Mary is an American girl. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Smith find work in China. So they live in Wuhan now. Mr. Smith works in a big shop. Mrs. Smith teaches English in a middle school. Mary goes to that school on weekdays. On Sundays she goes shopping with her mother. She likes dumplings very much. Every time they'd like many dumplings. It's 6:30 in the evening now. Mrs.Smith is cooking. Mr. Smith is helping her with the housework. What's Mary doing? She is doing her homework carefully.

    I used to think that life in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, was filled with never-changing styles. I hated that everyone seemed to know everything about everyone else. Everyone seemed to enjoy talking about other people and their lives. I also didn't like the fact that people seemed very close-minded. I felt trapped. I felt like I was missing . It seemed to me that city life would be the opposite.

    Then I took my first trip to New York City. I couldn't wait to experience the city. However, when I arrived in the Big Apple, it wasn't at all what I had imagined. I knew it was home to thousands of people, but I hadn't had the least expectation to see so many people on the street at one time. All the streets were filled with people. I also felt a little surprised to see that everyone was in a hurry and everything moved at such a fast pace(步伐). When I took the subway for the first time, I said hello to the middle-aged woman next to me. She looked at me with dislike and didn't say a word.

    After just one day, I realized how important my small town is to me. Now I miss the familiar faces I see every day. I like the feeling of safety and belonging my town offers. Jim Thorpe gives me a sense of community and togetherness that the city doesn't provide. I realize just how much a simple hello does for a stranger — it really can make your day a little better.

    My big trip showed me that my small town really has its own values in me that I didn't even know I had. I never would have known what a big place my town holds in my heart if I had not taken that trip to New York City.

    Tim, Bob and Frank lost their schoolbags. They are in the Lost and Found case. The schoolbags are the same, but the things in them are different. Can you help them find the right schoolbag?

Tim: I have a math book and a pencil box in my schoolbag. There are three pencils, a pen and an eraser in the pencil case.

Bob: I have a Chinese dictionary, a math book and two notebooks in my schoolbag.

Frank: There are two CDs and three picture books in my schoolbag. My English books are also in it.

    It's the Chinese New Year today. Sam gets a red packet from his grandma. That's his favourite part of the festival. He gets four dollars and goes shopping in Chinatown.

    There are a lot of interesting things on the streets — fireworks, lion dances and delicious foods. Then Sam sees an old man. The man sleeps in the street. He doesn't wear shoes. “He doesn't have a home. What a poor man!” Sam thinks.

    At a toy shop, Sam wants to buy a toy Monkey King. But it's six dollars. Sam wants to go back home and get more money. On the way, he sees the old man again. “Why not give the four dollars to him? He can use the lucky money to buy some hot food and drinks,” Sam thinks.

    He gives the money to the old man and goes back home. His grandma knows his story and gives him a big hug (拥抱). What a good boy!

    Zhao Yishen, the 33-year-old artist, is carving a woodblock (雕刻木板) carefully, with a chisel in his right hand. To carve the woodblocks, he has to hold this position for six hours. He has been carving woodblocks since 2012. “It feels good and looks beautiful when a Chinese character slowly appears on the woodblock under your chisel," says Zhao.

    Zhao is now the only full-time carver working at a workshop that creates woodblock-printed books in Beijing. As a teenager he loved to read ancient Chinese books in the library, and the curiosity of how the books were made led him to get a job at an ancient books woodblock printing studio in Yangzhou in 2011 after graduating as a law major from university.

    Block printing was listed as a UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. Zhao started to learn the skill from Chen Yishi, one of the skill's masters, in 2012.

    "The first step is to learn how to sharpen your chisel, "says Zhao. “After using it for a while, you need to sharpen it again." After that, the woodblock must be put at a certain angle that is deep enough to show up the characters and also to make sure the cuts are deep enough-but not too deep. Then Zhao puts the paper, face down, onto the wood after brushing oil on the paper. This helps to transfer the characters onto the block. Once the carving is finished, the woodblock is brushed with ink and paper pressed onto it. It is ready to print.

    In Zhao's mind, the inked woodblock is a work of art. After a year of learning from Chen, Zhao found a job at Zhuyu Shanfang in 2013. His carved woodblocks have been used for several books over the past six years. "I just learned the basic skills, but to master it, I still need years of practice,” says Zhao. “A good craftsman can carve an entire book with every single character aligned in order."