I never saw my father home from work late or ill, nor did I ever see my father take a “night out with the boys.” He had no hobbies but just take care of his family.

    For 22 years, since I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday at 9:00am. He was interested in my life--how my family was doing. The calls even came when he and my mother in Australia, England or Florida.   

    Nine years ago when I bought my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours for three days, painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked was a glass of iced tea, and that I hold a paintbrush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy, and I could not take the time to hold the paintbrush, or talk to my father. 

    Five years ago, my 71-year-old father spent five hours putting together a swing set(秋千) for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea, and talk to him. But again, I had laundry(要洗的衣服) to do, and the house to clean. The morning on Sunday, January 16, 1996, my father telephoned me as usual, this time he had seemed to have forgotten something we had discussed the week before .I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short. 

    The call came at 4:40 a.m. That day my father was sent to hospital in Florida. I got on a plane immediately, and I vowed (发誓)that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him and really get to know him. I arrived in Florida at 1:00 a.m. but my father had passed away at 9:12 p.m. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me. 

    In the years since his death I have learnt much about my father and even more about myself. As a father, he never asked me for anything but my time. Now he has all my attention, every single day. 

    I' m ready to do my first jump 10 months after a skydiving (特技跳伞) accident. I can't wait! That accident almost killed me and it made me stay in hospital for half a year. During the boring long days, I didn't feel glad to be alive. I was wondering how I could live without my favorite sport.

    It all started one evening after a nine-to-five day. I was sitting on the sofa when an ad (广告) came on the television. "Try skydiving," it said. The next day, I went to the skydiving school in my town. At the end of the day's lessons, I knew I found the fight sport for me.

    I will never forget my first jump. Five of us walled to the runway and got into a plane. I was scared, but the others were tailing and joking, and I started to feel a little relaxed. It was a beautiful, cloudless day and the sun was just going down. Soon it was time to jump. As I jumped from the plane, I shouted. But then everything became quiet. It was the most wonderful four minutes of my life.

    From the first jump, I was hooked. I started spending all my free time skydiving . It became my reason for living. Things were going really well. Then an accident happened on my 104th jump. I broke my both legs, right arm and nose. I stayed in hospital for six months, but I still couldn't forget skydiving.

    My mother couldn't understand why the only reason I wanted to get better was to go skydiving again. But for me, skydiving is life, and life is skydiving.

    Sydney Fredette has a lot of things to deal with. Not only is she a high school student, but she has also set up her own organization, Beary Merry Christmas. She volunteers to serve poor kids and families in Orange County in California, US.

    To remember her best friend who died of cancer nearly 10 years ago, Fredette decided to serve those in Orange County who are less lucky than she is. She began with the simple idea of collecting donated Build-A-Bears, the popular toy animal that is made by children themselves in the stores' workshops. Fredette then gave them as gifts to the homeless children in California.

    With donations at more than 100 bears a year, Fredette and volunteers in her organization hold activities every year. They not only give out the bears, but also many other things.

    Fredette now also holds other activities for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Halloween, providing the chance for her volunteer team to make a difference through the year.

    "I love making relationships with the people I serve." Fredette said. "The thanks they have, hearing their stories and seeing how happy they are, it's so cool."

    Future plans for Fredette include building a public food bank and providing a self-development class for students in her school who will soon attend college. Heading to college herself in the fall, Fredette is looking to stay local and continue to help out in her hometown. In fact, she was regarded as a "Dreamer & Doer" not long ago for her work in improving her community, along with 32 other high school students.

    Mike lives in the country, and he loves playing in the river near his house. But his father gets a job in a hospital in a big city, and he moves there with his family.

    Their new house has a garden, but the garden is very small. Mike isn't very happy. "Is there a river near here?" he asks his mother on the first morning.

    "No, there isn't. But there is a beautiful park near here, Mike, and there is a pool in it. We are going there this afternoon."

    Mike becomes happier now.

    After lunch, Mike and his mother go to the park. Mike wants to walk near the pool, but there is a sign in front of it. His mother reads it to him. Warning: This pool is dangerous. 46 people have fallen into it. Mike looks into the pool carefully, and says, "But I can't see them."

    Moziah Bridges was born in 2002 in the USA. He is very young, but he is a successful businessman. He has a company which sells bow ties(领结).

Moziah Bridges always believes in his born sense of fashion. He has made full use of it—by creating his own bow tie company.

    When he was 9, he and his grandmother started making bow ties for him to wear. Some of his friends liked his bow ties and want to buy them. Later Bridges started to sell them under the name of "Mo's Bows".

    His business got better and better. He also tried some different ways to make his business more successful. For example, he even took part in a reality show to get help.

    Bridges company is now worth about 1.5 million dollars. Several months ago, he signed a deal with the NBA to make bow ties with NBA team logos(标志)on them. "My dream is to be a famous person all over the world," Bridges said.