There would be a school party on Friday evening. The girls were talking about what they were going to wear.

    “I'm going to wear a black dress, so everybody will notice me,” said Emily. “How about you, Linda?”

    “I'm not sure. Maybe jeans (牛仔裤), an old shirt, and a hat. People will notice me more than you!” Linda said.

    “But what are the boys going to do at the party?” asked Jane. “Do you remember the last school party, last year? They just stood there, and we girls had to dance by ourselves!”

    “I hear that some of the boys learned how to dance this summer. Maybe it'll be better this time,” said Mary.

    The party was held on Friday evening. Groups of students arrived. The music began. The girls stood in a line on one side, and the boys on the other side. Mr. Green, their teacher, tried to get them together, but failed. After a while, Tim said, “I don't want to stand here the whole time. The party is only for two hours. It'll be over soon.” He started to dance. All the others watched him. Then David asked Emily if she wanted to dance. Then Jack and Linda. Then, all began to dance. Soon there were more dancers than watchers.

    My grandfather Jack is 96 years old, and he has had an interesting life. He has traveled a lot in his life in the Far East He visited the Taj Mahal in India and the Pyramids in Egypt. He hunted (狩猎）lions in Africa, and rode a camel in the Sahara Desert. He says the most beautiful place he has travelled to is Kathmandu in Nepal.

    Jack has married twice. His first wife died when she was 32. He met his second wife Maria while he was cycling round France. They have been married for 50 years, and they have lived happily in a small village since they got married.

    Jack says that he has never been ill in his life. The secret of good health, according to my grandfather, is exercise. He goes swimming every morning. He has done this since he was a boy. He also has a glass of wine every night Perhaps that is his secret!

Somebody Loves You

    One cold rainy night, I was working on my Legos in my bedroom. I was dreaming of the day when I have earned enough money to buy my favourite set. To help me, my father rewarded me one dollar a day after I jogged with him in the morning.

    Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I jumped from my chair and raced to the top of the steps, wondering who would visit us on such a rainy night. My mother opened the door. Surprisingly, she found a very untidy man. Overcome by pity, my mother invited him inside to the living room.

    I went downstairs quietly so I could get a better look. I couldn't hear clearly what they were saying, but I saw the man holding his head in his hands and crying, which made my chest ache.

    I raced back to my room, grabbed the one-dollar coin I had got that morning, ran back to the man, put the coin in his hand and gave him a hug. At that moment, I had no idea why I did so. Feeling embarrassed, I stood still.

In a while, the stranger sat quietly with his head bowed. Tears streamed down his face as he tightly held that coin. Finally, he said, ―I just thought nobody cared about me. For the last twenty years, I have been so alone… I have no family. That was the first hug I have gotten in — hmmm… I don't know how long. It's hard to believe that somebody cares.

    Being a kid, I hadn't thought about what I was doing that night. I just had the reaction to the sight of someone else's pain. On our earlier morning jogs, my dad and I had talked about the importance of giving, but I hadn't had any idea of what it really meant.

    Before the man left that night, my parents asked him why he had knocked on our door. He said that as he was walking along the streets, hopeless and ready to die, he had noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of our house. The bumper (保险杠) sticker on the car read: SOMEBODY LOVES YOU.

    "I can't believe this is happening. " I thought as I saw Jane walk into the restaurant. She hadn't changed at all. She was still tall and beautiful, with wavy blonde hair and bright green eyes. I smiled and thought of how my life had changed since we had last met.

    It all started when I noticed her at a party in a friend's house. I followed her to the dining room and started talking to her about the food. "You seem very interested in food, " she laughed. "Well. I'm a great cook, "I told her. It was a lie, but I had to find an excuse to see her again. "Why don't I cook you dinner sometime? "

    Two days later, Jane came to my house. However, the dinner party was very embarrassing(尴尬的). I ordered food from a nearby restaurant, but I told her that I had cooked it. After dinner, she offered to wash up and found the delivery boxes in the kitchen. She laughed at me and I felt awful. Angry with myself, I decided then and there to learn how to cook.

    I never saw Jane after our terrible dinner date. I started a cookery course and found that I was good at it after all. I went on to train to be a great cook. I worked hard and saved up until I was able to open my own restaurant.

    Now. she had walked into my restaurant. Feeling very happy, I pretended I was a waiter and walked to her table. "Ready to order, madam? "I asked.

My name is Helen. I come from England. I have a friend called Matilda. She is a tall girl with blue eyes and brown hair. She is outgoing and nice. She loves sports. She is good at playing basketball and tennis. 

Matilda and I studied together in middle school. We went to school every day because we lived next to each other. We usually went to school by bike. Both of us had a good time. 

Every Saturday, I usually had a great time with Matilda. In the morning, we went to the National Library near the bank. At noon, we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant. In the afternoon, we went to a park to play basketball. Although we felt tired, we were excited. At 5:00 p.m. , we came back home by bus. Then we had dinner at home. 

Three years ago, Matilda moved to the USA because of her father's job. But now we usually write letters to each other every week. In a letter, Matilda invites me to go to the USA by plane this summer holiday. I'd love to see her again, so I agree! I can't wait to meet Matilda in the USA this summer!