I never saw my father home from work late or ill, nor did I ever see my father take a “night out with the boys.” He had no hobbies but just take care of his family.

    For 22 years, since I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday at 9:00am. He was interested in my life--how my family was doing. The calls even came when he and my mother in Australia, England or Florida.   

    Nine years ago when I bought my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours for three days, painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked was a glass of iced tea, and that I hold a paintbrush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy, and I could not take the time to hold the paintbrush, or talk to my father. 

    Five years ago, my 71-year-old father spent five hours putting together a swing set(秋千) for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea, and talk to him. But again, I had laundry(要洗的衣服) to do, and the house to clean. The morning on Sunday, January 16, 1996, my father telephoned me as usual, this time he had seemed to have forgotten something we had discussed the week before .I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short. 

    The call came at 4:40 a.m. That day my father was sent to hospital in Florida. I got on a plane immediately, and I vowed (发誓)that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him and really get to know him. I arrived in Florida at 1:00 a.m. but my father had passed away at 9:12 p.m. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me. 

    In the years since his death I have learnt much about my father and even more about myself. As a father, he never asked me for anything but my time. Now he has all my attention, every single day. 

Gemma Burford

    Gemma was born in 1978 in a quiet village in England. Her mother worked in a library and her father worked in a hospital. When she was a student at Oxford University, she traveled (旅行) to Tanzania and met her husband (丈夫), Lesikar, for the first time. They got married (结婚) in 2003 and had their daughter, Lucia, two years later. Now Lucia studies in a small primary school, and Gemma and Lesikar also teach her at home.

 Judy Boehmer

    Adam is Judy's first child. She now has four sons, seven daughters and a pet dog, Bosco. Judy and her husband, Larry, live in Atlanta, Georgia, but they also have a motorhome (野营车). The Boehmers are a circus (马戏团) family and all the children are performers at the circus. The children don't go to school, but study at home. The family travels more than 40,000 kilometers a year for their work. The first show of the Boehmers was at a park in Lowa in 1989, and they now perform all over America.

    Mr. Jenkins liked all kinds of delicious food. As an important officer, he was often asked to dinner. The shopkeepers tried their best to fawn on(巴结) him. They knew it was good for their business. Now the officer got fatter and fatter. He could hardly go upstairs（楼上） at home and had to sleep downstairs. He often felt tired if he walked or did some housework. He was worried about it and had to go to a doctor. "Stop eating much fat(脂肪) and sugar, Mr. Jenkins," said the doctor, "or it will be worse for your health!" It was difficult for the officer to do it. He didn't do as the doctor said. He found something was wrong with his heart a few months later. Now he thought the doctor was right. And he had to be in hospital. "You must lose weight(减肥), sir," said the doctor, " unless you want to die soon!" "Could you tell me a way to lose weight, please?" "You must do some exercise first." "Which exercise?" "To move your head from side to side when you are invited to dinner!"

    Daisy is an American high school student, and she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. It's important to start early if you want to become a doctor. Why? In the USA, you will need to take some science classes in college or university before you attend medical schools. Besides schoolwork, medical schools, medical admissions. (录取）will also look at your extra﹣curricular (课外的) activities.

    To attend medical schools, Daisy decides to do as follows. First, she will visit the school library weekly and read articles about medicine. Then, she will meet with some doctors from her friends' families. Daisy is going to ask them some questions about their work, so she will get some useful information. Daisy also plans to volunteer at a hospital for a week. If you would like to help others, you will be welcome to medical schools Daisy is sure about this.

    The good news is that Daisy is 16 years old, so she can do the training to become a Certified Nurse (执业护士助理). She is going to finish doing this in three weeks during the summer. When you become a CNA, you can make good money. But to Daisy, it just helps her improve herself and makes her a better student before going to the medical school.

    As a high school student, Daisy knows what is the most important now: study hard and do well in science, including biology, physics and math. These lessons always have to do with medicine.

  By starting early and taking some of these steps, Daisy is sure that she will become a doctor!

    My name is Scott Christenson. My story is one you've probably heard before. It goes something like this:

    When I was young, I was always athletic and did sports every day. At that time, I was in good shape. I ate whatever I wanted and never put on a pound. Over the years, many bad habits had been formed, such as smoking, drinking and staying up late. I often ate junk food. Besides, I was too busy to do exercise. By the time I got out of college, I was out of shape. I was getting fatter and fatter.

    I realized those bad habits were not good for my health, so I decided to start teaching myself about healthy eating and exercise by reading books and surfing the Internet. My work in the healthcare industry as a writer also allowed me to study the knowledge of healthy and unhealthy behavior. I tried to have a healthy diet, and I exercised two hours a day. Amazingly, I lost 18 pounds last year. I've got back in shape and I still keep my good habits.