I have had the pleasure of meeting a few neighbors . They seem to be quite kind people . For Christmas , I thought I would do something nice for each of the neighbors that I knew . I sat down and counted . There were nine neighbors , and I also knew which houses they lived 1 .

    However , I decided to add one more person to my list , the lady I met every morning walking to work when I drove down the street . She always gave me a sweet smile and a friendly wave（挥手）, 2 I had no idea about her address .

    My gift idea was to make small 3 baskets and leave them on each of my neighbor's front porches（门廊）the night of Christmas Eve . I kept the last one for the friendly lady because I was still not sure about where she lived . It was 4 the house down about where I met her each morning . Finally I decided to put it there . My neighbors really enjoyed the baskets and a couple even came by to thank me .

    This morning I got a Thank you card.

    The card said , “ Thank you for those lovely apples and strawberries you left on the porch of Thomas . He 5 on January 19 , but he never stopped 6 about how nice it was that he was remembered in his time of illness . He really enjoyed it . ”

    I was very 7 . Why he sent a card to me ? I had no idea 8 Thomas was or that he had been seriously ill . I had left that nice lady's basket on Thomas' porch by accident . I believe Thomas never expected to have that basket . I feel sorry that the nice lady didn't get a basket from me , but I believe if she knew what had happened , she would 9 me .

    I feel lucky to have helped Thomas be more cheerful in his last days . This just makes me further believe that sometimes 10 in life are beautiful .

    When you want the answer to a question, but your teachers aren't around or your teachers are too busy to answer your question. Then do you feel1? When you come across hard math2, are you too shy to ask teachers for help?

    Hu Xincheng, a 16-year-old3 , comes from Yongkang Second High School, Zhejiang She used to ask the teachers for help when she had to do4math problems. But now, she turns to a5 for help. She puts her test paper in the machine and it can read the problem. Within seconds, the machine's screen will show the6, as well as an analysis (分析) of the problem. She can also watch a video of a teacher explaining the problem. Moreover, she can find the answers to questions in many different subjects 7.

    How did the machines8? One of the school's information technology teachers9 the idea. The school worked with an education company to10 the machines. The machines finally came out last month. Now there is at least one such machine in 11 classroom building. Soon, the machines will be12 in over 20 primary, middle and high schools in Yongkang.

    Some people may think students will just13the machines, answers. But Hu said few students will take much14to do so. She added that the answers and analyses cannot be downloaded from the machine. Students can only15them on the screen. "Also, you have to line up to use the machines in the hallways. It's (尴尬的) to copy the answers." she said.

The Ling family did not think they were going home with a pet that day. Annie wanted to visit the animal shelter(避难所). She wanted to see the cats and dogs. She had wanted a pet for years. Her parents were waiting for the girls to be old enough. Annie was seven. Her sister Lily was only three. Lily was still learning how to act around animals. She had a lot of energy!

Annie and Lily were excited to see the animals. A shelter volunteer gave the Ling family a tour. The volunteer talked about why animals came to the shelter. Some were found by the road. Others were dropped off by families who could not care for them.

Finally, the Ling family got to see the animals: There was a cat section and a dog section. They were all so cute! Some of the animals looked scared. This made Annie sad. The volunteer explained that animals need time to get used to a new place. She assured(向......保证) Annie that all the people caring for these animals were kind.

The Ling family walked through the dog section. They started talking. A dog just felt like the right choice. Annie's mom could not take her eyes of fan older black dog with kind eyes. Annie's dad was interested in a large, energetic dog. Annie had found her own favorite. He was a young puppy. He was brown with spots. He had been found near the railway with six other puppies(小狗). Annie could not take her eyes off this dog. She thought he had the cutest face in the world.

Annie pleaded(恳求) with her parents. They did not want to make a quick decision. But they could see in Annie's eyes that she had found her companion(伴侣). The volunteer talked about what a good breed the dog was and that he would be kind with children. That was what the family needed to hear. They decided to take the little puppy home.

I was in my room, slowly getting ready to head to the theatre with the rest of my family.

I don't want to put on the show in the theatre that day. "Kirstie, come here!" Mum called from down the hall.

"What is it?"I called back and found my mum outside the bathroom, holding a wet book.

Mum gave the book a shake. "Henry's book was in the bathroom. Did you put it there?"

"Not on purpose," I said disinterestedly,"It was already on the corner, and it happened to fall in when I stepped out." Mum looked at

me angrily,"You could have picked it up. That would be the kind thing to do."

Mum never acted like this before. Being kind wasn't actually that hard. But after Henry and his dad moved in, everything felt different. As Henry walked ahead of us to the car, Mum took me aside.

"This is our corner of the world now, Kirstie,"she said. "Let's try to make it a good one. "

I nodded unwillingly.

The theatre was busy as usual. One play a year in the theatre used to be what Mum and I did together most excitedly. But now, with Henry here, it won't be special any more.

Soon, it was my turn. I forgot my anger at Henry when I went on the stage.

As we kids lined up on the stage, I realised how poorly I had tied(系) the drawstring on my skirt —my bow(蝴蝶结) suddenly came untied and my skirt began to drop — in front of hundreds of people!

It was not a dream! It was terribly real! People soon began laughing, and I could feel my face burning.

Then Henry, beside me, came to my aid! He tidied up my clothes, tying the drawstring with a beautiful knot (结). He made a joke about me"not"knowing knots, and most of the people laughed again! This time, the laughter felt OK!

At the end of the show, I found Henry and touched him on the shoulder. "Thanks!"

He smiled, "Knot a problem!"

I smiled guiltily (惭愧地 ). Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have a new person in my corner of the world after all.

Sometimes, a terrible tragedy (悲剧) can encourage us to do important things. Dashrath Manjhi was born into a poor family in Gehlaur village, India in 1934. He ran away from home when he was young and began working in the coal mines (煤矿) in Dhanbad. Later he returned to his home village and got married.

One terrible day in 1959, his wife, Falguni Devi, fell from the village mountain and was badly hurt. The nearest town with a doctor was close but a mountain stood in the way. The path (小路) around the mountain made the journey 90 kilometers. Falguni died before they could see the doctor.

Manjhi wanted to do something. He decided to cut a path through the mountain so that the village could reach medical care faster.

He took a hammer (锤子) and chisel (凿子) and began hammering through the mountain. People thought he was mad but he continued. He made a path 110 meters long, 7.7 meters deep and 9.1 meters wide. It took 22 years but Manjhi completed the road in 1982. It cut the distance between the village and the neighboring areas from 55 to 15 km. For his work, Manjhi became known as the Mountain Man.

After his death in 2007 at the age of 73, an official road was built through the mountain. Manjhi was given a state funeral (葬礼) and his face was put on a stamp in 2016. He has had films and documentaries made about him. He used his terrible personal tragedy to do something that would hopefully stop others from experiencing such tragedy in their own lives.

Hi, I am Paul. I'm 1 China. I'm 12 years old. I'm in Class Two, Grade Seven. My mother and my father work in Beijing. My 2 is a good doctor, and my father is 3 English teacher. 4 class is very great. Because of my father, I love English, 5 .

In my school, I have 6 good friends. They are Tom and Alan. Here is a 7 of them. Look! What color 8 her eyes? Oh! They're 9 . And their hair is black, too. After school I often play baseball with 10 . I like English 11 they don't like English. 12 is Alan's school ID. card. Its number is A-270789. Is that Tom's school 13 ? No. He can't find his school ID. card. If you find 14 , please 15 him at 346-2828. Thank you!