My mother was a cleaner in our school canteen(食堂) when I was in the middle school. At that time she was such an embarrassment(难堪) to me not only because of her job but also her look. She had only one eye. Every time I saw her in my school, I pretended(假装) not to see her and ran away.

 After graduating, I got a good job in another city. Then I got married and had two kids. I told my family that my parents had been dead, so they never saw my mother, even her photo. But one year later, I got a letter, it read:

 My dear son Jeff,

    I'm sorry to disturb(打扰) you, but I really miss you all the time. I'm afraid that I will have no chance to see you again.

    I'm sorry that I was always an embarrassment to you when you were growing up. However, I had no choice. When you were very young, you got into an accident and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn't stand that you would have to grow up with one eye. So I ……

    I was proud of my son who was enjoying his beautiful world for me with that eye.

    With all my love to you!

                                                              Mom

 After reading the letter, I couldn't help crying.

    Most people drink tea in the world. But tea does not mean the same thing to different people. In different countries, people have different ideas about drinking tea.

    In China, for example, tea is often served when people get together. Chinese people drink it at home or in tea houses at any time of the day. They often use hot water to boil tea leaves.

    Tea is also important in other Asian countries. People in these countries have a special way of serving tea. They hold a tea ceremony in their houses when important guests come. It is very old and full of meaning. Everything must be done in a special way in the ceremony. There is even a special room for it in their houses.

    In the United States, people usually drink tea at breakfast or they drink it after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make tea. This way is faster and easier than the way of making tea in teapots. In summer, most Americans drink iced tea. They like to put some ice in their tea.

    Do you live in a city? Do you know how cities began? Long long ago, there were only a few thousand people in the world. These people moved from one place to another. They moved over the land, hunting animals for food.

    No one knows how or when these people learned about growing food. But when they did, their lives changed. They did not have to move any more.

    They could stay m one place and grow food there. People began to live near each other, so the first

    Villages appeared. Many people came to work in the villages, and these villages became larger and larger.

    Then people had machines. Life in the villages changed again. People built factories. More and more People lived near the factories, so the villages grew into cities. Some of them grew very big.

    Today, it's strange that some people are moving back to small villages. Can you tell me why?