In a nice house there lived an old man. Behind the house there was a big garden. He planted many plants there. He took care of his flowers all the time, watering and fertilizing (施肥) them.

       One day a young man went by the garden. He looked at the beautiful flowers, imagining how happy he could be if he lived in such a beautiful place. Then, suddenly he found the old gardener was blind. He was very _________ about this and asked, “You can't see these flowers. Why are you busy taking care of them every day?”

       The old man smiled and said, “I can tell you some reasons  . First, I was a gardener when I was young, and I really like this job. Second, although I can't see these flowers, I can touch them. Third, I can smell the sweetness of them. As to the last one, that's you.”       

       “Me? But you don't know me,” said the young man.

       “Yeah, it's true that I don't know you. But I know that flowers are angels that everybody knows. We enjoy the happiness these flowers have brought us.”

       The blind man's work opened our eyes and pleased our heart, which also made his life happier. It was just like Beethoven, who became deaf in his later life and wrote many great musical words. Beethoven himself couldn't hear  his wonderful music, but his music has encouraged millions of people to face their difficulties bravely. Isn't it one kind of happiness?

    I think the most terrible thing in life for my little brother is getting up in the morning. He is almost sick when my mother calls, "Herbert! It's seven o'clock! Get up!"

    Herbert answers, "I'm coming!" and goes right back to sleep. I'm not at all like my brother. I don't like to go to bed at night but I don't mind getting up in the morning.

    I usually wake up before my mother calls me. I jump out of bed and go into the bathroom to take a shower. I great dressed, brush my teeth, comb my hair, and get ready to go down stairs for breakfast as soon as my mother calls.

    But not Herbert. He just sleeps. A military band (军乐队) in our bedroom could not wake him up. I call him and say, "Get up!" Mum will be up here to pull you out of bed if you don't get up quickly.

    But he just sleeps. After calling a few more times my mother has to come upstairs and pull Herbert out of bed. It's that way every day with my little brother. Perhaps some day he'll learn to get up on time, but I really don't think so.

B

    Once upon a time, a man punished （惩罚）his 5-year-old daughter for using up the family' s expensive gold wrapping (包装 ) paper. Money was always not enough, and he became even more upset when on Christmas Eve, he saw that the child had pasted ( 贴) the gold paper to decorate a shoebox to put under the Christmas tree.

    The next morning the little girl, filled with excitement, brought the gift box to her father and said, "This is for you, Daddy!"

    As he opened the box, the father was sorry for his earlier behavior.

But after he opened it, he found it was empty and again he was angry. "Don't you know, young lady," he said, "when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside the package!"

    The little girl looked up at him with tears running from her eyes and said, "Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was all full."

    When the father heard this, he fell on his knees and put his arm around his dear little girl. He begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger.

    An accident took the life of the child only a short time later. It is told that the father kept that little gold box by his bed for all the year of his life. Whenever he was sad or faced difficult problems he would open the box, take out an imaginary kiss, and remember the love of this beautiful child who had put it there.

    In a very real sense, each of us as human beings have been given an invisible golden box filled with love and kisses from our children, family, friends and God. This is the most expensive possession (财产) anyone could hold.

    On March 10, 2019, eight-year-old Tani won the New York Chess Championship (纽约象棋冠军赛) of his age group. But the boy, who was homeless at the time, began learning the game less than a year ago.

    Tani and his family arrived in New York City from Africa in 2017. A church helped him enter the primary school, P. S, 116. Here the gifted boy was first introduced to chess by a part-time teacher Makofsky, owner of a chess club. Interested in the game, the seven-year-old asked his mother to allow him to join the club. Not able to afford the chess classes, she emailed Makofsky. To her surprise and joy, Makofsky agreed that Tani could learn it for free.

    Though the chess club helps, it's largely believed that Tani's success lies in his hard work. The boy practices the game for many hours a day on the floor with his board. Every Saturday, Tani goes to a free 3-hour class to improve his game skills.

    Not surprisingly, Tani's story, first reported by The New York Times, has brought him great support from the American public. Soon after the young boy won the New York Championship, Makofsky began a GoFundMe activity for Tani and his family so that he could continue his chess journey. It raised $ 200,000 in just ten days, far more than they expected. And the money keeps coming, But the family donates (捐赠) most of the money to the church and to those poor families.

    Tani has also received offers from three famous private schools in New York. However, the family have politely refused all of them and chosen to continue Tani's education at P. S. 116.

    The young boy's story also caught the eye of Bill Clinton, the 42nd US President. "Tani, you're an example of a winning spirit - in chess and in life. I'd love to meet you," he said on his Facebook.

    While excited about his new life, Tani is ready to meet great challenges (挑战). He is busy preparing for the 2019 National Primary Championships. Winning the competition will bring the chess player closer to his dream of becoming the world's youngest chess grandmaster (大师). The record has been kept for 17 years by the Russian chess player Karjakin, who won the title at the age of 12.

    Cindy comes from England. Her father works in a hospital and her mother teaches dance. When she was two, her parents bought her a small violin(小提琴). Cindy's sister Virginia was sixteen at that time. She played the piano. After Cindy heard Virginia play something, she played it on her violin. Her great talent surprised (使震惊)her family. From the age of four, she played at a lot of concert（音乐会）in England and America.

    Many teachers wanted to give Cindy lessons but when she was seven she met Mu Miller. She was sure(确信) from the beginning that he was the right teacher for her. Each year Cindy flies hundreds of kilometers to get to his classes.

    Cindy was only fourteen when she made her first CD, but she says she is just like other children. "I have lots of friends and I love music. I want to be a violinist (小提琴手), but I also make sure I have time for other things."