For his eleventh birthday, Lin was given a gift that would shape his life. On that day his father took him to the Children's Activity Centre and said he could choose any course that interested him. There was just one

Requirement: Lin would have to promise to study it for at least one year.

    To that point Lin had had many hobbies, but none kept his interest for more than a week or two. His mum once gave him a bag of stamps to encourage stamp collecting. That hobby lasted a week. Then his father got him some paints hoping that Lin's artistic side would shine through. Those paints were now under his bed, still unopened. This time Lin's parents would let him decide.

    Lin's eyes moved down the noticeboard that listed all the courses on offer. He stopped at "Photography". He liked the idea of taking beautiful pictures but the notice said that each student needed their own camera. Although Lin's family weren't poor, they weren't rich either, and a camera cost a lot of money. He continued looking.

    The next course to catch his eye was "Language Art". He didn't even know what that meant. His father explained that it taught people how to make public speeches. Lin, a shy boy, could think of nothing worse.

    Then he saw it. "Cooking" sounded like something he'd like to do. It was inexpensive and convenient. It could be done alone and it was also creative.

    Based on Lin's hobby history, his dad had doubts, but he agreed. Much to his parents' surprise, Lin kept his promise. He studied cooking at the Centre every Saturday, and practised at home, making delicious meals for his family. Everyone looked forward to birthdays, when they could eat his cakes. Lin got great satisfaction from the pleasure his food brought to others.

    The months turned to years but his hobby never changed again.

    Now Lin is an adult and runs a successful restaurant. When customers say they enjoy his meal, he still gets the same pleasure he did as a child, and remembers the special gift he received "all those years ago.

    Long long time ago, the Creator created a man and a woman, they lived together very happily for a time. But then they began to get angry with each other, and at last the woman left and started off to the Sun land in the east.

    The man followed alone and felt very sad, but the woman kept on ahead and never looked behind, until the Creator, took pity on him and asked him if he was still angry with his wife. He said he was not, and the Creator then asked him if he would like to have her back again. He answered yes.

    So the Creator created a patch（一块）of the fine stripe（成熟的）tomatoes along the way in front of the woman，but she passed by like seeing nothing at all. Later，he put a patch of beautiful flowers but again she refused to notice. Until suddenly she saw in front of her a patch of large ripe strawberries. They looked delicious.

    She stopped to pick a few to eat，and as she ate them she turned her face to the west by accident，and at once she remembered her husband and she found herself unable to go on. She sat down，but the longer she waited，the more she missed her husband，and at last she took a lot of the best strawberries and started back along the way to give them to him. He met her kindly and they went home together.

    Miss Grey lived in a small house. She was old and did not like noise at all, so she was very pleased when her noisy neighbor moved out. A young man moved in and Miss Grey thought the man seemed to be quiet.

    But at three o'clock the next morning, the noise of a dog woke her up. She thought she had never heard a dog there before. It must be the young man's dog. So she telephoned the young man, said something bad about the dog and then hung up the telephone before he could answer. Nothing more happened until three o'clock the next morning. Then Miss Grey's telephone rang, and when she answered, a voice said, "You telephoned me twenty-four hours ago, now I ring you up to say that I don't have a dog."

An interview with Andy Griffiths

Andy Griffiths is well known as a writer of children's books. Here are some interesting things you might not know about him !

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I go for long runs and bike rides beside the beach. An hour of exercise after a long day of writing gives me energy. Then I'm ready to write some more. 

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At first I write the stories by hand, and then I transfer (转录）them onto a computer. I like to write by hand when I travel. I find it very easy to lose myself in my diary when I am away from my usual activities. 

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I'm never happier than I'm thinking banana milk shakes. And I love fish. But I don't like drinking fish milk shakes. They are just terrible !

What is your favorite book ?

Alice in Wonderland. It has so many surprises and such silliness in it.

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Only if I really have to. I much prefer the freedom and fun of writing for children.

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As Dr. Seuss says, "The more you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go."

It was December 23. I became 1 because it was my last night at school that term. The December holidays would 2 the next day.

3 , the happy time came and the December holidays started. I hurried home and well prepared for my trip. It was time for my 4 , my sister and me to meet my father at the airport and fly on holiday.

Mum drove a car to the 5 . A close family friend, Peter, was coming with us. Everyone was 6 on the way. We sang songs with the radio. Suddenly mum 7 , "Oh, God, the brakes (刹车) aren't working!"

We were coming to a cross road. The traffic light ahead was 8 . Many cars were waiting patiently. Mum had to make a 9 : rush into the cars or turn onto the side walk. There was nobody on the side walk. To avoid causing danger to other cars, she 10 to make a turn.

The turn was so sudden that the 11 hit a big tree. Peter was not wearing his seatbelt (安全带) and his door opened. He12 from the car and fell to the ground heavily.

When the car completely 13 , we ran to him and called the police. He was sent to the 14 at once. Luckily, he was saved.

Always remember to 15 your seatbelt in a car. It's a matter of life and death!

 Millie Wesley @ milliewesley 5-10

 Hello! My name is Millie. This is a picture of me and my friends. My friends' names are Fred, Sandra and Jim. 

 Fred is 11. His first name is Frederick but we always call him Fred. Oranges are his favorite food. 

 Sandra is 10. We are the same age. Jim is her brother. He is 12. They have a dog. You can see it in the picture. It is small and its name is Bobbie. 

 My friends and I are in the same school. Our school is next to a park. After school, we often play baseball in the park. It is our favorite game. 

# Friendship #MyFriends @ Frederick @ Jim @ Sandra