Long long ago, there was no paper in the world. People had to write characters(汉字) in bamboo slips or stones.Then there was a man named Cai Lun who was a Chinese man. He made people use all kinds of things to invent paper. From then on, people can use paper to write on. Paper is a great invention. We always remember the great inventor Cai Lun. Nowadays paper is very useful in our work, study and our life.It really means a lot to human beings

Characters: Evan, Mrs. Bordoni, Mr.Cortez, Rita. Marco. Tom

Setting: An elementary school

Mrs. Bordoni: (Stands at the schoolgate) Good morning! You need to go straight to your classrooms, children. (Ashy boy walks up, with a red face.) What is your name?

Evan: (Looking at the ground) My name is Evan.

Mrs. Bordoni: Welcome to North side. I'm the principal(校长), Mrs. Bordoni.

Evan: (Looks surprised) Oh! Good morning.

Mrs. Bordoni: I know you are new to ourschool, but you will like it here. I will take you to your classroom.

Evan: I didn't want to move… and leave my friends.

Mrs. Bordoni: You will have friends here. You'll see.

Mrs. Bordoni: Here's your room, 106.

Mr. Cortez: Welcome to our class! I'm Mr. Cortez.

Evan: (The class looks at him. He speaks softly.) Hello.

Mr. Cortez: We are talking about a story we just read. Who can tell Evan what it was about?

Rita: This family moves to a new state.Their story is both funny and sad.

Evan: (Cheering up) Did they like the new place?

Marco: Not at first. But they made lotsof new friends.

Mr. Cortez: What happened to make them change their minds?

Tom: The girl from next door said she needed help. When they got to her house, a sign said, “Welcome”.

Marco: It was a surprise party for them.The whole family was laughing.

Mr. Cortez: The neighbors made the family feel welcome.

Mrs. Bordoni: (Stands in the doorway)Evan, it's time for lunch. (They enter the lunchroom. A sign says, “WelcomeEvan”.) It is hard to change schools and leave old friends. Now, we are your friends.

Evan: (Smiles) I can't believe you did this for me.

C

    Johnson is a 10-year-old girl from New York City. She likes staying up late to watch movies on her iPad. Sometimes because she does not have enough sleep, she feels tired at school next morning.

    Just like Johnson, many students feel tired at school in the morning. The kids aged between 6 and 13 need nine to eleven hours of sleep each night, but most of them get less than that.

    What takes the kids' sleep time away? Smart phones and tables (智能手机和平板电脑)! A scientist said, "The kids who have these things in their bedroom often get about half an hour less sleep than those who don't."

    Scientists think a good night's rest is important to students. "The students who sleep enough can learn much better at school than those who don't," another scientist said.

    Johnson's mother said her family decided to make some new rules for her daughter. "we are going to limit(限制) Johnson' screen time and ask her to go to bed earlier than before. We hope these rules can help Johnson to sleep well for school," she said.

    Jim, a young farmer, was once put into prison (监狱).

    One day, he got a letter from his mother. "I'm so worried about our farm," she wrote. "It's time to plant potatoes. I can't dig(挖) all the fields by myself. "

    Jim read the letter and became sad. "What can I do?" he thought. Then he had a good idea. He wrote to his mother, "Don't dig the fields. There's a pot of money in the earth. Don't plant potatoes until I come home."

    Some days later, Jim got another letter from his mother. It said, "Two days ago, about ten men came to our farm and dug all our fields. I can't understand it. It looks as if they were looking for something. What shall I do?"

    Jim smiled when he read his mother's letter. He wrote a letter to his mother at once. It was very short. Guess what it would say?

    Long ago there was a man with the name Smith. He made a living on making caps. One day he went to sell his caps. He went through a forest. There were many monkeys in it. It was very hot and the man wanted to rest a little. He came up to a large tree, put his caps on the ground, took one of them and put it on his head. Then he lay down and soon fell asleep.

    "Where are my caps?" Smith cried when he woke up. He looked up and saw many monkeys in the trees and each monkey had a cap on its head.

    "Give me back my caps!" The man shouted at the monkeys. But the monkeys didn't understand him. They only laughed. The man got very angry, took off his own cap, threw it on the ground and cried, "If you want all my caps, you may take this one, too!"

    And what do you think happened? The little animals did the same. Each monkey took off its cap and threw it on the ground. The man was very glad. He quickly collected all his caps and went on his way.

    In the summer between my first year and second year in college, I was invited to be an instructor(辅导员)at a high school camp. On the first day, when we were dancing and playing games, I noticed a boy under the tree who was small and thin. His shyness made him appear weak. I walked towards him, introduced myself and invited him to join in the activities and meet some new people. He quietly replied, "No, I really don't want to do this." I could understand that he was in a new world but I knew it wouldn't be right to force him either. Actually, the boy didn't need a close talk but a friend.

    At lunch the next day, I was leading camp songs when I saw the boy under the tree sitting alone. I tried again with the same invitation, but he refused once again. That evening I was told the boy's name was Tommy. Then I asked the campers to pay special attention to the boy and spend time with him when they could.

    The days went by and the time came when we had to leave. We held a big, warm party to celebrate the closing of the camp. All the campers shared their wonderful moments. To my surprise, I found the boy from under the tree dancing joyfully with two girls. I couldn't believe it was the same person.

    In October of my second year, I received a phone call from Tommy's mother. She told me that Tommy was hit by a car and died. I offered my deep sadness. The mother said, "Tommy mentioned you so many times. I want you to know that he went back to school and made new friends with confidence. You made a difference to Tommy during his last months."

    At that moment, I realized how easy it was to give a bit of yourself every day. You may never know how much each gesture may mean to someone else. I hope that everyone can pay attention to his own "boy under the tree".