A

      A month ago, the Greens went along the coast and finally got to Daytona beach (代托纳海滩) to spend their holiday. It was 200 miles away from their home in Florida. They took their pet cat with them. The cat got frightened because of some noise during the holiday. Then it ran away. The Greens looked for their pet for a long time,but they didn't find it. They had to leave for home. In fact, the cat traveled for a long time and got back to Florida after it was lost.

     Luckily, a woman called Sarah in Florida found the cat in her garden.The cat was too weak to make a sound, lying there only. When the pet doctor examined the cat and found a chip (芯片) inside the cat's body. And there was all kinds of information about the cat in the chip. Sarah knew that the Greens were the owner of the cat. Sarah took it home and looked after it quite well. The cat became better after a few days.

     Sarah wanted to sent the cat back to the Greens. However, how did the cat get home far away from 200 miles? Maybe only the cat itself knew it.

One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. “Cindy, my company wants to promote (升职) me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you've done well and allowing you to skip (跳) a grade, but you'll have to leave your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher?” She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was lost in thought. The question kept me wondering for the rest of the night. I had said “yes” but for the first time, I realized the difficult decisions adults had to make.

     For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I'd eagerly wait for the phone to ring and then tell her everything happened during the day. A phone call, however, could never take her place and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

During my fourth-grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large empty apartment,   ▲  It was then I started to understand the difficult choices she had to make. She needed to think about both family and work. Faced with difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn't know whether you make the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with a positive attitude.

     Back home, I reminded myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she managed to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be independent. I learn how to take care of myself and set high but achievable goals.

My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the experience has really taught me. I've learned a lot because of this separation. There are lots of difficult decisions that we have to face in our life. We need to have a positive attitude no matter what happens.

A

    Little Tom likes cartoons very much. When the cartoons begin on TV, he does nothing until they're over. Sometimes he'd rather(宁可）wait for a long time and go to bed late. In the morning his mother has to wake him up, or he'll be late for school.

    Yesterday Tom heard there would be an interesting cartoon today. This morning, as soon as he got up, he turned on the television, but he didn't see the program on it. He had to have breakfast and then go to school. After school he ran home while his mother was cooking supper in the kitchen. He hurried to the sitting room and turned on the television again, but he couldn't find the cartoon. He rushed into the kitchen and asked his mother for help.

    “It's only five now，''said the woman. “Your program will be after supper. ”

    “Well，let's have supper right now!”

    Gareth Ellis, 13, is the youngest son of Alan, an engineer, and Kath, a teacher. His older brothers work in banking and computers, but Gareth's dream was always to become a clown. Three years ago, Alan, Kath and Gareth joined the circus(马戏团). "People laugh when we tell them," says Kath. "But it's true. Gareth has wanted to be a clown since we took him to the circus when he was three."

    When Alan lost his job, he and Kath decided to see if they could find full-time circus jobs. They both got jobs with a famous circus and Gareth began training to become a clown. He calls himself Bippo. They travel with the circus during the summer and return home for the winter. Gareth's brothers are old enough to look after the house while they are away.

    "I can't say it was easy," says Kath. "There was a lot to think about and organize. We only had a car and a very small caravan(拖车)to sleep in, and we were leaving behind our lovely house. The only thing Gareth missed was his long, hot baths."

    "People ask about my education," says Gareth, "but from the beginning, wherever we go, someone has always come to teach me. I follow the same books as everyone back at school and I've got a computer. I've never fallen behind my classmates."

    And the future? "It was a difficult decision," says Kath," but there was no other way to teach Gareth about being a clown. I'm happy to say it's working, and we're enjoying it." And Gareth? "I'm going to be the main clown in a circus one day', he says, 'perhaps Bippo's circus."