A young man went to a car shop. He was wearing rubber boots(橡胶靴子) and a dirty jacket. He needed a haircut(理发) very much. The young man looked at an expensive car carefully and then asked the shop owner(店主), “How much is this car?” “Nine thousand two hundred and eighteen,” the owner answered. “I want sixteen of them,” the young man said. The shop owner smiled coldly. He showed the door to the young man.

    In another shop on the other side of the street the business was done(生意做成了). The young man took money out of his pocket and paid for the cars. He said the cars were for himself and his friends were. Each of them wanted to get one. He said that he and his friends were working on a fishing-boat. “We have got much money this season,” the young man said, “and we want to buy cars. ”

    It was a Christmas night. I was an unlucky nurse who had to work on such a beautiful festival. When I was complaining(抱怨)about it, three people appeared at my desk — a tired woman and two children.

     "Are you all sick?" I asked doubtfully because they seemed all right.

    "Yes," the woman answered weakly and lowered her head.

    But when they started to present their problems, things became unclear. One child had a fever, but his temperature was OK. The other child had an earache, but she could not tell me which ear hurt. It seemed that the mother was pretending(假装)to cough.

    Something was wrong. But I only explained that it might take a while before a doctor could meet them. "Take your time, please," said the mother. I checked their charts — no address. Suddenly I knew, they were homeless while the hospital was warm.

    The family huddled(蜷缩)together under the Christmas tree, smiling and talking with each other sweetly. Quietly, I went back to the nurses' station and told them what happened in the waiting room. It was just like God sending us a gift on Christmas Day. The nurses' station suddenly came back to life. All the nurses went into action for "a Christmas emergency(急诊)".

    We took out our meals for our Christmas "patients". We also put together oranges and apples as presents. We tried to exceed the needs of a family who only wanted a warm place on Christmas night. Later, the little girl kissed me and said, "Thanks for being our angel(天使)."

    Karen lived with her parents in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. The Karoo was famous for plant and animal fossils(化石) ,Karen's father was a paleontologist(古生物学家) ,and Karen enjoyed looking at the dinosaur bones in his office. She hoped to discover her own dinosaur someday.

    Every summer, Karen's father invited paleontologists from around the world to the Karoo. As they hiked through the dry land, he would show them fossil samples(样本) within the layers of sedimentary rock(沉积岩) and ash.

    This summer, Karen asked her father if she could go along on the hike. He agreed, but he asked her to stay close by. As they drove to the trail(小径) ,Karen's heart beat quickly with excitement. There were so many places to visit.

    The hike was interesting, but Karen was too curious to stay on the trail. Without asking, she ran down into a nearby ravine(峡谷) and looked among the rocks, Then, he heard her father's voice calling to her. She ran up the side of ravine. Suddenly, she spotted something white and shiny. "Dad!" she shouted excitedly.

    Karen's father stood at the top of the ravine with the other people. They looked worried until Karen pointed to the shiny object. All the paleontologists examined it. They nodded to each other in surprise. It was the skull(骨头) of a dinosaur nobody knew about! The paleontologists took pictures and shook Karen's hands. Her father smiled, "Karen." he said. "You are now the youngest paleontologist in the Karoo!"

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon—not just any afternoon, but my birthday afternoon. We had the delicious cake. My mum 1 it. It was time to open the 2 . To my surprise(惊讶), my parents gave me a new 3 this year. 

I liked my new baseball so much, and I wanted to take4 everywhere I went. 5 my parents didn't want me to take it to school. The next day I did it anyway and it was a big6 . 

Alice and I just played our first baseball game with some classmates. Alice hit a home run(本垒打), and I ran to 7 the baseball. I was so happy to catch it. I jumped up and down and the ball ran 8 my hands, into the bushes, rolling(滚动) and rolling. We 9 everywhere, but we couldn't find it. 

I felt very 10 the whole day. When I got home after school, my dad picked11 up from the kitchen counter(柜台). It was my baseball! My dad told me that he12 it in our front yard(院子) and asked me why it was there. I 13 answer. I was so happy that it was back. 

14 did it get to the front yard? Maybe it rolled all the way from my 15 to our home down the street. Maybe it decided to teach me a lesson to listen to my parents! 

That May, I decided to plan something special for my third-grade children on Mother's Day.

I asked the students to talk about how to1 our mothers. We practiced singing songs and giving gifts2 Mother's Day. I felt very3 when I learned that every mother would come. I4 invited my own mother.

The big day finally arrived. Each child lined up at our classroom door,5 the arrival (到达) of his or her mom. As it got closer to the starting time, Jimmy looked so6 because his mother hadn't arrived yet.

I walked over to him. "Jimmy," I said, "Could you keep my mother company (陪伴)? You know, I'm a little7 ."

Jimmy said "Yes." He sent her the8 I'd made just like we'd practiced the day before. They were having a good9 when I looked over. I was very happy the activity10 with a big success.

Three years later, I took my six-grade students out for a field trip.11 them was Jimmy. The day before, I'd asked all of them to write down what they planned to do in in their12 . After we returned to school, I collected their notebooks and checked if13 finished it.

When I came to Jimmy's page, he'd written,"Do you remember our Mother's Day in the14 grade, Mrs. Mara? I do! Thanks for all you did for me, and thank your15 , too."

Later when Jimmy came to get his notebook, I told him. "In fact, I want to say thanks because you made my mother's day."