I will never forget the tenth summer of childhood with my grandfather in western Norway at the mountain farm where my mother was born. As a boy ,I always thought people simply bought whatever they need. Whether Grandfather knew this, I don't know. One day he said, ”Come, I have something for you.”

I followed him to a workroom. “You should have a toy boat. You can sail it at Storvassdal.” He said. Great, I thought,looking around for the boat. But there was none.

Grandfather pointed to a block of wood. “The boat is in there,” he said. Then he handed me some tools and showed me how to use them properly. “It'll be a fine boat,and you'll make it with your own hands,” he said,”No one can give you what you do for yourself.”The words rang in my head as I worked. Finished the boat. It wasn't much to look at ,but I was poud. Then I sailed it at Storvassdal.

We had to return to America. “You cannot bring that boat home with you,” my mother said. We already had too much baggage. Feeling sad, I hid my boat under a big rock at Storvassdal.

I said good-bye to Grandfather, not knowing I would never see him again.

In 1964, I went to Storvassdal with my parents and my wife and children. To my surprise,for 34 years my treasure stayed here,waiting for my return. I felt we three were togethet again although my grandfather had died 22 years before.

I carved "1930”and "1964”on its side and put it back.

I returned to the lake in 1968,1971,1977 and 1988. Each time I had the boat and carved the year,my grandfather seemed near.

My last trip to Storvassdal was in 1991. I brought my granddaughters: Catherine,13; Claire,12. I hoped they would understand the importance of the little boat and its simple message. At Storvassdal, Claire said softly, ‘Grandpa,someday I'll come back.' She added,”And I'll bring my children.”

    Once upon a time in Greece, there lived a young man called Narcissus. He lived in a small village on the sea and was famous in the land because he was quite handsome. Villagers would turn up on the streets to stare at the beautiful child.   

    When he grew up, people always said "How handsome Narcissus is!" Villagers thought that Narcissus could not be any more handsome than he already was. But as years passed Narcissus became a teenager. His beauty grew and became so great that he was known all over country of Greece.

    As he grew, Narcissus was very proud of his good-looking face.

    "Oh! You are so handsome, Narcissus!" Narcissus said one day as he looked into a pool. "There's nobody more handsome in the whole world! I'd love to kiss you. And that's just what I'll do!"

    He leaned closer to the water. Suddenly he lost his balance and fell into the pool.

    Narcissus tried to reach the bank of the pool, but he could not swim and he drowned.

     A long time ago, there was an emperor. He had a beautiful garden. In the garden, there was a little nightingale(夜莺) singing very{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(beauty).

     One day the emperor heard about this little bird's beautiful voice. He asked his guards to bring her to him. As soon as the emperor heard the nightingale's voice, he said, "Put her in a golden cage,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}she can stay and sing for me whenever I want to hear her."

     The little bird was so{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(happy) about being kept in the cage that she{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(stop) singing one day. The emperor was very angry. He ordered the scientists in his palace to make a robot bird {#blank#}5{#/blank#} him. The bird could sing very beautifully,{#blank#}6{#/blank#}. The emperor was pleased.

     Soon the robot bird became old. It no longer sang beautiful songs. Just at that time, the emperor became very weak. One morning, while{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(lie) in bed, the emperor wanted it to sing once again.{#blank#}8{#/blank#}the robot bird couldn't sing any more. Suddenly the nightingale landed on the window. She began to sing her{#blank#}9{#/blank#}beautiful song. The emperor was very happy! He became better and better each day.

     After the emperor was well，he changed a lot and became kind to his people. From then on, all his people cherished(爱戴) him for his love and{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (kind).

Dear Frank,

    Thank you for your postcard. I'm very glad you are having a good trip now. Ottawa is very beautiful in May. I hope I will have a chance to go there one day.

    Our summer holiday will start next month. I enjoy my summer holiday, although(虽然)it's hot at that time in America. During the summer holiday, I can swim in the sea and go fishing. It's so cool. And I am going to our hometown near Chicago with my sister Linda, and my parents agree(同意). Our uncle lives there, so Linda and I can stay with him.

    We are not going to take a plane. We are going there by train. I am going to fish there. And Linda likes painting. She is going to do some painting there. I'm sure we'll have a good time.

Sincerely,

Jack

    "Mom, I'm bored," said Jason. "There is nothing to do." "You can clean your room," said Mom. "That's not fun." It was only the second week of summer vacation. It was still too chilly to go to the pool, and Jason was tired of watching TV. His friends went on a trip, and even his dog, Riley, was being lazy.

    Mom was getting ready to go downtown to the food kitchen to help out. She volunteered three times a week serving lunch to people that weren't as lucky as Jason. "Why don't you come with me to the food kitchen and help out?" Mom asked. "I don't know anything about working at a food kitchen," said Jason. "You just watch me, and then you will see how to serve the food," said Mom.

    It was time to go, and Jason was excited to try working in the food kitchen. He watched his mom put some chicken on a plate and some mashed potatoes. She then passed the plate to the next lady, and she put some green beans and bread on the plate. "I can do that," thought Jason. One of the volunteers left early, so Jason took his place in the serving line. He was in charge of putting salad on the plates. He served twenty-five people that day. After the kitchen closed, Jason and his mom stayed to clean up. "That was great!" said Jason.

    Jason was so excited and really enjoyed his day at the food kitchen. He couldn't wait to get home and tell his dad about how much fun he had. "Not only did it give me something to do, but I felt so good doing it," Jason told his dad. "Jason, that was nice thing you did today," said Dad. "You helped many people who aren't as lucky as you to have a hot meal," Mom said. "I am so proud of you, Jason! You worked very hard.

    Jason went to bed that night thinking about the food kitchen. "I am going to help out again," he thought. Jason made some new friends, and he didn't even know they lived so close to him in town! The best part was how good Jason felt inside.

    Emma and Hannah are 13-year-old school girls from Minnesota, USA. They are good at making new things both of them are also good at sales. They are selling charms (小装饰物) made out of bottle caps.

    The girls came up with the idea last summer when they saw charms were popular with kids. They talked with their parents about the idea. Since then they have sold enough charms to buy a bike for Hannah.

    The girls collect bottle caps and then clean them. They find some interesting pictures on the Internet or on paper, and then glue them onto the inside of the caps. There are different kinds of pictures, "Peace signs are popular with girls, and single-letter charms are popular with boys whose names start with those letters," Emma and Hannah said.

    Now, charms can be found everywhere at Dakota Hills Middle School in Eagan. "Students put charms on purses, backpacks, and their lunch boxes," said Emma. Emma and Hannah also have a shop on the Internet. They hope they can sell their charms to more kids. They're thinking about selling their charms at the Eagan Market Festival next summer.

    Their business is not only for getting money. At their Valentine's sale, 20% of the income (收入) went to charity.