Some friends are playing hide-and-seek (捉迷藏) at Mr. Green' home. They play in Mike's room. It's time for Lily to find her friends. Lily first finds Sally.Sally is behind the door. Then, Lily sees Bob. Bob is under the table. Mike is under the table, too. Now it's time to find David and John. David's hat is on the sofa. Is David under the sofa? No, he isn't. John's schoolbag is on the chair, but he isn't there.“Where are they?”Lily thinks.Shh! Don't let her know. They are under the bed!

    One day, when I was a new student in high school, I saw a boy from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle. He was carrying all his books. I thought to myself: "Why would anyone bring home all his books on Friday? He must really be a bookworm. "As I was walking, I saw some kids running toward him. They knocked all his books out of his arms and pushed him to the ground.

    His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw tears in his eyes. I felt sad and I went directly to him.

    As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are fools." He looked at me and said, "Thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. Then I invited him to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He agreed. We played together and had fun on that weekend. The more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him. Over the next three years, Kyle and I became best friends.

    When we were seniors, we began to think about college. We would go to different schools, but I knew we would always be friends.

    As a top student, Kyle was invited to give a speech for graduation. He was nervous when he was about to speak on the stage. So I said, "Hey, you'll be great!" He looked at me and smiled.

    Being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. "he said in his speech. He talked about meeting me and being best friends with me in the last four years. When he finished the story, he looked at me and gave me a little smile.

    I saw his mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same thankful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.

    Never underestimate(低估)the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person s life, for better or for worse.

    Jerry worked in an office in the city. He worked very hard and really looked forward to(期待) his vacation. He usually went to the seaside, but one day he saw an ad(广告) in a newspaper.

    "Enjoy country life. Spend a few weeks at William Farm. Good food, fresh air, horse riding, walking, fishing…"

    "This sounds like a good idea," he thought. "I'll spend a month at William Farm. I'll go horse riding, walking and fishing. It'll be different from the seaside." Four days later, he returned home.

    "What's wrong with William Farm?" his friend Jack asked him. "Don't you enjoy your country life?"

    "Country life was fine," Jerry said. "But there was another problem."

    "Oh, what problem?" Jack was very surprised.

    "Well, the first day I was there, a sheep died, and we had roast(烤) mutton for dinner."

    "Fresh meat is the best."

    "I know, but on the second day a cow died, and we had roast beef for dinner."

    "Lucky you!"

    "You don't understand," Jerry said, "On the third day a pig died, and we had roast pork for dinner."

    "Wow, a different roast every day!" said Jack.

    "Let me finish." Jerry said, "On the fourth day a farmer died and I didn't want to stay there for dinner."

    In 1909 an English newspaper offered £ 1,000 to the first man to fly across the English Channel in an aeroplane. Today, modern jets cross it in minutes. But at that time it still seemed a good distance. The race to win the money soon became a race between two men. Both were very colourful.

    One was Louis Bleriot. He owned a factory in France that made motor car lamps. He was already well known as a pilot because he had had accidents several times. Some people laughed at him. One man said, "He may not be the first to fly across the Channel but he will certainly be the first to die in an accident!" But Bleriot was really a good and brave pilot. He also had many good ideas about aeroplane design.

    The other man was Hubert Latham. He was half French and half English. He took up flying when his doctors told him he had only a year to live. "Oh, well," he said, "if I'm going to die soon, I think I shall have a dangerous and interesting life now." Latham was the first to try the flight across the Channel. Ten kilometres from the French coast, his plane had some trouble. It fell down into the water and began to sink under the water. A boat reached Latham just in time. He was sitting calmly on the wing and was coolly lighting a cigarette. Bleriot took off six days later. He flew into some very bad weather and very low cloud. He somehow got to the English side and landed in a farmer's field. When he did so, a customs (海关) officer rushed up to his plane. Planes have changed since then, but customs officers have not. "Have you anything to say?" The officer asked.

    Long ago, there was a queen who lived in a palace (宫殿) , she felt bored and said to her adviser(顾问) ,"AII the things around me are too boring. I need a different kind of beauty. Let everyone know that I will hold a competition for the most beautiful thing in the world. And the prize will be this crown (王冠)."

    Several days later, lots of people came to the competition and showed their things. The queen was not satisfied with what she saw. The adviser suggested, "What you are looking for cannot be brought to you. You must look for it by yourself. What about a journey?"

    The queen was interested in the idea, so she started at once. As she was on top of the hill near her palace, she looked down and suddenly something cried in her heart. "Why have I never found my palace so beautiful?"

    The queen spent one year traveling. She saw beauty on the farm, in the forest and even in the stars twinkling at night on her journey. But what was the most beautiful thing? She thought it over.

    Suddenly, she understood beauty was everywhere. She should learn to enjoy the world. She left the pieces of her crown at different places that she had seen. As time went by, the queen's crown got smaller and smaller until nothing was left.

    She found the most beautiful thing at last. It was the world!