A man liked shooting arrows (箭). He studied it very hard for years. He thought he did it best and it was time for him to go out into the world.

One day when he walked through a forest, he saw a target (靶子) on a tree, with an arrow right in the center. He went on and found more and more trees with targets and arrows in the center. He was so surprised at this. He wanted to know who did it.

    Soon he came to a farmhouse. An old man told him that he could find the person he wanted by the river. When he got there, he saw a little girl playing with her dog on the bank.

“Are you the person who shoots the arrows?” he asked the girl.

“Yes, that's me,” she replied.

“But how can you do that?” he wondered.

    “That's easy,” said the girl happily. “First shoot an arrow.” Then draw a target.”

    Mr. Brown is 80 years old. Every morning he goes for a walk in the park. And he comes home at half past twelve for lunch. But today a car stops at his house at twelve. Two policemen help him get out. One of them says to Mr. Brown's daughter. “The old man can't find his way home in the park, so we bring him back” The daughter thanks the policemen. Then she asks her father, “Dad , you go to that park every day. But today, you can't find the way. What's wrong with you（你怎么了）?” The old man smiles（笑） like a child and says, “I can find my way. But I don't want to walk home.”

C

    John was traveling around the country in the town. One evening he was driving along a road and looking for the Sun Hotel. When he saw an old man at the side of the road, he stopped his car and said to the old man,“I want to go to the Sun Hotel. Do you know where it is?”

    “Yes,” the old man answered,“I'll show you the way.”

    He got into the car, and they drove for about twelve miles. When they came to a small house, the old man said,“Stop here.”

    John stopped and looked at the house and said,“But this isn't a hotel.”

    “No,” the old man answered,“this is my house. And now I'll show you the way to the Sun Hotel. Turn around and go back nine miles, then you'll see the Sun Hotel on the left.”

    I graduated from a college recently and moved to Washington by myself.  While I was in college, it was really easy to meet new people. But “out in the real world”, I was finding it really hard. I live in a big city, and it seems like everyone around me is busy or already has all the friends they want. I was feeling so discouraged (沮丧的) and I didn't know what to do, so I called my sister for some advice.

    My sister is five years older than I am, so she's been though all this already. She's been helping me with my problems all my life. When I explained my problem, she understood completely. She said, “Why don't you try meeting people online?”

  “Online? Are you kidding? ” I asked, “A friend of mine chatted with a guy online, and when she finally met him face to face, he was nothing like what he said.”

    My sister laughed, “You don't have to look for dates online,” she said, “But you can find other people like you—people who have just moved to town and want make some new friends. When I first moved to New York after college, I found a book club and a football team online. I met a lot of people that way. ”

    “But you don't even like football!” I said. 

    “I know,” she replied, “But that didn't matter. I still had a lot of fun. You played volleyball in college. Why don't you look for a volleyball team to join?  Or an art class? ”

    “Yeah! I saw a website about volunteering the other day,” I said, “I could volunteer for an organization here in Washington. I bet I could meet a lot of really nice people that way. ”

    “Good idea!” my sister answered excitedly. “Hey, you might even meet the perfect guy.”

    “OK, now you're starting to sound like Mom,” I said. “Thanks a lot for the advice. I'm going online right now. I'll let you know what happens. Will you be home tonight?”

    “No, but I'll be here all day tomorrow, so give me a call,” my sister replied. “Good luck!”

    A couple of young men were fishing at a lake. Suddenly the policeman jumped out of the forest.

    At once, one of the men threw his rod (鱼竿) down and started running through the forest, and the policeman ran after him.

    After about half a mile, the man stopped and stooped (弯腰) over his hands on his legs to catch his breath. The policeman finally caught up to him, "Let me see your fishing license (证件), Boy!" the policeman said.

    The man pulled out his wallet and gave the policeman a fishing license.

    "Well, guy." said the policeman, "You must be about stupid as a box of rocks! You don't have to run from me if you have a fishing license."

    "Yes, Sir", replied the young man, "But my friend back there, well, doesn't have one."

    Who is the greatest teacher in Chinese history? Many people would say: Confucius(孔子). September 28is his birthday. He was born over 2, 000 years ago, but people still remember him on this day. Confucius lived in the Kingdom of Lu, part of today's Shandong Province. He lived during the Spring and Autumn Period. His childhood was sad. His father died when he was only 3 and he had to work to help his mother. But young Confucius didn't give up studying. He visited many famous teachers and learned music, history, poetry and sports.

    Later, he became a teacher and started the first public school in Chinese history. At that time only children from rich families could go to school, but Confucius believed everyone should go to school if they wanted to learn. He had about 3, 000 students in his lifetime.

    Today, people still follow Confucius' lessons. He told us that everyone has something worthy to be learned. "When I am with three people, one of them must be better than me in some areas. I select their good qualities and follow them. I take their bad qualities and change them in myself. "He also taught us, "All study but no thinking makes people puzzled(困惑的). All thinking but no study makes people lazy."

    Confucius is not only a great teacher, but also a famous thinker with wise thoughts about the world and society. His most important teachings are about kindness and good manners. "A kind person should care for others. Be strict with yourself, but he kind to others," he said.