One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. “Cindy, my company wants to promote (升职) me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you've done well and allowing you to skip (跳) a grade, but you'll have to leave your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher?” She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was lost in thought. The question kept me wondering for the rest of the night. I had said “yes” but for the first time, I realized the difficult decisions adults had to make.

     For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I'd eagerly wait for the phone to ring and then tell her everything happened during the day. A phone call, however, could never take her place and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

During my fourth-grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large empty apartment,   ▲  It was then I started to understand the difficult choices she had to make. She needed to think about both family and work. Faced with difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn't know whether you make the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with a positive attitude.

     Back home, I reminded myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she managed to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be independent. I learn how to take care of myself and set high but achievable goals.

My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the experience has really taught me. I've learned a lot because of this separation. There are lots of difficult decisions that we have to face in our life. We need to have a positive attitude no matter what happens.

    Zhang Lin is a middle school student. He is a good boy. Uncle Wu lives next to him. Uncle Wu has no child and can't see anything. He works in the factory (工厂) near Zhang Lin's school. He goes to work at 7:30 in the morning and comes home at 4:30 in the afternoon. Zhang Lin walks to school at 8:00 in the morning and comes home at the same time as Uncle Wu in the afternoon. On weekdays Zhang Lin gets up early to take Uncle Wu to the factory. After school he takes him home. On Sundays Zhang Lin helps Uncle Wu clean the house and do some cooking. Uncle Wu thanks Zhang Lin very much. He says, “Zhang Lin is a good boy. He is like my son.”

    It's a Saturday afternoon. Mrs. Black goes to a dinner party. She is in an old jacket. When she comes into the party room, no one says hello to her. They don't ask her to have dinner. Mrs. Black is not happy.

    Then Mrs. Black goes home. She puts on her nice clothes. And she comes back to the party. All of people say hello to her and they ask her to have dinner. Is she happy now?

    Mrs. Black says, "You like my clothes, not me." Then she gets her clothes some food.

    "Eat, clothes," Mrs. Black says, "they like you, not me!"

    Then she doesn't have the dinner and goes back home.

    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."

Jane didn't have friends at school, but that was not a problem to her. She liked to do things all by {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(她自己), such as reading a book in the library or playing computer games at home. She never felt {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(孤独的;寂寞的).

One day, Jane's teacher, Ms Murphy, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(鼓励) Jane to make more friends at school. But Jane didn't agree with her and asked, "Why? I don't think I need to have a friend." Ms Murphy {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(解释;说明) the importance of friendship to Jane. "Friends are people who care about you," she said. "They are always willing to give you a hand when you are in 

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(问题;烦恼). Reading can make you happy. The Internet can give you any information you need. But only friends can make you feel {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(温暖的). They should be the most important wealth in your life."

Jane told Ms Murphy that she was not good at making friends with other people. She did not know {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(是否) others would like her or not. Ms Murphy gave her many good {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(建议). In the end she said, "Be kind, Jane. I think soon you will have your own {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(圈子) of friends." Thinking twice, Jane {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(点头) with a smile on her face. Ms Murphy was such a good teacher. She was the first person that Jane wanted to make friends with!

Hi, I'm Liang Xia. I'm a schoolgirl. I'm 13 years old. My {#blank#}1{#/blank#} is on Children's Day, 1st. June. I always have a party on that ' day. I live in Nanning, Guangxi with my parents. I am the only child in my {#blank#}2{#/blank#} go to school {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Monday to Friday. I have many {#blank#}4{#/blank#} at school, such as Chinese, maths and English. My {#blank#}5{#/blank#} subject is English. My teacher Mrs Lin {#blank#}6{#/blank#} me as the English monitor. I often help others learn English after school

At {#blank#}7{#/blank#}, I don't go to school. I stay at home. I do my homework and help my mother do {#blank#}8{#/blank#} at home.... I also read books and watch TV. Sometimes I play computer games. I never play for a long time because it's {#blank#}9{#/blank#} for my eyes. I enjoy {#blank#}10{#/blank#}. I want to be a great dancer in the future.