When our son Bradley was ten, the new bicycle he had received earlier that year was stolen. Owning a bicycle was a big deal to our children when they were little. They spent hours and hours, day after day, on their bicycles, riding up and down the footpath, and at the front of the house. We also rode together as a family a lot. Bicycling was a great way to get the kids out of the house and into the fresh air without spending any money.

    Bradley had discovered that his bicycle had been stolen from our backyard in Campbelltown, South Australia, when he and his sister went outside for a morning ride. He couldn't believe that someone would do this.

    He got a large piece of cardboard, painted a sign begging for the bicycle to be returned, and tied the sign to the letterbox. The following morning, when I went out to collect the mail, I found a white envelope with the magical words, "Buy yourself a new bicycle". There was a $100 banknote inside.

    We were very touched that someone had the heart to do this, We've never been able to thank the person but we suspect(猜想) that it may have been one of our wonderful neighbors. Bradley painted a big"______!"on the sign and we left it outside for a couple of weeks afterwards, hoping the kind stranger would drive down our street.

    A delighted Bradley was able to buy a new bicycle. As the years went on, the bicycles became bigger and more expensive but remained just as important for those family bicycle rides. Now Bradley is 25. Sometimes I miss the days when receiving a bicycle was the best thing in the world to them.

    All these years later we are still thankful for the stranger's kindness. We were a young family with three little children and it meant a lot to us. We still talk about it and, even now, wonder who the kind stranger was.

    Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh(1853-1890) killed himself by shooting himself in the chest(胸膛).

    This is what van Gogh himself told his brother, the doctors and the police just before he died.

    However, in a new book Van Gogh: The Life, two Pulitzer (普利策奖) Prize-winning authors, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, argue that van Gogh may have been murdered. They believed that the artist was protecting a 16-year-old boy named Rene Secret, who shot him accidentally.

    Van Gogh's statement that he shot himself was accepted because he had been mentally unstable(精神状况不稳的) for two years. He suffered from psychotic(精神病的) attacks and imagined things that were not really happening. Art critics (评论家) believe that his unstable mental state is shown in his work, describing his style of painting as shaken. Some of his most famous paintings, such as The Starry Night, were produced during this period.

    Van Gogh is among a number of creative minds who suffered from mental health problems. In fact, mental illness is so common among famous creative figures that scientists have studied whether there is link between creativity and insanity(精神错乱). Research began in the 1970s, but the idea that an unstable mind could be linked to creative genius(天才) was already around in ancient Greece.

    Some scientists believe mental illness, in its more manageable state, gives artists creativity. Research has found that doing creative activities can also be therapeutic(有疗效的) for people suffering from mental illness. Painting, writing, or making something can be a positive way for people to express their thoughts.

    Jack is 10 years old, and I am his pencil. I'm Jack's helper(助手).

    Jack's pencil box is my home. I have some friends here. They are seven crayons, a ruler, a pencil sharpener and an eraser. Because Jack loves me, I'm the king(国王)in the pencil box. My friends and I are happy every day.

    Today, I am not happy because a pen comes in. It's new and beau­tiful. It's a music pen. It can not only(不仅) write but also(而且) sing. But I'm old and I can only help Jack to write. Jack likes it so much! The new pen is his helper now. It's the new king. What can I do now? Shall I go to a new home?

It is January 12th. It's my friend Jenny's thirteenth birthday. She has three good friends. They are Lily, Jack and me. She asks us to come to her party（晚会）. And we plan（计划） to buy some gifts for her. 

Lily knows Jenny likes playing tennis very much, so she buys a tennis ball for her. Jack thinks Jenny's favorite fruits are strawberries and pears, so he buys some strawberries and pears for her. For me, I buy her a red skirt. She likes skirts and her favorite color is red. I think she likes the skirt. 

At seven, we go to her home. When she sees us, she is really happy. She thanks us for our coming to her party. We have dinner at her home. And we say "Happy birthday" to her! We are all happy at the party. 

This year, I'm pushing myself to accept new things. Recently, I1 eating out alone. Asa socially anxious(焦虑的) person, I had always found this hard. 

I walked into the restaurant completely alone: no phone, no book, nothing to draw or write with. It was just me and my wallet. I took the time to read the menu 2 . I paid attention to how everything was made. I was still nervous and I thought to myself, "What better comfort food is there than a classic burger and fries?"

 The moments after I ordered were the 3 part of the experience. Waiting for my food with nothing to look at or read felt uncomfortable. I kept worrying about what other people were thinking. I 4 at everyone else in the restaurant and tried to calm down. 

 As I became more relaxed, I discovered ways to find 5 in the experience. In such a busy world, we seldom take a second for ourselves. Eating alone gave me a chance to enjoy ourselves. It pushes me to stop and be present in the moment. 

Taihang Grand Canyon National Forest Park is a natural wonder. It lies in the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} part of Huguan County. There are some sweet springs, silver chains—like waterfalls, deep pools, clear streams, interesting karst caves and forests spreading all over the {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

I always remember the journey to go there. In the early morning, we began to {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the canyon. At first the canyon was silent. With more and more people coming, the canyon became noisy. There were so many trees and we didn't know most of them. Some signs along the paths told us something about different sights. We heard the loud waterfalls {#blank#}4{#/blank#} we were far away from them. When we got near, we {#blank#}5{#/blank#} cool at once. The waterfalls were high and pretty. We also visited some other sights and had great fun there.