Bruno was a boy of eight. His father worked in a cinema and his mother worked in a shop. He lived not far from his school. He always walked there and walked home. On his way to school, he had to pass a playground. It was very wet after it rained. One day, when he got home, his clothes were all wet. His mother became angry and said, "Don't play in the water on your way home from school!"

    On the next day Bruno came home with wet and dirty clothes. His mother became even angrier. "I'll tell your father if you come back wet again," said his mother. "He'll punish(惩罚)you, you know."

    The third day the little boy was dry when he came home.

    "You're a good boy today", his mother said happily. "You didn't play in the water."

    "No," the boy said unhappily. "There were too many older boys in the water when I got there this afternoon. There wasn't any room(空地方)for me at all!"

    On the way back from work every evening, more often than not there would be a homeless man standing at the exit of the freeway(快车道). He looked to be in his late 40s but was probably a lot younger. He had shoulder length straight black hair and a short beard.

    Every day after work I would remember to gather any spare change, and put it aside to give to him if I saw him. A feeling of joy would come over me every time I saw him, while coming off the ramp(坡道). So did he. Sometimes the red light would be on for a minute and we would ask each other about our day. His answer would always be the same, "I'm blessed!"

    Then one day I was called into my boss's office and was told that I was being laid off. For the rest of that day all I could think of was "how am I going to provide for my kids as a mother, how am I going to pay rent?"

    Needless to say that on my way home that day I was very sad and upset. I didn't remember to look for my spare change and keep it ready like I usually did. Yet there he was as always, as I turned the ramp. He set his eyes on me, while still smiling and waving at others as usual.

    While I was waiting for the red light to turn, he strolled(闲逛) over to my car. He had a big smile. He looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "Today I will give you a dollar." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a dollar bill.

    You see that day he taught me a valuable lesson more than a dollar bill. No matter what material things are taken from you, no one can take away your choice to be joyful. Every time I'm faced with challenges, I think of the homeless man's valuable lesson and remember that I am blessed.

    Robert Fredy was general manager of a large hotel in Ashbury Park, New Jersey. One cold day two years ago when he stopped his car at a traffic light, Stephen Pearman; an out-of-work taxi and truck driver, walked up to Fredy's car hoping to earn some change by washing his windshield(档风玻璃) , Like many motorists who try to keep the beggars off. Fredy turned on the wipers to show he wasn't interested.

    Pearman put his head close to the window. "Come on, mister. Give me a chance. I need a job, "he said. Something in Stephen Pearman's voice moved Robert Fredy. In the seconds before traffic started moving again, Fredy handed Pearman a business card and told him to call if he was serious.

    "My friends told me he was just pulling my leg," said Pearman. But I said. No, he's a businessman. I need to give it a shot."

    Two days later, 29-year-old Pearman appeared in the manager's office of the big hotel. Fredy gave him a job and lent him packet money while training him.

    Today, Pearman works full-time setting up the hotel's dining halls for business meetings. In the past two years, he has found a flat, married and repaid Fredy's loans (货款).

    "Mr Fredy gave me a second chance." says Pearman. "And I took advantage of it. I could have just come here a while and left. But there is no future washing wind-shields."

    Fredy always keeps away from the street people, "But Pearman seemed so honest and open, asking for a chance rather than just money," Fredy says. "I don't hand my business card to just anybody. But I'm glad I did in this case."

Dick is a middle school student. He hasn't got a good life style. He always goes to school w{#blank#}1{#/blank#} breakfast or if he is hungry, he usually has some fast food. His mum asks him to eat h{#blank#}2{#/blank#} food, but he never listens to her. For his twelfth birthday, his father bought him a computer as a present. S{#blank#}3{#/blank#} then, he hasn't done much exercise. He spends much of his free time in front of the computer. "Dick, you shouldn't play computer games too much. It's h{#blank#}4{#/blank#} to your health," his father said to him. But Dick didn't pay attention to his father's words. One day, he had a h{#blank#}5{#/blank#} and his stomach a{#blank#}6{#/blank#} so much. He went to see the doctor. The doctor took his t{#blank#}7{#/blank#}, but he didn't have a f{#blank#}8{#/blank#}. When he told the doctor that he liked fast food and spent much time on computer games, the doctor knew his P{#blank#}9{#/blank#} and gave him some a{#blank#}10{#/blank#}: Stop eating fast food and spend more time outside.

Paul Lacy and his wife Dorothy Lacy are Americans. They are in their seventies. They have an embroidery workshop (刺绣工厂)in Hunan.

The first time Dorothy went to Fenghuang was on a trip in 1999, and she fell in love with the old town and the Miao culture. In the following year, Paul and Dorothy decided to do something. With the help of a Chinese friend, the Lacys had their embroidery workshop in Fenghuang four years later.

After Paul and Dorothy sold their things in America in 2006, the Lacys started to live in Fenghuang. At first, the Lacys had a hard time because of the language. When they went shopping, they had to show the sellers pictures of what they wanted. As time went by, they made friends with the Miao people living there.

Before they lived in Fenghuang, the two went to many places of China. For example, they traveled to cities, such as Beijing, Xi'an and Guiyang. "Among all those places, we like Fenghuang best because of its beautiful and quiet environment and the rich culture of the Miao people. What's more, Dorothy thinks that the clothes of the Miao people are really beautiful. But it is the kindness of the people here that attracts (吸引）us the most. So we decided to live here," Paul said.

Max and Holly sat beside each other in a classroom. Their teacher Miss Carr stood at the front of the classroom and looked at them with a strange stare. "Silence!" Miss Carr shouted. "You're only allowed to speak if you want to say "I'd like to do extra hard MATH", understand? "

Then the bell rang for lunchtime and everyone jumped to their feet. "Sit down!" shouted Miss Carr. Everyone did as they were told. Miss Carr held up some sheets of paper. "These are new school rules, written by our wonderful new headteacher, Mr. Roberts, " she said. "You must do exactly as they say from this moment on. I want everyone to take a copy for your parents."

"Look at this!" Max said, reading the first line. "Rule one: No pupil will be allowed to go out at playtime unless they have passed a daily spelling test." Max and Holly then continued to look at the other new school rules. 

"Rule two: We're not supposed to be in here at lunchtime."

"Rule three: Pupils must eat cabbage stew or sprout surprise for lunch."

"Rule four: All P. E. will now take place outdoors—no matter what the weather is."

…

"Something's wrong." said Holly, "Things have been strange ever since Mr. Roberts took over as our head teacher last week. We need to find out what's going on."

Then Max and Holly walked to the teachers' office and stepped inside, surprised to find that many teachers have been tied up in the room! From their words, Max and Holly knew that the teacher in the classroom just now was just a robot clone (克隆) and she was not real Miss Carr, even the new headmaster! Max and Holly then succeeded in freeing all the teachers trapped. 

"We'll deal with those rotten robots!" said one of the teachers, as they ran out of the room. 

"How can I ever thank you, Max?" asked the real Miss Carr. 

"How about no homework for the rest of the school year."

Finally, Max and Holly realized that the school rules made by their real headmaster were so nice.