Some people have a very poor sense of direction. Unluckily，I am one of them. I have visited a place many times but I may still get lost there the next time.

    When I was a little girl，I never dared to ask strangers the way. And so I used to walk round in circles and hope that by chance I would get to the place I was going to.

    Now，I am  no longer too shy to ask people for directions, but I often receive helpless or even wrong information. So I try to avoid giving people wrong directions.  If anyone ever asks me the way somewhere，I would say, "Sorry,  I am a stranger here."

    Once on my way to work I was stopped by a man. He asked me if I could tell him the way to the Friendship Building. I gave him my usual reply. But just as I walked on only a few steps, I realized that he had asked the way to my office building. However, I had no time to turn back and look for him. I was rushing to meet with someone at my office and I didn't want to keep him waiting.

    When I just got to my office, the secretary showed in the man who had asked me for directions. Imagine how embarrassed I was and how surprised he was when we saw each other at the first sight!

    There is a famous American writer called Jack London. He was born on January 12, 1876 in San Francisco, California. His family was very poor, and Jack had to leave school to make money. He worked very hard in many different jobs.

    Later Jack returned to school, but he didn't stay there. In 1897, he went to Alaska (阿拉斯加) to look for gold. He didn't find any gold. Instead (代替), he found ideas for his books and stories. He returned home and started to write. His writings were so successful that he became rich and famous in his twenties.

    But Jack London was not a happy man. In poor health he took his own life in 1916. He was only 40 years old.

    Do you go to school every day by bike or in your parents' car? The American English teacher Margaret tells her story about taking a school bus in America.

    When I'm a primary school student, I love taking the school bus. It is interesting to talk to my friends and play games on the bus. It is like children-only party every morning and afternoon. On the school bus there is only one adult（成年人）—the driver. Most of the time, we are well-behaved because we like the driver and don't want to make him unhappy. But one day, one of the boys makes a face at a policeman driving behind our bus. The policeman makes our bus driver stop. Then he scolds（训斥）the naughty boy loudly. We all behave well after that!

    It isn't comfortable for young people to wait for the school bus in winter（冬天） because it is very cold, especially when there are strong winds（风）. Some students in cities have bus shelters（遮挡）, but country children have to jump（跳）up and down to warm up. Hurry up, spring!

Every year the students at Harry's school put on a concert. Their friends and parents go to the concert. Some students sing and dance. Others act in plays.

Harry likes to act. He also likes to write plays. For one concert he wrote a play about a spaceman. He called it Lost in Space. He acted in his play. He was the spaceman.

Harry made his own costume. It was a spacesuit. He used plastic bags to make the pants. He wore a shirt that belonged to his mother. It was an old shirt. It was made of silk. She did not want it anymore.

His shoes were an old pair of his father's. He didn't want them anymore either. They were made of leather.

Harry's helmet was an old motorcycle helmet. 

Harry painted his costume with silver paint. He looked like a spaceman. 

There was only one problem. No one could hear what he said! 

Sometimes I really want to know if （是否） there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy making money for our life. One day, my mother was sewing a quilt （缝被子）. "Mum, is there 1 between you and dad?" I asked. 

With surprise in 2 eyes, my mum stopped her work for a moment. Then she said, "Susan, look at this thread （线）. You can't see it easily, 3 it's really there. It makes the quilt strong. If life is a quilt, love should be a thread. Love is inside."

The next spring, my father 4 ill. After they were back from hospital, my mother helped my father walk 5 the country road every day. They were kind and happy. 

After two months, my father still couldn't 6 . "Dad, how are you feeling now?" I asked him one day. "Susan, don't 7 me," he said, "I just like walking with your mum. I like this kind of life." 8 his eyes, I knew he loves my mother 9 . 

Now I know that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside. It makes life strong and 10 .