When my brother and I were children, we spent a few weeks each summer in the countryside with our uncle. He was a geologist（地质学家） and loved to go on long walks to find stones to his collection in his spare time. We often followed him.

    One day, we left early, and this time, our uncle had bought us backpacks to help him carry the sample（样本）. The whole day, we walked around the countryside, and every now and then, our uncle put stones in our bags. We were a bit surprised that he also took some stones out from our bags at times, but we thought maybe he had just found better samples than the ones we already had.

    When we reached the house in the late afternoon, we were tired out. The backpacks were so heavy that we gave a big sigh of relief when we put them on the ground.

    Yet our uncle's backpack was half-empty.

    "Why did you give us so many stones?" we asked.

    "I didn't. You did, "he said, "You did not know it, but I made you go through a little attitude（态度） test today."

    "What do you mean an 'attitude test'?" we wondered. "It is something someone once did to me. You see, I listened to every word you said. And whenever you complained about anyone or anything, I added a stone to your bags. And whenever you talked about something with an attitude of gratitude（感恩） and positive（正面的） thinking, I took out a stone. And now look at your backpacks."

    We did. They were full.

    "Your negative（负面的） thoughts are like stones. You carry them in your mind just like those stones in a backpack. The more negative thoughts you have, the heavier your mind is. So look at those bags and start paying attention to what you say and how you say things."

    This little lesson was one of the most important I ever had. And I remember my uncle with great love for teaching us one of the most important lessons in life-the power of attitude.

Dear Li Na,

    I'm really glad to receive your e-mail. You said you were learning to cook. Is it interesting? I think if you want to keep healthy, food is very important. You'll be better if you try all kinds of food, especially（特别是） vegetables and fruit. I eat them every day.

    You asked me how to make a milk shake. There are different kinds of milk shakes, such as apple milk shake, banana milk shake, carrot milk shake and watermelon milk shake. Apple milk shake is my favorite, because apples and milk are both good for our health. Before starting, we need an apple, a cup of milk, some ice-cream and two spoons of honey. Of course, you need a blender.

    Now, let's start. First, peel an apple and cut it up. Next, put the apple, the milk, some ice-cream and two spoons of honey into the blender. Then turn on the blender. Keep it going for only one minute. Finally, pour the apple milk shake into a glass and drink it. It's delicious!

    I want to learn how to make some Chinese food, such as dumplings, noodles and zongzi. Could you teach me?

    Write soon!

Yours,

Maria

It was a fine summer afternoon. Sam was going home from school. He walked along the road slowly, reading a book. Sam had spent all his money on the book. He liked it very much. When he came to the high road, there was a blind man, holding out his hat. The poor man said, "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday. Please give me some money. I want to buy some bread." But Sam had nothing to give. So, he just walked on, feeling very sad.

Soon after, a fine carriage(马车) came up, and in it were Harry and his mother. The blind man still stood there and held out his hat. "Let us give the poor man something," said Harry to his mom. His mother found some coins in her bag and passed them to him. However, Harry did not put them into the man's hat. He threw them into the bush (灌木丛) beside the poor man. How could the blind man find them?

As Sam turned back to look at the fine carriage, he saw Harry throwing the coins into the bush. So he walked back at once and helped look for the money until he found all the coins.

As the blind man held the coins, he smiled. It touched Sam's heart. At that moment, Sam knew that kindness wasn't always about big actions; sometimes, it was the simple act of giving a helping hand that could make a difference.

My name is Frank Green.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}My last name is Green. I'm an English boy. My parents work in China. So we are in Beijing now. My parents are English teachers. I have a twin sister but I don't have a brother. My sister and I are in the same school in Beijing.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}We have a nice house. My room is big. But it's not tidy. My books and clothes are everywhere—on the bed, on the sofa and under the chair. I can't find my watch now. The yellow one is my sister's.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Oh, it's under the dictionary. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I always ask my sister and my parents.