Tina was not like many of her friends. She didn't listen to pop music, but her friends liked rock and pop music. When Tina asked her friends to try classical music, they all looked at her strangely. "Classical music is for old people," they said. Tina was worried if something was wrong with her.

Tina decided to talk to her father. In the study(书房), asked her father, “Dad, am I strange?”"Of course not,”he answered. "Why do you ask that?”"Because I don't like the same things as my friends do. They want to listen to Mariah Carey's music. I like Yo Yo ma's.”" I can understand. Tina, it's all right to be your own person. You don't have to copy(模仿) what other people do. Everybody has different tastes.”After talking with her father, Tina felt better. She realized that doing different made her special. It was an important lesson for her to learn.

    While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had an experience which happened only two feet away from me.

    Trying to locate my friend among the passengers coming through the jet way, I noticed a man walking toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.

    First he kissed his three children one by one and said, "It's nice to see you. I missed you so much!" Then he hugged his wife, "I've saved the best for last!" giving her the longest, most passionate (狂热的) kiss I ever remember seeing. They stared at each other's eyes, smiling at one another, while holding both hands. For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds (新婚夫妇), but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn't possibly be.

    Full of admiration, I asked, "Wow! How long have you two been married?" "Being together for fourteen years total, married twelve of those." He replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife's face. "Well, then, how long have you been away?" I asked. "Two whole days!" "Two days?" I was astonished. By the intensity (热烈) of the greeting, I had thought he'd been gone for at least several weeks —if not months. I knew my expression betrayed me, so I turned away my eyes and said quietly, "I hope my marriage is still that passionate after so long!"

    The man suddenly stopped smiling and looked me straight in the eye. With forcefulness he told me something that left me a different person. "Don't hope, friend. Decide!" Then he smiled again, shook my hand and said, "God bless!"

    With that, he and his family turned and walked away together.

    I was still watching that man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked, "What are you looking at?" Without hesitation, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, "My future!"

Are there any rules in your family?

A reporter, Tim {#blank#}1{#/blank#} four students about their family rules.

On school days, Jack can't play computer {#blank#}2{#/blank#} and has to go to bed before nine o'clock. He must take a shower before {#blank#}3{#/blank#} to bed. He 39. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} clean the house on the weekend.

Jim has to get up at six o'clock every morning. He must do his homework {#blank#}5{#/blank#} after school. He can't watch TV {#blank#}6{#/blank#} listen to music on weekdays, either. His mother is a teacher. She is {#blank#}7{#/blank#} with Jim very much.

Sally can't {#blank#}8{#/blank#} loudly (大声地) at home. She has to listen to English before going to bed. She has to play the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} on Sundays.

Mike must run in the morning. He can't eat junk food (垃圾食品). He has to help his mom do {#blank#}10{#/blank#} housework.

Sarah and her best friend, Alex, loved exploring the forest near their neighborhood. One day, while they were exploring through the woods, Sarah stepped upon a shiny rock hidden under a pile of leaves. Excitedly, she said to Alex, "Look at what I found! It looks like a valuable diamond. Promise not to tell anyone! It's just a secret between you and me." Alex nodded, agreeing to keep it a secret. 

Later that afternoon, Sarah and Alex met their friend, Emily, in the neighborhood. Unable to control her excitement, Alex told Emily about the treasure Sarah had found. Emily was very curious（好奇的）and wanted to see it, but Sarah quickly stopped them, reminding Alex of their promise. However, Emily's younger brother, Jack, happened to hear their conversation and spread the news to everyone in the neighborhood. 

Soon, Sarah's neighbors began to visit her house, hoping to have a look at the mysterious treasure. They knocked on Sarah's door one by one, each asking if they could see it. Sarah and Alex were taken aback by all the attention and didn't know how to deal with the situation. 

As the neighbors crowded around, Sarah's mom came out to see what was happening. She gently told the neighbors that the rock they wanted to see was not as special as they thought. It was just a common quartz（石英）Sarah had found in the forest. The neighbors were understanding and soon left with smiles on their faces. 

Sarah and Alex learned that some secrets should only be kept between close friends. Sharing secrets with everyone can lead to misunderstandings and unwanted attention. They also realized the importance of trust and honesty in friendship, promising to keep each other's secrets safe in the future. 

When people stay alone, they feel lonely and bored. What can make people feel less lonely and less bored? According to scientists' study, when people put heart into an activity and enjoy it, they will get a feeling called" flow"(心流) and then it makes them feel happy. But how can people get the feeling of flow? Here are the ways.

First, the activity must be something you are really good at. If you do well in art, playing the piano or painting can lead to flow. Things like skiing, writing and storytelling can, too.

Also, the activity must be something you really enjoy. When you are interested in something, you put your heart into it and enjoy yourself. Then, you get into a state(状态) of flow. When you leave the state of flow, you are often surprised by how much time has passed.

Besides, the activity must have some challenges(挑战). If the activity is too easy, then you may feel bored and" flow" will not appear. For example, watching TV usually doesn't help people get the feeling of flow, because there aren't any challenges.

So, to get a feeling of flow, you should develop a hobby that you like, put your heart in it and practice it, then you will feel less bored and less lonely when staying alone.

Dear Ms Rice, 

My brother Dave is 11 and I am 4 years older. He and I always get into fights. Whenever he does something wrong like hitting me or making my room dirty, he never gets into trouble. He doesn't even have to say sorry to me. But when I do these, my parents always ask me to say sorry. It's so unfair!

I tried talking to my parents about this and all they said was that they would change. However, they never did anything. Sometimes I talk with my friends on the computer, but my parents only allow me to use the computer for 30 minutes every time. Dave can use it for three hours. 

I talked to my friends about this. They advised me to talk to Dave and be nice to him. I tried but it didn't work. Dave made my life terrible! My dream is that my brother and my parents could understand me. What should I do for that?

Kate