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    Linda was Tara's best friend before, but now things are different. Tara is a member of Purple Girls Club and they have some rules about who they can be friends with. Linda isn't very pretty and doesn't wear cool clothes. So she can't be in their club. Now Tara is making a name list for her party, and she decides not to invite Linda.

    “Tara, come here.” her mother calls from the living room. Tara goes to her mother and sees the school report card in her hands.

    “Tara, what's the matter with you? You have failed(不及格)math and English and you did badly in all of your other subjects. You were such a good student before!”

    Tara sees the disappointment in her mom's eyes. She feels terrible. The activities of Purple Girls Club leave her very little time for studies. The girls get together almost daily for movies, shopping and surfing the Internet. She calls every friend in the club and asks them to help her. But they all refuse(拒绝）and say, “Who cares about studies now?” This makes Tara even sadder.

    Later, Tam's mom takes her to Linda's house across the street. Tara says sorry and Linda is glad to have her friend back. She happily helps Tara with her studies.

    Tara now has a new rule for friendship and it is that a friend that lends a helping hand is a true friend.

    Who is the greatest teacher in Chinese history？Many people would think of Confucius, whose birthday was September 28. Although he lived over 2000years ago, people still remember and respect him for his contribution to the education today.
    Confucius lived in the Kingdom of Lu, which lies in today's Shandong Province. He lived during the Spring and Autumn Period. He had a hard childhood. His father died when he was only 3years old. His mother brought him up. As a child, he had to work to help his mother, but young Confucius didn't give up studying. He visited many famous teachers and leaned music, history, poetry and sports.
    Later, he became a teacher and started the first public school in Chinese history. At that time only children from noble families could go to school, but Confucius believed everyone should go to school if they wanted to learn. He had about 3000students in his lifetime.
    Today, people still follow Confucius'lessons. He told us that we have something worthy to be learned. "When I am with three people, one of them must be better than me in some areas. I choose their good qualities and follow them. "
    He also taught us that thinking is very important in study. "All study but no thinking makes people puzzled. All thinking but no study makes people lazy. "
    Confucius is not only a great teacher, but also a famous thinker with wise thoughts about the world and society. His most important ideas are about kindness and good manners. He said young people should take care of the old. People should give up only thinking of themselves and work for others. Some of his popular words are："A kind person should care for others"and"A person should be strict with himself, but be kind to other. "People uses his ideas to help themselves and society. At present, more than 100Internet websites are telling people about him, and his ideas have gone far into east and south Asia.

    A lamb (小羊)was on her way home Suddenly a wolf (狼)came up and stopped her. The lamb said, "I know you are going to eat me.  But before you eat me, I would like to hear you play the flute(笛子). You can play the flute better than anyone else, even the shepherd(牧羊人)himself. "

    The wolf was so happy. And he took out(拿出)his flute and began to play.

    The wolf finished one piece. Then the lamb said some good words and asked him to play another(另一个)piece again.

    The shepherd and the dogs heard the sound. Then they ran to the lamb and the wolf. They caught the wolf and saved the lamb.

The Angel of the North

    The Angel of the North is a modern sculpture (雕塑) in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, designed by Antony Gormley. Completed in 1998, it is a steel sculpture of an angel, 20 metres tall, with wings measuring 54 metres across. The angel, like much of Gormley's other work, is based on the shape of his own body.

    According to the artist himself, the Angel of the North symbolises (象征着) the change from the industrial to the information age and stands proudly as a beacon (灯塔) of hope for the future of the region.

    It cost £800, 000 to make, with the money coming from the British government. It took four years to make the sculpture. It was made in three parts, the body, which weighed 100 tons, and two wings, which weighed 50 tons each. Angels are usually thought of being white, as they represent light, but Gormley's Angel of the North is a reddish brown colour. This is because the steel has a special paint to protect it from strong wind.

    The parts of the angel were moved from Hartlepool to Gateshead at night in big trucks. It took 5 hours to move everything, even though the journey is very short. The Angel of the North was put on the hill in Birtley on the 15th of February, 1998.

    The sculpture was made in memory of the coal miners who worked hard in the dark earth below the hill to bring wealth to the North East in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is a sign for Gateshead.

    The sculpture has since become one of the most famous landmarks in England as can be seen in television and film. It is the largest sculpture in Britain. Over 150,000 people come to Gateshead to see the sculpture every year.