There was once a little grey planet mat was very sad. The people living there didn't look after it. They polluted me whole planet so much with rubbish that there were no plants or animals left.

    One day, a little boy was walking on the planet when he passed a cave (洞穴) and noticed a small red flower inside. The flower was very sick, almost dying, so the boy carefully dug up the flower with roots, soil and everything. Then he started looking for a place where he could look after it. He searched all over the planet, but everywhere was so polluted that there was no place the flower could possibly live in. Then he looked up at the sky and noticed the Moon. It seemed to the boy that maybe the plant could live there. So the little boy put on his astronaut suit, and climbed into a spaceship. He put the little red flower in the back, and they went to the Moon.

    Far away from all that pollution, and with the boy visiting it every day to take care of it, the flower started to grow. The flower was so well cared for that it soon germinated, giving birth to others, and these other flowers spread onto other flowers. Before long, the whole Moon was completely covered with flowers.

    That's why, whenever the little boy's flowers open up, for a few minutes the Moon turns red, like a warning light. Maybe it's telling us that if we don't look after our planet, the day will come when flowers will only be able to grow on the Moon.

    One pleasant evening, I was holding Grandpa's hand and taking a walk in the park. "Where are the peanuts? Give me now!" He suddenly said. How I wished I had some with me! "William, the monkeys are taking long to come out today. Wait till they smell the peanuts." I knew he was lost in one of his memories again. I remembered the stories he told me of how he fed the monkeys when he was a kid. Then, he saw the goldfish! He acted as if he was seeing them for the first time.

    Poor Grandpa! He fell ill with Alzheimer's disease (阿尔茨海默症) last year. The doctor said it was a progressive brain disorder which could destroy (破坏) a person's memory. The patient might also not be able to make reasonable judgments (判断). The saddening part was that it was a lifelong disease. But when my parents invited him to stay with us, he refused and said he liked living alone. One day, he forgot to turn off the fire after cooking porridge. Luckily, one of the neighbors came to help him before the fire could spread.

    It was then that my parents brought Grandpa to live with us. Often, he would forget my name and ask me who I was and what I was doing in his house. Each time I would answer softly, "It's me, Ray, Grandpa!" Even if he had forgotten who I was, he would always be my beloved grandfather.

Two frogs lived in a village all their lives. They would like to go and see the big city. It was about 20 km away from their village. 

They talked about it for a long time, and at last they went to see the big city. 

It was a hot day, and they soon felt tired. They only walked a little way when one said to the other, "We must be near there. Can you see the city? " "No, " said the other frog. "But if I climb on your back, I may be able to see it. "So that small frog climbed up on the back of the big frog to see the city.

Now when the small frog put up his head, his eyes could only see what was behind, and not what was in front. So he saw the village they just left. 

"Can you see the city? " asked the big frog.

"Yes, " answered the small frog. "I can see it.    ▲    "

Then the frogs went back and said to the frogs around the village, "We saw the city, and it was just like our village. "

Have you met someone who kept talking and talking, and you couldn't get them to stop? You don't want to be impolite by telling them to shut up, but you really want to get out of the conversation. Here are some ways to help you.

Use body language. While it may feel impolite, you could turn away, put your headphones on, and avoid looking at his or her eyes, which will show that you don't want to talk. This may save you from directly telling someone to stop talking.

Keep working on whatever activity you are doing. Get up and move around, be active and find little things to do instead of listening.

Interrupt them as soon as you can. Saying things like "I'd like to add something" or "If I could interrupt you for just a minute" will often let someone know that they are talking too much.

Lead the conversation. This is especially helpful when dealing with someone you often talk to. Let them know that you heard what they said and guide the conversation in a different direction.

Mention that you don't have a lot of time to talk. Expressions like "I would love to chat but I have to go for a movie right now" and "Today's not a great day to talk. I have a lot of tasks" will make you easily end the conversation.

Remember: It is a skill to back out of a conversation without saying "You are boring. Shut up."