Ray Charles，a black singer and pianist of the USA．He had won 12 Grammy Awards （格莱美奖） and performed at 10，000 concerts around the world．Many musicians called him simply"the Genius"（天才）．

    Ray Charles was born into a poor family，without a father．When he was 5 years old，his younger brother died，and around the same time，Charles started to lose his sight．By the age of 7he was completely blind．He had already been learning the piano for a year，and when he went blind，his mother knew this would be the only way he would make any money in the future．All his life，Charles remembered her saying："Do it right，or don't do it at all．"

    Later he went to a school for blind and deaf children．There the teachers also encouraged him to study music．Sadly，while he was still at school，his mother died．He left school and in the early 1950s Charles organized a group of players．He sang，played the piano and wrote music．

    He made many classical CDs with famous artists such as Elton John and the Beatles．

    In 2003 a film of his life Ray was made．The part of Charles was played by a younger actor and musician called Jamie Foxx．The film director brought Foxx to meet Charles．After they had been playing together for two hours，Charles，then aged 73，jumped up and said："He's the one…he can do it．"A year later Charles died aged 74．The film of his life has been as popular as his songs and means that the memory of Charles'music will live on．

    Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living and sometimes I had to work at night. One late night, I got a telephone call from a neighborhood. When I arrived there at 2:30 a.m., the only building was dark except for a single light in the first floor window. So I walked up and knocked at the door.

    “Just a minute,” answered a weak voice. After a long time, the door opened and a small woman stood in front of me. Next to her was a small suitcase.

    Quickly I took her suitcase to the car and then returned to hold her. She took my arm and we walked slowly to the car. She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It's nothing”, I told her, “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”

    When we got in the car, she asked, “Can you drive me through downtown?”

    “But it's not the shortest way,” I replied.

    “I'm in no hurry.” she said slowly, “I'm on my way to a hospice（临终医院）. I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long time.”

    I quietly turned off the meter. For the next two hours, we drove through the city and passed the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived, and some other special places. As the sun was rising, we stopped in front of a low building where two nurses were waiting.

    “How much should I pay?” she asked. “Nothing.” I replied.

    “But you have to make a living.”

    “Oh, there are other passengers.” Without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly and said, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy, thank you.”

    Sometimes people may not remember exactly what you did or said. However, they'll always remember how you made them feel.

    My friend is Li Ming. He was born on September 20th, 2003, in Beijing. Now he is studying in London. He's in Class 1 with 8 students. They're from America, France and Japan. His teacher's name is Mike Brown. He's a very nice and very good teacher.

    Li Ming is living with an English family. Mr. and Mrs. Green have three children. Tom is fifteen, Kate is twelve, and Andrew is eight. They are all very friendly.

London is a very large and interesting city. The weather there is good—-sunny but cool, and the parks are beautiful! Li Ming loves living in London very much. He thinks English food is great, too. He likes traditional dishes like fish and chips.

    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."

    Steven is six years old. He gets some money from his mother every week. He buys a lot of things from the shops, but he doesn't really need them, and he puts them everywhere. One day his mother gives him a notebook and says, "Now, Steven, when you buy things, write their names down in the notebook, and also write down how much they are. Then you can look at it again when your money is all gone (花光了), and you don't waste (浪费) so much money next time."

    After a week, Steven says to his mother, "Do you know, Mum, before I spend (花) any money now, I really stop and think!" His mother is very happy and thinks, "Well, my son knows the value (价值) of money now. "But then she hears him say, "Mum, before I buy something, I always ask myself, 'Can I spell (拼写) that word and put it down in my notebook?'"