I have spent almost a third of my life in China, living and working in this beautiful country. In a sense, China has been and is still my second home But in those past years I ha d never been to Quzhou.

Some days ago, for the first time in my Chinese life, I stepped into the beautiful city of Quzhou. My impressions of Quzhou city were as I always thought: green countryside, rainy sky, wet air. That was what I imagined for years the south of China would be. When we finally arrived, I was impressed by the elegant (优雅的) city.

Next day we were taken to visit some places not far away from the city. I was not aware of the direction of our short trip, but when we arrived at Lanke Mountain and got out of the car, I thought that we had been taken to a fairyland (仙境) : the light rain over the green and thick plants, the silvery sky like a heavy blanket and the mystery (神秘) of this mountain made me feel like being part of a picture.

Jiulong Lake was our next step. The mystic atmosphere (气氛) of this place was so strong that I decided to watch the view standing at the top when I stepped into the small boat to sail upstream. Sometimes we were so close to the mountain that we could clearly see the red soil under the plants. I was thinking of the joy to be in a place like Jiulong Lake and how it would be to live among those hills for a while.

    The final leg of the day's journey was a primary school. We were welcomed by the smiles on the faces of many young pioneers. The energy of the hundreds of kids made me feel younger for a while, so educated, so polite and so warm that I had no doubt about the future generations of Quzhou people. The people seem to me the best of Quzhou and they will remain in my memories forever.

    There was once a boy called Jim in a village. Whenever Jim asked people to do things, no one would listen to him. He was sad. So Jim asked a wizard to solve the problem by using magic. The old wizard tried a lot of spells, but didn't work.

    A young man heard about the problem .He went to Jim and said that he knew the solution. He gave Jim two small pieces of paper. “These are two spells, my boy. Use the first before you ask others to do something, and use the second when they have done it. A smile is also necessary, "the young man said. Jim was happy and tried to use the spells. When he asked people to do something. He said “Please "before his words and "Thank you "after they had done it. People were very surprised that Jim could be polite. Soon, they became happy to do what Jim asked them to do. The wizard was surprised, and asked the young man about the spells. ”It's not magic. When I was a child, my teacher told me that with good manners you could get anything you want. And he was right. Jim only needed good manners to get what he wanted.”

    Droughts (干旱)are common in Kenya. Before, they came every 10 years, but now they seem to be hitting us more often and for a longer time.

    We gave the droughts names :“longoza”was the drought when many animals died ; there was the drought of the “planes” because food was dropped from the air by planes; and one particularly bad drought was called “ man who dies with his money in his fist (拳头)”，because, even if there was money, there was simply no food to buy.

    I was born in 1951 in Machakos. From what my mother tells me, when I was 7, there was a serious drought. I clearly remember the terrible weather and the hunger. I can't tell you how many times I went to bed without eating. “ I slept like that, ” is how we described it. I can't count the number of days when “ I slept like that,” or describe the feeling of going to sleep hungry, knowing I'd wake up and there would still be no food for breakfast.

    My father would leave early in the morning carrying a little basket to ask for food on credit (赊欠). Each night he would return home around 10:00p.m. My mother would try to encourage me by telling me to keep the water in our pot boiling so that when my father arrived we could quickly cook any food he brought in the already prepared water. I would keep the fire burning and the water boiling, along with the hopes that we would eat that night. But my father would arrive frustrated and empty -handed. And I would sleep like that.

    An English traveler found himself in Norway（挪威） with only enough money to buy the ticket for his journey back home. As he knew that it would take him only two days to get to England, he decided that he could easily spend the time without food. So he bought a ticket and went aboard the ship. The man closed his ears in order not to hear the sound of the lunch bell. When dinner time came , he didn't go to the dining room, saying that he was not feeling very well.

    The next morning he still didn't have breakfast and at lunchtime he again stayed in his room.But at dinner time he was so hungry that he went to the dining room and ate everything the waiter put in front of him. He got ready for a quarrel.

    "Bring me the bill," he said. "The bill, sir?" said the waiter in surprise. "There isn't any bill. On our ship meals are included in the money for the ticket," said the waiter.

    Do you think there is a ghost in the world? More than 20 years ago, a student jumped from the top of the clock tower in the University of Birmingham. He did this only because he failed his final exam.

    After his death, a superstition（迷信） began: Anyone who walks under the clock tower will have bad luck in his exam. Years later, students there still remembered the story of the tower. Although Birmingham is the second largest city in Britain, the university is green and quiet. The grass around the tower has been worn away by the feet of students who refuse to pass underneath the tower.

    The university had to pave（铺） extra paths, so students could walk to their classrooms without passing under the most terrible area. But, one day just before an important exam, a top student in the university walked under the clock tower because he was lost in thought. However, he got high marks in the exam the next day. Quickly students all knew about it. Then they realized that the most important thing is working hard.

    Whenever I go under the clock tower, I will tell myself, "Working hard is the key to success."