.

When my father opened the gift, he asked6. “Where did you get it?”

“I boughtit at the Agins.I cost me $11.” I said. My father was shocked into silence.

Many years later, I did learn that the watch was worth several hundred dollars,7I appreciated(赞赏) how wonderful Agins had been to me. I always felt8that I never had chance to thank her.

“What really amazes meto this day…my daughter.”My father said, “Letting you have the watch for 11 dollars was9 enough. But the fact that she let you leave the store with a dollar for the card was a touch(触动) of10. I'll never forget it.”

    Almost everyone has his own hobby. My hobby is reading. When I was young, I didn't have any hobbies. I always watched TV at home all day and my parents were 1 about me.

    One day, my father took me to my aunt's home. When I got there, I saw my cousin 2 in his room. I ran to him and said, "Reading books is so boring. Why not go out to play games? That's more 3. "

    "I don't think so. Reading is really interesting, and I can also get a lot of 4from my books." Then my cousin asked me some questions, but I couldn't 5 most of them. He was two years younger than me, but he knew much more. My face turned red.

    That day he told me many interesting stories. I 6 myself in his stories. From then on, I became interested in reading. Now I have a room7 hooks. In my free time, I'm happy to be 8 and read the books. I do well in my subjects because of all the books I've read, and I'm especially good at 9 . I have won many prizes in writing contests. That makes me feel very 10.

A cold winter night, a girl quarreled (争吵) with her mother, then ran out of the house. When she went through a noodle shop, she suddenly felt very hungry.

The seller saw her standing there and asked, "Hey, little girl, you want to eat a bowl?"

"But... but I do not carry money..."she shyly replied to the man.

"Okay, I'll treat you. Come in. I will cook you a bowl."

A few minutes later, the seller brought her a bowl of noodles. After eating some pieces, the girl cried.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing. I am just touched by your kindness!" she said with tears. "Even a stranger on the street gives me a bowl of noodles. But my mother, after a quarrel, she is not a good mother!!"

"Girl, why did you think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you felt that way. Your mother has been taking care of you since you were born. Why were you not grateful (感激的) and why did you hurt your mom?"

The girl was really surprised after hearing that. "Thanks, I got it."

My family is from Berlin.We moved to Boston because my father went to teach in a middle school in Boston.

At that time，I already knew English very well but I still felt1 when I thought about being in a strange place.For one thing，I would not have a friend in Boston.For another，as the oldest of the three children in my family2 by setting a good example to my younger brother and sister.

With this weight（负担） on my shoulders，I3 my new life here and made a list of goals for myself.l put this list on my bathroom mirror and reread it before leaving for my first day of school.

At that time，the list seemed reasonable（合情合理的） to 4 .But my mother thought differently.After reading it，she called out， "Mikhail5 wanted to stand out （杰出） in every possible way.

How did I do with the goals on my list？Not so well.First，I did not make anew friend every day，because good friendships 6 time.You can't make friends the way you play baseball.Second，I worked hard but found that some subjects were easier for me than others.And that was OK.Third，I tried my best in all sports7 a leg while running.And as for goal number 8 .I learned that my brother and sister wanted to live their own life in Boston without their older brother's intrusiveness （干扰）．Actually，they've probably adjusted（调整）better than I have.

So I decided that I needed a new list.

The meaning of life is what we choose it to be. To Jiang Bing, a man from Weinan, Shaanxi Province, life just means living and helping others. Suffering (受苦) from ALS (渐冻症) for more than 30 years, Jiang has never lost his love for life. What's more, he has been teaching more than 200 children for free for over twenty years.

At the age of 16, Jiang Bing fell to the ground on the way to school and was unable to stand up again. One doctor told him that he had a disease that was hard to cure (治愈) and suggested giving up searching for treatment. Surprisingly, Jiang was really sad at first. Then he faced it positively instead of feeling fearful (害怕的) and hopeless. He kept studying every morning and valued every moment, spending one day like it was a month.

Though Jiang couldn't enter a university himself because of the disease, he succeeded in teaching his younger sister and helping her get into a university in 1994. Later, the people living in the community realized that the special man could teach their children. So they asked him for help. The next year, Jiang started helping children with their studies. He could also teach them art and clay sculpture (泥塑). He once taught 24 children in one single class, all for free.

Today many of the children that he taught have finished their university studies. Zhao Feiyu, a student who once received Jiang's help, runs an art training school now. "He taught us wisely and carefully, and took no money," he said. "He is my teacher and friend."