I was 8 years old when I found out my father was ill. It was 1993, but I can remember my mother's words as if it were yesterday. “Jessica, I don't want you to take food from your father, because he has AIDS. Be very careful when you are around him.”

    AIDS wasn't something we talked about in my country when I was growing up. From then on, I knew that this would be a family secret. My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone. For a while, he could take care of himself. But when I was 11, his condition worsened. My father's other children lived far away, so it fell to me to look after him.

    We couldn't afford all the necessary medication for him, and because Dad was unable to work. I had no money for school supplies and often couldn't even buy food for dinner. I would sit in class feeling completely lost, the teacher's words muffled as I was thinking how I was going to manage.

    I didn't share my burden (负担) with anyone. I had seen how people reacted to AIDS. Kids laughed at classmates who had parents with the disease. And even adults could be cruel. When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside even though he was too weak to feed himself.

    I had known that he was going to die. But after so many years of keeping his condition a secret, I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days. Sad and hopeless, I called a woman at the nonprofit (非营利的) National AIDS Support. That day, she kept me on the phone for hours. I was so lucky to find someone who cared. She saved my life.

    I was 14 when my father died. He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me. He didn't want to call attention to AIDS. I do.

    A man and his little son spent their summer vacation walking through the mountains far from their city. One day, the little boy slipped (滑) 20-30 meters down the side of the mountain. Finally he was able to catch onto a tree branch (枝干) and hold on.

    “Help me!” he cried out.

    “Help me!” a voice shouted back.

    The boy was very surprised. “Who are you?” he shouted.

    “Who are you?” the voice shouted back.

    “You are a fool!” he said.

    “You are a fool!” the voice came back.

    At that moment, his father got to him. “Someone is talking to me but I can't see who he is,” the boy said to his father.

    “Son, that is called an echo (回音),” his father said. “But really, it's called life.”

    “You are a winner!” the father cried.

    “You are a winner!” the voice answered.

    “You are talented!” the father shouted.

    “You are talented!” it came back.

    “Son, that's how life is. Whatever you do, it always comes back to you,” the father said. “The question is: what are you sending out? Please start sending out: ‘I am strong, I am talented, and I am the best.' What you send out is going to come back to you.”

    If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. Life will give you back everything you have given to it.

C

    Today is Children's Day. There is a show in the zoo. Many children are in the zoo. Look at the animals. They are so cute. The birds are flying and singing in the sky. The tigers are running. The pandas are climbing trees. They are good climbers. The kangaroos are jumping. Look at the mother elephant and the baby elephant. The mother elephant is eating bananas and the baby elephant is drinking water with its trunk. Look，what are those? They are two lions. They are playing with a ball. And the monkeys are swinging.

    Esperanza lives in a poor Latino(拉丁美洲人) neighborhood in Chicago, .America. She dreams of having her own house one day. Her parents told her that when they moved from their last house, they would have a new' and shiny(亮闪闪的) house. But the house is small and old.

    Many people live in Mango Street in a big old house. Esperanza lives behind it with her family. A lot of the people who have come from Mexico don't speak English. Many miss their home country. Esperanza understands their sadness, but she also feels at home in America. She is an American, but her roots(根) will always be Latino,

    Esperanza is young. Like her friends, she has to grow up fast. She is stuck between being a girl and being a woman. In the poor and dangerous area where she lives, this is difficult for her. Mexican people usually live in a close neighborhood. This means that people live packed(挤塞的) in together. Everyone knows everyone else. So Esperanza knows other older girls that do things she is not comfortable doing. It is just a fact of her life.

    But Esperanza has good friends too. She becomes friends with two sisters named Lucy and Rachel. They ride bikes and have adventures together. Esperanza is also friends with a girl named Alicia. Alicia is afraid of the rats in her apartment. She shares her poems with Esperanza.

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

    How are you? I am fine. School is out already. On our last day, we went to a museum. It was fun until we all had to run through the rain to get on the bus. Even that was kind of fun, though.

    How was your camping trip? Dad says you're just getting back home this Wednesday. I've been taking good care of Sparky for you. The dog sleeps at the foot of my bed on most nights. He and the cat have even been getting along.

    Dad says to tell you that our yard is looking good this year. We've had lots of rain, especially last Friday— the last day of school

When are you coming to get Sparky? See you soon.

Love,

Kyle

Dear Kyle,

    Our camping trip was wonderful! We've already decided to come here again next year. From Ohio. We drove south to Kentucky. We enjoy looking at rocks, so we had decided to go to Mammoth Cave National Park. I'd never seen so many rocks!

    Each day, we chose a different cave. We saw narrow(狭窄的)places and huge ones. In one cave, we were underground for more than two miles.

    We'll come to get Sparky next weekend, if that's okay.

Love,

Grandma and Grandpa

    Donny, an 11-year-old boy, is playing with a ball. The ball goes into the street, and Donny runs for the ball. A car hit Donny.

    His parents take him to the hospital. The doctor tell Donny's parents, "Donny is in a coma. Maybe he will wake up tomorrow. Maybe he will wake up next week. Or maybe he will never wake up."

    Every day Donny's parents visit at the hospital. They sit next to Donny's bed and talk to him. But Donny never talks to them. He just sleeps.

    One day Donny's father says, "Wake up, Donny. Wake up and come home. Come home and play with Rusty." Rusty is Donny's dog.

    When Donny's father says "Rusty", Donny moves his arm.

    "Rusty!" Donny's father says again. Again Donny moves his arm.

    Donny's parents have an idea. They tell the nurse, "We want to bring Donny's dog to the hospital, is it OK?"

    "A dog in the hospital?" the nurse say, "That's very unusual. But, yes, it's OK."

    The next day, Donny's parents bring Rusty to the hospital. When they put the dog on Donny's bed, Donny opens his eyes and takes the dog in his arms.

    Donny's parents bring Rusty to the hospital every day. One day, Rusty jumps on Donny's bed and scratches Donny's arm. Donny says his first words, "Bad dog!"

    After seven weeks Donny is well. He leaves the hospital and goes home. Rusty goes home with him.