Mara: There are a lot of other people with more experience .,but I just try to do my best .I always go on to the stage thinking good thoughts, never bad thoughts.

  Reporter: Who is your role model or idol(偶像) ? What inspires you?

  Mara: For singing, my idols are Aretha Franklin and Christina Aguilera, but a role model to me would be my mom. I love her with all my heart—she encourages me to believe in my dreams.

  Reporter: What are your other hobbies?

  Mara: I love playing video games, and I usually go to the park with my family. We usually play basketball. We also like to play tennis!

    My name is Paul. My parents and I live in a small house in the forest(森林). There are many trees around our house. A lot of animals live in the forest. Sometimes we can see cute deer(鹿) near our house. Deer are my favorite animal. I also like birds. They always sing happily in the trees. There is a lake behind our house. The water is very clean. I often swim in the lake in summer. My father likes fishing in the lake. My mother is good at cooking, so we often have delicious fish to eat. My pet cat Angela can enjoy a big fish dinner often.

    Mr. Brown lives on Green Street now. He wants to send a postcard(寄明信片) to his pen friend in Toronto, but he doesn't know where the post office is. “ where is the post office？” he asks his new neighbor Joe. “I want to send a postcard to Toronto.” “The post office is quite far from here，” answers Joe. “If you only want to post some letters(信件) or postcards, you needn't go to the post office. You can put them into a mailbox（信箱）down the street.”

    In 2001, a l4-year-old boy named William had a little wish. He loved reading. He wanted a light in his room so that he could read after dark. His big idea came while he was reading a book in the library. He saw a picture of a windmill (风车) and decided to make one.

    When he started building the first windmill in 2002, people thought he was crazy. But they all came to see his creation made from broken PVC pipes and old car and bicycle parts. He dreamt of using wind to produce electricity. Later he built two more windmills in his home town, the 60-person village in Malawi. Africa.

    William wants to build windmills across Malawi, and perhaps beyond. Money to help with this project has come from all over the world, including China.

    In the morning, a grandfather took his grandson to a school. When the boy and his grandfather went into the playground, some children came up.

    "What a funny old man!" one boy said, making a face.

    "Hey, fatty (胖子)," another one shouted.

    The children jeered at them and jumped up and down.

    Without saying a word, the old man took his grandson out of the school gate. "Wonderful! I don't have to go to school!" the boy said.

    "You do, but not this one," his grandfather replied. "I'll find you a school myself." The grandfather took his grandson back to his own house, asked the boy's grandmother to look after him, and then went out to look for a school himself.

    Every time he got to a school, the old man went into a playground, and waited for the children to come out at break time. In some schools the children completely ignored (不理会) the old man, and in others, they made fun of him. When this happened, he would turn sad and go home. Finally, he went into the very small playground of a very small school, and stood tiredly against the wall. The bell rang, and the children got out into the playground.

    "Sir, are you all right? Shall I get you something to drink?" a voice said.

    "We've got a bench in the playground — come and sit down," came another voice.

    Soon a young teacher came out into the playground. The old man greeted him and said, "Finally, I've found my grandson the best school in town."

    Our new neighbours are the Browns. They have two children, a boy and a girl. The boy is Jack and the girl is Alice. Jack is 11, and he is one year older than me. Alice and my sister Nancy are 8 years old.

    At weekends, Nancy and I like to go to play with Alice and Jack. Both Jack and I really enjoy playing computer games. Sometimes the girls join us, but the games they enjoy are different from the ones we like.

    There is a big park near our houses. Sometimes, when the weather is fine, the four of us go for bike rides there. We often stop at the huge playground to have some fun. Jack and I like to play basketball, but the girls prefer to sing and dance.

    Our families often have dinner together. On some days, they come over to our house and on other days, we go over to theirs. Mr Brown and his wife cook really well.

    Nancy and I are very glad to have the Browns next door. It's great to have friends living so near.