Martin is a fifteen-year-old boy. He used to be a "problem child", but a recent 1 with his mother changed his life. He didn't use to give his mother many problems. 2 , after his father's death a few years ago, Martin's life became 3 more difficult. His mother couldn't afford to pay for her child's education. To do this, she 4 work, and so she was often not at home. His mother looked after him as 5 as she could. Unfortunately, Martin still caused problems. He was not 6 in studying and he often got into trouble. Luckily, his mother was very 7 and didn't give up trying to help him. In the end, she 8 a difficult decision: to send him to a boys' boarding school. Martin hated it and used to cause a lot of trouble. One day, he told his teacher he wanted to leave the school. The teacher said it was necessary for Martin to 9 with his mother. Martin called his mother, but to his 10 , this phone call changed his life. "It was exactly 11 I needed," he said. "My mother helped me to understand how much she had given me. She also told me that even though my father was no longer with us, he was 12 me and would always take pride in everything good I do. That's when I decided to change. I realize that 13 my father died, I have been afraid of being alone, and have tried to make my mother pay more attention to me." Now Martin has 14 changed. He has been working hard and is now one of the best students in his class. How was he able to change? His mother's 15 helped him to feel good about himself.

    This story happened three years ago. Jack was an eight-year-old boy at that time. He was a good pupil. He was good at every subject at school. But he could not get up early. He often slept until nine or ten o'clock in the morning. So he was often late for school.

    Jack's mother didn't want him to be late for school again. So she bought him a clock. She said to him,“ You must get up when you hear the clock ring.”

    “Yes, Mum.” said Jack. After that Jack got up at twenty to seven when he heard the clock ring.

    One day his mother forgot to make the clock ring at the usual time. And the next morning Jack didn't get up. It was six forty-two at that moment. It was time for breakfast. Mother went to see him. Jack was still in bed and his eyes were open.

    “Why didn't you get up?” Mother was angry.

    “You told me to get up when I heard the clock ring. So I am waiting for the bell.”

    “Mum, is the clock still sleeping?” Jack asked.

    It's Sunday. There are many people in the bus. And an old man is looking here and there. He wants to find an empty seat(座位). Then he finds one. He goes to it. A small bag is on the seat. And a young man is sitting beside it.

    "Is this seat empty？"asks the old man.

    "No, it's for a woman. She goes to buy some bananas，"says the young man.

    "Well," says the old man." Let me sit here please. When she comes back, I will(将) leave here." The bus starts(启动)." She doesn't come，but her bag is here. Let me give her the bag." Then the old man throws the bag out of the bus window.

    The young man jumps up and shouts，"Don't throw! It's my bag!"

    My friend's grandfather came to America from a farm in Thailand. After arriving in New York, he went into a cafeteria in Manhattan to get something to eat. He sat down at an empty table and waited for someone to take his order. Of course nobody did. Finally, a woman with a big plate full of food came up to him. She sat down opposite him and told him how a cafeteria worked.

    "Start out at that end," she said, "Just go along the line and choose what you want. At the other end they'll tell you how much you have to pay."

    "I soon learned that's how everything works in America," the grandfather told my friend later," Life's a cafeteria here. You can get anything you want as long as you want to pay the price. You can even get success but you'll never get it if you wait for someone to bring it to you. You have to get up and get it yourself."