Abbie was a shy girl. She started her ninth grade in a new school. She soon found she didn't like the new school. This new school was much too cold and unfriendly! No one seemed to care if Abbie felt welcome or not.

    Her parents were very worried about her and they hew since they got divorced(离婚), she needed a friend very badly. They tried everything they could to help her fit in(适应), but it didn't work. She was always lonely and unhappy.

    Abbie once tried joining a music club, hoping to make friends. But her shyness held her back again. She was so upset mat she was thill king of running away from home.

    As she left her warm house, she decided to leave her mother a letter. She opened me mailbox after she finished writing the letter. To her surprise, she found a letter to her in the box. It was from Wesley:

    Dear Abbie,

    I'm sorry for not talking with you sooner. You know, my parents are in the middle of a divorce, so I am hoping you could help me get over it and give me some advice. I think we could become friends.

    Wesley

    Abbie read me letter over and over again. "Become friends," she smiled, realizing that someone cared about her life and wanted her as a friend.

    I'll never forget that day on which my brother took me to stay at the street. Everytime I thought about his face, my heart shook strongly.

    "Got it? Just a couple of seconds later I will come back." Saying this, his figure went disappearing in the earth. At the same time I saw people sleeping with fear, suddenly realizing that persons didn't belong to anyone. And as time went by, I could never forecast(预想) what would be going on where I stayed.

    I watched the way my brother went on, thinking of something that happened when I was a kid. You know, I was not that outgoing, for which I always refused to talk to anyone including my parents. It is so weird that relations looked down on me and my parents ever sent me to the psychologist(心理医生). They never understood what I was really sick for.

    But something totally changed on a blue moon night. It's him, my brother. He knew the softest in my deep heart, being the first one to care for me. He would stay with me when my sleep was spoiled by horrible dreams; when I was down after something unpleasant occurred; when huge happiness surrounded(环绕) me and was needed to be spoken out to a listener. He gave me all these, on which the others didn't focus. I was moved.

    He always stayed. And kept staying. I was mixed in it. Which ever drove me crazy. But now I have to accept the truth that he has already gone. Like an opening petunias, come with charming smells, and then go with heart breaking. I don't feel sad, or any sense of bitterness. It's just like a two-people party, now it's time to end.

    Had someone given me a chance, could I let him stay? I think it's fate, unstoppable. His eyes are too small, not being able to fill me in. He's right. I shouldn't force him and myself.

    Today I live well. My life goes the right way. I will still miss him, imaging his life in heaven. Then it reminds me of that day. Eight years ago, he felt dying, then held me tightly, passing the beats and temperature to me. That street is in Wenchuan, on May 12th in 2008.

(an extract from a detective story)

…

    "Sit down," Henderson said, sitting down in an armchair himself and looking at Logan. "What are you here for?"

    "I understand you had a parry last night" said Logan, a police officer.

"Yes," said Henderson, "Oh! I hope the neighbours haven't been complaining about the noise again. "

    "Not that I know of." said Logan. "But a young girl, Fran, who came to the patty hasn't been home yet"

    "Fran" said Henderson. "Yes, she was here. She left early, as I remember-about one o'clock. I happened to notice what the time was when she came to say goodbye. But nobody else left until about four in the morning."

    Henderson looked quite relaxed.

    "Did you know Clare?" asked Logan suddenly.

    "Oh, God!" Henderson sat forward. "You don't think ... the same thing has happened to Fran?"

    "We're keeping an open mind," said Logan, watching him carefully, "but we're giving it our full attention."

    "Well, yes. I can understand that." replied Henderson, getting comfortable in the armchair again.

    "So," repeated Logan, "did you know Clare?"

    "Well, sure. I knew who she was. But we never had anything do with each other." Said Henderson, giving Logan a big smile.

    "Who else was at your party?" asked Logan.

    "People from the university," said Henderson. "Students, teachers."

    "David?" asked Grant, Logan's partner.

    "Yes, David was here for a time." Henderson smiled again. "But he's not really a party animal. He probably left early."

    "What do you mean, probably?" asked Grant. Henderson looked at Grant. Grant was sixty with thick black hair and a large moustache. His clothes, as always, looked rather old: a blue jacket and grey trousers. He did not look much of a party animal either.

    "Well, I don't check when my guests arrive and leave," said Henderson. "And some people just leave when they want to go home. They don't come and say goodbye. Anyway, sometimes I can be difficult to find." Again he looked at Logan, raised his eyebrows and gave her a big smile. "I sometimes end up in the bedroom".

    …

    Once there was a boy. He loved sweets(糖果) very much. He always asked his father for sweets.

    The boy's father thought hard about how to stop the child asking for so many sweets. There was a saint(圣人) living near their house. The boy's father decided to take the boy to him. He thought he might make the child give up (放弃) sweets.

    So they went to the saint. The father said," Great man, could you ask my son to stop asking for sweets all the time?" But it was difficult for the saint, because he liked sweets, too. Then he told the father to bring his son back after one month.

    During that month, the saint tried to stop eating sweets. At last, he did it. When the boy and his father went back a month later, the saint had a long talk with the boy. From then on, the boy did not ask for sweets any more.

    The boy's father felt surprised and asked, "Why didn't you ask my son to give up sweets when we came to you a month ago?" The saint answered," How could I ask a boy to give up sweets when I loved sweets myself? During the last month, I gave up eating sweets."

    A person's example(例子) is much more stronger(更有力的) than just his words. When we ask someone to do something, we must do it ourselves, too.

    As usual, Betty was sitting alone during break. As she sat, she heard a quiet "meow" nearby and found a little cat with a band showing the name "Lucky".

    She picked up the cat and went to ask her teacher if she could help the cat find his home as a class project.

    "Are you willing to organize this project?" Mrs. Smith asked. She had tried for months to get Betty to speak up in class, but Betty had stayed quiet. Maybe this was her chance to shine!

    Betty thought for a moment and then said, "Okay, we need to put up signs around the neighborhood and call the local newspaper." Tony also suggested that they call the Animals' Home. Soon students were busy drawing posters. Two students were making phone calls. Mrs. Smith was surprised to find Betty was so confident and really showed an ability to lead.

    Betty, however, was not thinking about being a leader or being shy. Her mind was on finding this lost cat's home.

    The two students making phone calls came back and announced, "The Animals' Home said that a family reported a lost cat named Lucky! They said they'd call the family to come and get him!" The class cheered. Ten minutes later, a woman showed up and said with joy, "Thank you for returning Lucky! He was very 'lucky' to have been found by such a caring group of students!"

    The class celebrated their success. Mrs. Smith celebrated, too. Betty sat comfortably with her classmates for the first time, laughing and joking. Mrs. Smith believed it was indeed lucky that Betty had found the cat—lucky for both of them!