Grandmother's Favourite Doll (玩具娃娃)

 A little girl had a doll. She loved it so much that she would treat it with great care, even though her friends would laugh at her for being so careful.

 As time passed, the girl grew up, moved houses, became an adult, married, had children, and finally became a lovely little old woman with many grandchildren.

 One day, she returned to her hometown, found her original house, and went in. Among hundreds of old things, the now-old little girl found her doll. It was as well looked after as before. She took it home with her and gave it to her granddaughter. Her granddaughter loved it.

 Each time the old woman saw her granddaughter playing with the doll, tears (眼泪) of joy would roll down her cheeks (脸颊). She was so glad to see now it was in the hands of her granddaughter.

    My husband had just bought a new washing machine for me. I decided to use it and I washed a lot of things.

    Everything worked well, I got ready for school as usual.

    When the bell rang and the students came in, I greeted them and told them what we were going to do that day.

    When I turned around to write on the blackboard, the class broke out into a roar(大笑声).

    They laughed and laughed. They laughed so much, in fact, that I was afraid the headmaster would be in to see all this.

    I asked the class to stop, but the more I talked, the more they laughed. I decided to pay no attention to them, and continued to write on the blackboard. When I did this, they roared even more.

    Finally, the teacher who had the room next to mine came in to see what all the laughter was about. When he came in, he started laughing, too! "Good heavens," I said," Will someone please tell me what is so funny?" "Oh, God," said the teacher." You have a brown sock stuck to the back of your shirt!"

    So that's how I found my husband's missing sock.

   "Oh, well," I said to the class." Let's just say you have had an unforgettable lesson on static electric(静电)."

    The mystery(悬疑) stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are famous all over the world.

    The detective in his stories is called Sherlock Holmes. He solves mysteries in a most surprising way. Through it all, his assistant, Dr Watson, watches with admiration(钦佩). Watson then writes up the story of the mystery afterwards.

    This is a useful story writing skill. Because Watson is not very clever, the story remains a mystery until the end. The readers can sometimes pick up some clues before he does! Then, to make Watson understand the mystery, Holmes has to explain it all, step by step. So we, the readers, get to see it step by step too. Watson is almost as good a character in the story as Sherlock Holmes!

    The very first time they meet, Holmes greatly surprises Watson. When they are first introduced, Holmes says to Watson, "How do you do? I see you have been to Afghanistan.”

    Watson is too amazed by this to ask Holmes how he knows this. Watson has, indeed, been to Afghanistan. Later, he asks Holmes about it. Holmes explains that there is nothing magical about what he does. He gets to know it all by very, very careful observation (观察).

Observation One

    Watson was introduced to Holmes as a doctor. Yet Holmes thought that the way he stood and walked made him seem like a soldier. So, this meant he was probably an army doctor.

Observation Two

    Watson's face was quite dark skinned. But his wrists(手腕) were pale. So his dark face was probably sunburnt. This meant that he had been to a hot, sunny country. As he was a working doctor, this was not a holiday. He must have gone with the army.

Observation Three

    At the time, the British army had soldiers at bases in many parts of the world. So there were still a lot of places to choose from. However, Holmes saw that Watson looked very tired and he was always holding his left arm, as if it was painful. So, he had probably been with the army to a place where they were fighting. There was only one place where the British army was fighting at that time: Afghanistan.

    Tom and Mike are good friends. They are good to kids. They want to find summer jobs. One day Tom tells Mike that Beidaihe Kids Summer Camp needs help with sports, music and computers. They are both very glad to hear this.

    Tom can play basketball and volleyball, and he can swim, too. Mike can play the violin, the drums and the guitar, and he also likes soccer. Tom and Mike like computers very much. Can they join the Summer Camp?

He is always in my heart. I couldn't believe I lost him. As I think of my father, tears fill my eyes and stream down my face. 

My dad always wanted to go to Canada, so he wrote a letter to one of my uncles in Canada for help. My uncle successfully got a visit visa(签证)for my dad. So he flew to Canada, looking for a better life for his kids. That year, I was six. 

After a few months, dad wrote us a letter saying he was fine and happy. That letter, and its many fellows(伙伴)down the years, all with the same words, kept coming to our doors for 11 years. Yet, even as he lived here in Canada, his health was failing him―but fearing we would worry he never let on about his ill health. He spent these years in Canada working hard; finally after 11 years when he got his landed immigrant(永久居民)paper, he wrote us saying all of us could move to Canada. 

We were all happy that we would finally be together. It was to be a huge family reunion(重聚). Sadly my father did not live to see his family reunion as he suffered a serious heart attack. 

Yes, Canada is a wonderful country. So many times I can't help thinking it was here that my dad was taken away from us. When I miss him, I want someone to hold me and give me a hug. And when I see how everyone gives his father gifts on Father's Day, wishing them a long, happy life, I want to do the same. But to whom can I give my Father's Day gift and card? Where can I get the same warm loving hug again?