John likes chocolates(巧克力) very much, but his mother doesn't give him. They're bad for his teeth(牙齿), she thinks. But John has a very nice grandfather. The old man loves his grandson very much and sometimes he buys John some chocolates. Then his mother lets him eat them, because she wants to make the old man happy.

    On Sunday evening, it is John's seventh birthday. He says,” Please, God, make them give me a big box of chocolates for my birthday.” His mother says,” God can't hear you. Don't shout(喊叫).” “I know,” says the clever boy with a smile. “But grandfather is in the next room, and he can.”

    One day a poor farmer was taking a bag of rice to town. Suddenly the bag fell from his horse on the road. He didn't know what to do about it because it was too heavy for him to lift (举起) by himself. He only hoped that somebody would soon pass (经过) by and help him.

    Just at this moment a man riding a horse came up to him. But the farmer was very disappointed（失望的） when he saw who he was. It was the great man living nearby. The farmer had hoped to ask another farmer or a poor man like him for help.

    But to his surprise, the great man got off his horse as soon as he came nearer. He said to the farmer, "I see you need help, friend. How good it is that I'm here just at the right time," Then he took one end of the bag, the farmer took the other. They together lifted and put it on the horse.

    "Sir," asked the farmer, "how can I pay you?"

    "It's quite easy," the great man answered with a smile, "Wherever (无论在哪里) you see anyone in trouble, do the same for him."

    I'm Marie. I work in a nursing home (养老院) and my job is to look after the old people. Alice is one of them. She's a very nice old woman.

    This year, Alice had a hard time. She went to hospital twice. In November, I finally could get her back to her home.

    Alice hoped that her daughter could come to visit her on Christmas Eve because she wanted to be with her family, like the old days. But her daughter was coming after Christmas, so she was very sad. I also felt sad because she would be alone on the holiday.

    On Christmas Eve, I took her to a candlelight service (烛光礼拜) at a church that night. I didn't take her to my church. Instead, I took her to the church in her old neighborhood. We got there early and I let her sit near the door, so people could see her when they came in. A few minutes later, some of her friends came to the church and they all talked to her and sat with her.

    Alice got a lot of love from her old and new friends there. She said she loved the gift like this. That night, I thought I got the best gift: the smile on Alice's face.

    Like most of her friends, Georgie Sanderson has 24-houpa-day access(使用权) to technology through her mobile phone, iPod Touch and home computer. But the 15-year-old girl says she is too busy to spend her days on Facebook. She only uses it once or twice a day. "The 10th grade is busy, and I have to work hard. Even when I'm not studying, I have better things to do with my time, such as being outside or spending time with my friends," she says. Georgie has a part-time job. She watches TV for a while in the afternoon and she helps with the housework.

    Georgie's words prove the findings of a new report. According to the report, teenagers today are not completely dominated(支配) by technology, although they have been into a digital(数字) world. They spend most of their time on their homework, TV, part-time jobs, hobbies, sports, friendship or reading instead of playing or chatting on the computer. But the report also finds that mobile phones are important to teenagers. 95 percent of 18 year-olds have got one mobile phone, and 82 percent sleep with their mobile phones on and beside them all night.

    For Georgie, sleep is more important than texting others. Georgie is also careful about the use of IT. She says, "Social media is helpful, but it is so distracting(使人分心的). I only use it when I do need to use it."

    My name is Alex. I had an interesting and scary experience last Saturday. At about three o'clock in the afternoon, I was walking down the Main Street. I stopped in front of a jewelry store to look at some rings in the window. I really liked one of the rings. While I was standing there, two men came out of the store. They ran across the street, got into a car, and drove away quickly. Then I saw something on the ground. It was a black bag. I thought maybe they dropped the bag while they were driving away in the car.

    I went to pick up the bag and opened it. There was a diamond watch in the bag. I took the bag with the watch into the jewelry store and showed it to the store manager. The manager looked scared by what had happened but he was very happy to see the watch. He said the two men were thieves, and that the police were looking for them. He also said the watch was very expensive. To thank me, he gave me fifty dollars. I was happy that I helped him. However, the thieves stole many pieces of jewelry. They took ten rings, three watches, four necklaces, and ten pairs of earrings. I hoped the police would catch them soon.

    Ruo Dong and Ruo Jun are brothers. They are from Chengdu. Ruo Dong is 10 years old and Ruo Jun is 9 years old. They can speak Mandarin(普通话). Now they are in Hangzhou, and they study in No. 5 Middle School. Their family are all in Hangzhou. There are five people in their family. They are their parents, their sister and themselves. Their mother is a teacher. Their father is a doctor. Their sister is very young. She is only 3 years old. She goes to a kindergarten. They say Hangzhou is a very interesting city. They like the friendly people, the delicious food and its culture(文化). They like Hangzhou very much.