Martina looked out of the window. A robin was singing a lively song in the tree. At this time, Grandpa, who lived with the family since Grandma had died, came in. He looked at the floor as if looking for something. He said, "When the robin sings..." he stopped, trying to remember what he had started to say.

    "Spring is here," Mum finished the sentence. "And I'm thinking of our spring cleaning," Mum suggested. "Martina, you can help me, right?" Martina agreed unwillingly.

    They cleaned the house. They cleaned upstairs, downstairs, inside, outside, until everything was clean. Then Mum pointed to Grandpa's sofa and shouted. "That old sofa has got to go. We'll buy Grandpa a new one."

    It was true and Martina had to agree. The sofa was really old. As they tried to move the sofa, Grandpa stood in their way. "You can't take my sofa," he shouted.

    "It's old," Mum said. Grandpa tried to push his sofa back into place. "We'll buy you a new one," Mum promised.

    "I don't want a new one," Grandpa insisted. Mum let go of the sofa. "We'll talk about it tonight when John gets home." John, Martina's dad, was still at work.

    "Why don't you let us take away the sofa? It's too old!" Martina asked when the family were having supper. Grandpa shook his head and said, "I sat in this sofa, with your grandma right here, when I asked her to marry me. It was so long ago, but when I sit in this sofa and close my eyes I feel she is near."

    "It's amazing," Martina thought, "how Grandpa can remember things from the past. These days he forgets almost everything."

    The old man smiled to Martina and went on. "And the night your father was born, I sat in this sofa. I was nervous when they placed the little baby into my arms."

    "I think I'm beginning to understand," Martina said. "Many years later," Grandpa continued, "I sat in this sofa when the doctor called and told me that your grandma was ill. I was lost without her, but the sofa gave me the comfort."

    "I do see now," Martina looked at Grandpa. "This is not just an old sofa. This sofa is more like a friend." "Yes," Grandpa added. "We've got through a lot together." The whole family agreed that the living room would be boring without the old sofa.

    "It looks so good on you," said my friend. I was trying on a bathing suit. Then the topic of conversation turned to going on a diet(节食).

    I wanted to become pretty and thin. So I decided to stick to the diet. I didn't eat my lunch. Some people asked me where my lunch was. I lied to them and made up excuses.

    I did the same with breakfast. I tricked(欺骗) my dad into thinking that I ate my bread, but I fed it to the cat. My weight dropped fast, but when I looked at myself in the mirror, I still thought I was not thin enough.

    Finally, dark circles formed under my eyes. I wore thick clothing in hot weather, but I was still cold. That didn't matter. I still needed to be thinner.

    About a month after I bought the bathing suit, I tried it on again, and it fell right off me. My mother told me to look in the mirror. I could see my eye sockets(眼窝). That was the day I realized how skinny I was.

    I went to see a doctor. My total weight loss was about twenty-five pounds in one month. It took one year for my body to start working normally again.

    Sometimes I want to go back to being thin, but I will never do what I did again. It's not worth it. Please don't go on a diet when you're young. You will regret it. Don't judge and compare yourself with others. Try to love yourself for who you are, not for what you look like.

Valerie is a creative Southwest Airlines (美国西南航空公司)worker. Her work is to guide1 in and out and help with luggage(行李). So she sees the zipper pulls (拉链头) everywhere. After collecting zipper pulls for years, she2 these small things into something lovely: a shining dress. 

Valerie shared more about the dress. 

"When I started working here in 2011, I was3 several zipper pulls every day. I told my partner that I was going to do something with 4 , " she said. "At first I was thinking about something small, but then I5 to make a dress. "

She 6 a dress at a second-hand store and got to work. Because of the pulls' weight(重量), she chose a well-made dress and 7 fishing lines to sew (缝) them on. 

To make the dress look beautiful, Valerie took special care in keeping the pulls 8 in size and shape within each line. "The9 was sewing them on in a straight line, " said Valerie. "But I'm10 myself because I made it. "

Different people may have different hobbies. I think hobbies can help us relax and learn more things. I have four good friends. They all have their hobbies.

People are spending much money buying mystery boxes (盲盒) these days. Usually, there are toys in mystery boxes, but now shops are putting food in them. They are "leftover mystery boxes". 

They are more and more popular in China's cities, such as Beijing, Nanjing and Chengdu. The food inside is near its expiration date (保质期) and will be thrown away if no one buys it. 

Each box costs little money but has a lot of food inside. I buy leftover mystery boxes from an app called Too Good To Go. Each box costs about 3 to 5 pounds (27 to 45 yuan), and there are usually three to four things inside. For example, a box I buy from the coffee shop has three kinds of bread and one cake. The box costs 3 pounds but the original price (原价) is around 10 pounds. Every time I buy a mystery box, I feel happier thinking about how much money I can save. Wasting less food is also good for the environment. 

But the boxes also bring me problems. Because I can't choose what's in the box, sometimes I get the same kind of food. Also, the food may not be nutritious (有营养的) enough. I have to make other dishes, such as a salad, to make the meal healthier.