My mom isn't fancy like other moms.They wear fancy clothes and drive fancy cars. My mom wears her gardening clothes when she walks me to school.　

When fancy moms laugh，their laughs sound soft and whispery. You can hear my mom's laugh from down the hall. I show her how to laugh quietly and she practices. But before long she starts laughing even harder than before.

 At the talent show，my mom cheers loudly，“Bravo，everyone！Bravo！”instead of clapping politely the way fancy moms do.

For our class hike（徒步旅行），parents are invited. At breakfast I go over my rules for Mom，“Please don't whistle. Don't laugh loudly. No clapping. And stay in line.”

 The other moms show up wearing fancy jackets and sneakers. My mom wears cutoffs，a floppy straw hat，and her old hiking boots.

We hike along，all in a line. Soon Mom starts to whistle her hiking songs，She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain.I shake my head at her. She stops and whispers，“Oops. Sorry，Jane.”

 We keep hiking. Everything is perfect until…

 Our teacher，Ms. Steele，stops and points，“A snake！”All the moms hold their kids hands and back up，except my mom.“Watch out！It might be poisonous（有毒的）！”Ms. Steele says.

 The other moms shuttle back some more. However，my mom steps forward and says，“Hmm. Let's see what kind it is. Nope，it's not poisonous.”

 I shut my eyes.I know what's coming next. Mom makes a sudden attack.“Got it！”she says. The other moms scream，not sounding fancy at all.

Kids gather around as Mom examines the snake.“It's OK to touch，”she says.

 Everyone's too scared，but I go first.“snakes aren't slimy，”I tell them. Right away，others line up. A couple of the fancy moms come up to touch the snake's tail.

 Later，Ms. Steele tells us to draw our favorite part of the hike. After a while，I look around quickly. Everyone's picture is of Mom and me with the snake.

 As we hike back to the bus，I squeeze Mom's hand.“I'm glad I didn't tell you my don't-catch-snakes rule.”She smiles. But soon，she's whistling her hiking songs again！

 I start to make her silent，then stop. Instead，I take a deep breath and sing out too. Everyone joins in，even the fancy moms.

    Mike is a factory worker. He is often very tired after a day's work. His wife, Jenny, has no job, so she stays at home to cook the meals. Every day he can have his dinner when he gets home from his factory.

    One day, Mike came home very late because he was very busy in the factory. He was very hungry when he got home.

    He was not happy when he found his dinner was not ready. He was very angry with his wife. He shouted at her, "I'm going out to eat in a restaurant." "Wait for five minutes," said his wife. "Why? Do you think that dinner will be ready in five minutes?" asked Mike.

    "Of course not," she answered. "But I can be ready to go with you in five minutes." 

    Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous scientists in this century. He was born in 1942. He's a world well-known on space and time. Stephen is researching some very big questions, such as: How did the universe begin? How will it end?

Stephen was a student at Oxford University. He studied math and science. Then, at the age of twenty, he became sick. He was so young, but the doctors said to his family, “He has only two more years to live.” As a matter of fact, the doctors were wrong—- he didn't die. He can't walk now but he uses a wheelchair(轮椅). He can't feed himself and get in or out of bed himself. But he refused to give in to the condition. He talks with the help of a computer. After Oxford, Stephen went to Cambridge University. Three years later, in 1965, he became a doctor of philosophy(哲学).

    Because of his serious health problems, it was difficult for him to draw diagrams(图表)or to write. So he started to think in pictures. With this new way of thinking, he became one of the most famous scientists in the world. In 1991, he met the Pope(教皇) in Rome. They talked about his ideas. Then in 1998, he wrote his first important book, A Brief History of Time. It sold more than 5.5 million copies in 33 different languages. He was once invited to China, he impressed us with his self-confidence, humorous and witty(风趣的) conversation.

   Some people in the world are still living with hunger. As many as 815 million people in the world didn't have enough food in 2016.

   Heifer international wants to end world hunger. It began in 1930 when an American farmer went to Spain to help people in need. These people often went hungry in the war. That framer, Dan West, tried to use milk to feed these hungry people. And there was a continuous(持续的)need to feed people. This got him to think that what they needed was not a cup, but a cow.

   In 1939, West went back to Indiana and decided to find ways to stop hunger. He thought about giving animals to the hungry people as a gift. Then they can feed and sell the animals for money. Only then could there be an end to hunger.

   On Heifer international's website (https://www.heifer.org), you will see a lot of animals you can buy to help those in need. But not just cows, goats, and pigs are for sale. You can also buy fish, or even honeybees! More importantly, you are not just buying an animal for one person. You are buying what can help at least 1000 families. Each gift could make a continuous change.

   But Heifer International's work doesn't end there. They will work with communities(社区) until they don't need outside help. If everyone works together(一起), maybe hunger really can end.

    Last year, I went to Beijing Qizhi Special Education School for community service（社区服务）.Before we took the bus, my friend asked me a question, "Why are you here?" I did not know how to answer the question.

    The school was not far from my school, but it looked like it was in a different world. A group of children were waiting for us. A boy walked toward me. He held my hands and pulled me to the ground. I kissed the earth and tasted nature.

    I could not understand what he was doing at first, then I was very angry. Though I was very angry, I controlled my anger.

    A teacher stopped this awkward（尴尬的）silence when she shouted at the boy. "What are you doing right here, right now?" she said. "You will never see your mom again if you keep doing this. Now, say sorry!" "Sorry," he cried fearfully and nervously. I said nothing, but I realized something about this child. After lunch I asked the teacher for information about the child's parents.

    She said that the child was very different from other students because of an illness. His family could not afford to treat him. He needed the kindness of his family, but they had abandoned him. So he depended on the support from the teachers and community service workers like us.

    I suddenly realized I could answer the question my friend asked me at the beginning of the day.

    Community service workers help others and make everyone feel better. There are so many people in the world that need help. Playing with lonely children may not make a big difference. But it can light a corner in the children's hearts, making them know they are loved by people.

    Like many high school graduates, Maggie Doyne didn't go straight to college. She decided to travel and arrived in western Nepal in 2006. A war had just ended there and left many children living on the streets. They were often forced to work at hard physical jobs for little money.

One day, while walking down a country road, Doyne saw a little girl breaking up rocks. She soon learned that 7-year-old Hima sold the rocks to support her family. With deep sadness, she decided to pay Hima's tuition(学费) for school. Encouraged by the changes in the child, Doyne thought, "If we can help one child, why not 10？"

    Doyne felt that the street children's greatest need was a home. She found a piece of land for sale and bought it with $5,000 she saved from years of babysitting (当临时保姆). In 2008 the Kopila Valley Children's Home was set up. With the help from the community, another goal was reached in 2010—the Kopila Valley School. Over 350 children now attend the school and over 50 live in the home.

    Today, Doyne lives in the home and is "mum" to the kids.