My father was always a good gardener. One of my earliest memories is standing without shoes in the freshly tilled soil, my hands blackened from digging in the ground.

    As a child, I loved following Dad around in the garden. I remember Dad pushing the tiller(耕作机) ahead in perfectly straight lines. Dad loved growing all sorts of things: yellow and green onions, watermelons almost as big as me, rows of yellow corn, and our favorite — red tomatoes.

    As I grew into a teenager, I didn't get so excited about gardening with Dad. Instead of magical land of possibility, it had turned into some kind of prison. As Dad grew older, his love for gardening never disappeared. After all the kids were grown and had started families of their own, Dad turned to gardening like never before. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer, he still took care of his garden.

    But then, the cancer, bit by bit, invaded his body. I had to do the things he used to do. What really convinced me that Dad was dying was the state of his garden that year. The rows and rows of multicolored vegetables were gone. Too tired to weed them, he simply let them be. He only planted tomatoes.

    For the first few years after he died, I couldn't even bear to look at anyone's garden without having strong memories pour over me like cold water from a bucket. Three years ago, I decided to plant my own garden and started out with just a few tomatoes. That morning, after breaking up a fair amount of soil, something caught the corner of my eye and I had to smile. It was my eight-year-old son Nathan, happily playing in the freshly tilled soil.

    If you watch British television on Friday March 15,you might be surprised to see celebrities wearing funny red noses and joking around. But don't worry. They're not mad. It's all part of a biannual fund-raising event called Red Nose Day.

    Organized by the charity Comic Relief, founded in 1985 by two British comedians, the aim of the event it is to raise money to fight poverty and injustice in the UK and Africa. Celebrities and public figures support the event by making appearances on comic TV shows broadcast by the BBC. This year, for example, UK Prime Minister David Cameron appeared in a music video by One Direction, which the band produced for the event.

    But Britons don't just raise money for charitable causes on one day a year. They do it all year round. One way of doing so is-by shopping in charity shops. These small, inconspicuous shops sell clothes, books and household goods just like any other shop But there's one big difference—everthing sold in the shops is second-hand.

    There are nearly 10,000 charity shops in the UK, according to the Charity Retail Association. Their business model is simple: Anybody who has things they don't want anymore can donate them to a charity shop, where they are checked for damage, cleaned and priced. Most items go back on sale at a small part of their original price and the money that is made by selling them is used for a charitable cause.

    The idea of buying used clothes may sound off-putting, but for shoppers who have less spending money, such as the elderly or those in low-paying jobs, it has been a welcome option for years. Now, shopping at charity shops is also becoming popular with young people looking for alternative fashion." You can find very unique clothes for a very cheap price. It doesn't bother me that other people may have worn them. I simply wash them before I wear them," said Anne Marie, a 19-year-old Internet user from the US, in a comment on a Yahoo forum.

    So next time you spot a charity shop, why not go inside? Who knows, you might find a lovely dress for just a few pounds. Even better, you can enjoy wearing it in the knowledge that your money helped a good cause.

根据短文内容，请将单词填写在题号对应的横线上。

    When people ask me to name typical British dishes, I have, however, struggled to think of an answer. Yes, we do have our own national dishes. We do have fish and chips, and we have other dishes like roast dinner and shepherd's pie. But how much do we actually eat them?

    Fish and chips, is made up of battered（绞碎的）fish and chips,which is often accompanied by a thick paste（酱）. The majority of British people really do love this dish but it is not something that we would eat,say,on a weekly basis.It's also not usually something that we would cook at home.The British people associate this dish with the seaside and it's something that will usually be eaten on a day trip there,bought from a takeaway fish and chip shop.

    Another favourite British dish is roast dinner.This is made up of roast meat,usually chicken or beef, accompanied by roast vegetables and a meat sauce called gravy（肉汁）.It is usually eaten on a Sunday,perhaps for a special family dinner.It can either be cooked at home or eaten in a traditional pub.We also eat a more elaborate version of this for our Christmas dinner.

    Although we do have our traditional dishes,our diet has been greatly influenced by other countries.You can find a wide range of international foods in the supermarket or varieties of different restaurants on our high streets.A famous saying amongst British people is that our national dish is now chicken tikka masala,a dish which is heavily influenced by Indian cuisine.

    Don't expect to be served a traditional dish if you ever get invited for dinner at a British family's home!

    Robert is a boss who hires me as a helper.He has lost his house and now has to live back at home,with his mother,at 46.

    We had a job in Fort Bending.Robert bought me breakfast there.As we were leaving,a man walked to us asking if he could get some work from Roberts' company.Robert explained there was no work for the man and the man started to walk away.As I looked at the man leaving from Robert,I saw Robert taking out some money and went after the man to gave it to him.I asked Robert,"Why did you do that?"Robert said "He really had bad luck—what does a few dollars matter?"

    After a very long,hard day,we stopped at a Quick Trip for a soda.I got through the checkout ahead of Robert and went back out to the work truck.Beside the truck was a woman in a car.She had 3 kids and asked me if I could help—she had been evicted and had nowhere to go with her children.They were living in the car.I told her I was also hurting in these times,so I could not.Robert came out,opened the work truck and we got in.I told him about the lady.I didn't even finish the story when Robert was out his door around the truck and gave the women money to help them out.When Robert returned I asked,"Why did you do that,she didn't even ask you".He said,“I have an ex-wife（前妻）and a kid.If they need help and I am not able,someone will help them”.

    It was the night before my election. I was running for Sophomore Vice President.

    I had prepared a performance for the election--a funny boxing match. The fight had popular moves as seen in Dodge Ball, Iron Man, and Super Smash Brothers. In the end, I would perform my famous move, the Power-Punch from Hot Rod.

    My friend Cheyenne and I rehearsed (排练) the fight for hours, but the fight would not be a fight without music and sound effects. This is where my brother came in. He stayed up all night to work on that soundtrack. And when my computer's disk burner (刻录机) went out at 6 in the morning, he spent a college student's week's worth of incomes to replace it.

    Why would he go into all that trouble? Because he knew that out of all the other important things he could be doing, this was imperative to me. He knew because it was once important to him. Having graduated from Layton High just a year earlier, he knew what it was like to be in the center of people's attention. He knew how fun high school could be, and he wanted me to have a great experience.

    I ended up losing the election, but that day changed my world forever. The lesson my brother taught me became my most important belief. But it wasn't until I had a similar opportunity that I really understood why he cared so much.

    What did it take for me to understand? It was the performance. The rest of the cast and I would rehearse every day after school for 6 months all for what? The chance to perform a play eight times. As I came out on that stage for the first time and listened to the laughter, I was filled with joy. By the end of the play, the audience broke into tears, and so did we. What happened? We had the sweet opportunity of giving them an unforgettable theatre moment -- a moment to laugh, reflect, and shed tears.

Taiwan was once known as "Garbage Island". Now it is a word leader which recycles more than half of its waste in business that brings in over $2 billion a year.

In 1993, Taiwan was filled with garbage. There was almost no recycling. Two thirds of its landfills were full. Around 20% of the island's garbage was dumped (丢弃). The rest was either buried in a landfill, or burned, leaving the island in an unpleasant and unhealthy situation.

In 1998, the government took action. Their plan affected companies that made products or brought them into Taiwan. These companies were required to take care of their own waste, or to pay the government to do it. The government used the money it collected to improve recycling in the area. Taiwan gave away as much as $6 billion a year to help recycling companies.

Ordinary people had apart, too. The government created a plan called Pay As You Throw. People were required to separate their waste into two groups-garbage, and things that are recyclable or reusable. Recycling is free, but people have to buy special blue bags to throw things away. People quickly began to recycle more.

The government also made it easy for people to deal with their waste. Yellow garbage trucks come around often. To let people know they're coming, they play music. People can also track (追踪) the garbage trucks by using a smartphone app.