Mary is an American girl. She is now in Beijing with her parents. She doesn‘t know Chinese, but she is trying to study and speak it .She often tries to speak Chinese to her Chinese friends. Sometimes they don't understand (理解 )her, because she can't speak Chinese well.

    It's Saturday morning. Mary goes out. She is on her way to the park. She is going there to see a flower show But she doesn't know how to get there. She asks a Chinese boy. The boy can't understand her. Then she takes out a pen and some paper. She draws some flowers on it, gives the picture to the boy and says something about it. The boy smiles and then shows ( 指 ) Mary the way to the park.

A Father and a Son

    Passing through the Atlanta airport one morning, I caught one of those shuttles that take travelers from the main terminals (航站楼) to their boarding gates. Not many people consider them fun, but on this Saturday I heard laughter. At the front of the first shuttle were a man and his son.

    We had just stopped to let off passengers, and the doors were closing again. “Here we go! Hold on to me tight!” the father said. The boy, about five years old, made sounds of happiness.

    “Look out there!” the father said to his son. “See that pilot? I bet he's walking to his plane.” The son turned his neck to look forward.

    As I was early for my flight, I decided to go back to the terminal. Where I went back again, I saw that the man and his son had returned too. I realized then that they hadn't been heading for a flight, but had just been riding the shuttle.

    “I want to ride some more!”

    “More?” the father said, mock-angry but clearly pleased. “ You are not tired?”

    “This is fun!” his son said.

    “All right.” the father replied, when a door opened, we all got on.

    There are parents who can afford to send their children to Europe or Disneyland, and there are parents who live in million-dollar houses and give their children cars and swimming pools, yet something goes wrong.

    “Where are all those people going, Daddy?” the son asked.

    “All over the world,” came the reply.

    The other people in the airport were leaving for far destinations (终点) or arriving at the ends of their journeys. The father and son, though, were just riding this shuttle together, making it exciting, enjoying being together.

    So many troubles in this country. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son and who had come up with this plan on a Saturday morning.

    The answer is so simple: parents who care enough to spend time, and to pay attention and to try their best. It doesn't cost a cent, yet it is the most valuable thing in the world.

    The shuttle picked up speed, and the father pointed something out, and the boy laughed again.

    Once upon a time, there was a family with 18 children living in a village. Two of the children, both boys, loved painting very much, but the family was so poor that it was impossible to send both of them to study at art school at the same time.

    After many discussions, the two boys finally worked out a plan. They would toss(抛) a coin. The loser would go down into the mines(煤矿) and, with his money, pay for his brother's college tuition(学费).Then, when the brother who won the toss finished his studies, he would pay Tor the other brother to study at the college.

    One of the brothers, Albrecht Durer, won the toss and his brother Jack went down into the mines. Durer worked with all his heart and his paintings were much better than those of most of his teachers. He was beginning to make a lot of money for his paintings.

    Durer returned. When he told Jack he could go to art college, Jack said softly: "The four years in the mines have done too much to my hands. It is too late. Now I can't even hold a glass."

    To show his great love and respect for his brother, Durer drew his brother's hands with palms(手掌)together and thin fingers towards the sky. He called his drawing The Praying Hands, which became very famous years later.

    The next time you see a copy of that touching work, take a second look. Let it be your reminder: No one can ever succeed alone!

    One day a dog saw a lion running to him, The dog quickly stood near some bones(骨头)on the ground. Then the dog began to "eat" the bones with his back to the lion. Just as the lion was about to jump, the dog said, "That was one delicious lion! I want to know if there are any more around here."

    Hearing this, the young lion felt scared and ran away.

    A squirrel(松鼠) saw this. He told the lion about the dog's trick(恶作剧). The young lion was angry. "Jump on my back and see what's going to happen to that dog!" the young lion shouted.

    The dog saw the lion coming with the squirrel. But he didn't run, he pretended he didn't see them. When they got close, the dog said, "Where's my squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another lion.