Hi! I'm Harry. Life used to be kind of difficult for me. The muscles(肌肉) in my arms and legs are weak. I have to be in a wheelchair all day. I can't use my legs at all, and I'm not too great with my hands. If I drop something it stays dropped until someone picks it up for me. I can't open doors or switch lights on and off. Carrying everything I need for school is a problem too.
Now things are easier. I have a helping hand. Pete is a golden dog that has been trained to help kids like me. Pete was at dog training school for two years to learn how to do different tasks. I had to be trained too. I had to learn how to give Pete instructions and how to take care of him.
When Pete is working he doesn't play around. My friends know they are not to pet him or call him when he is working. He can pull my wheelchair and pick up things I drop. Pete carries my books and lunch on his back. He pushes the button on the school lift and opens some kinds of doors. He even knows how to switch lights on.But best of all, Pete is here when I need a friend.

     I was 15 when I walked into McCarley's bookstore in Ashland. As I was looking at all the books on the   1   , the shop owner asked if I'd like a job. I needed to start   2  money for college, so I said yes. I worked after school and during the summer for the lowest pay, and the job helped pay for my first year of college. I would do many other jobs and I   3   made maps for the US Forest Service. But selling books was one of the most satisfying.

    One day a woman asked me for books on cancer. She seemed   4  . I showed her almost everything we had at that time in the  5and found other books we could order. She left the store less  6 . I've always remembered the  7 I felt in having helped her.

    Years later, as a TV reporter in Los Angeles, I   8   a child who was born with his fingers connected(jointed together). His family could not   9   a corrective operation, and the boy lived in shame, hiding his hand in his pocket.

Luckily, I  10   persuading(说服) my boss to let me do the story. After my story was broadcast, a doctor and a nurse called,    11  to perform the operation for free.

    I visited the boy in the recovery room soon after the operation. The first thing he did was to hold up his repaired 12and say, “thank you.” I felt a sense of   13  .

    In the past, while I was at McCarley's bookstore, I always felt that I was working for the   14 , not the store. Today it's the same. NBC News pays me,   15  I feel as if I work for the TV viewers, helping them make sense of the world, not the TV station.

    Mr. and Mrs. Su don't often go out in the evening, but today they go out for a walk after supper. They go to the park and have a good time there. On their way home, Mrs. Su says to Mr. Su, "Look! A woman is running in the street and a man is running after（追赶）her." Mr. Su says, " What's the matter? Let's go and help her."

    Now the woman gets near them. Mr. Su asks, "Shall we help you?" "No, thank you," the woman says, "My husband and I are running home, and the slower (较慢的) one does the housework."

    Hi, I'm Bella. I can't remember a time when my bedroom didn't have a bookshelf. From Dr. Seuss to Mother Goose, I had all kinds of books that progressed in size as I got older.

    My earliest memory of books was sitting on my bed at night with my mum reading to my older brother and me. And my first beloved book was a children's book about being a chosen child. It helped me, an adopted (被收养的) child, learn that my family was my very own because they chose me. As I got older, the books got thicker and more difficult. The first book I ever bought with my own money was L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables.

    When in primary school, there Was a book catalog (目录). We could take it home and ask our parents to help us order new books. Then the books would be sent to the school. There was nothing better than getting my little bag of books.

    My love for science fiction was deepened by my older brother's love for it. He introduced me to Star Trek and Doctor Who, but it was his copy of The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks that got me really interested in science fiction.

    I read classics (名著) in high school. The first time I had the thought that I wanted to be a writer was after reading one of Edgar Allan Poe's works. And his use of words surprised me. Yeah, it's no wonder I studied English in university and later I became an English teacher. Through my work, I can pass on my love for the written word and books to my students. How great!

    Everybody hates rats. But rats may soon be man's new best friends.

    What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue (援救) dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can't get into small space. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.

    How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat's brain gives a signal. This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When the rat's brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.

    Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. "Robots' noses don't work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that," says a scientist. Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don't need electricity.

    The "rat project" is not finished, but a scientist says, "It would be fantastic. A rat could get into space we couldn't get to and a rat would get out if it wasn't safe." Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building (but only after an earthquake, of course).