Peter was a small boy. He lived with his parents in a small house near some hills. The people there were all poor.

    One night it was very dry and windy. When everybody was asleep, Peter suddenly heard some noise. It came out from the kitchen. He got up and walked to the kitchen. He found that the wood beside the stove was burning. There was no water tap (水龙头) in the house, so he could not put out the fire. He shouted loudly to wake up everyone in the house. Then he ran out of his house and knocked on the doors of many houses to wake the people up. They all left their houses quickly.

    At last the firemen put out the fire. Many people lost their homes. But luckily, all of them escaped the fire with a whole skin.

    Years ago, Tareq and his family left their home in Bangladesh to New York City, US. Tareq was only 12 years old then.

    In Bangladesh, Tareq's dad was a farmer. He worked hard for little pay. Every day, Tareq walked 6 kilometres to school. After school, he had to work on the farm.

    But Tareq had fun. He loved singing and playing cricket (板球) with his friends. One day Tareq's dad told him they would move to New York City. Tareq's dad found a new job there, and he thought life would be better there.

    In his new school, Tateq tried his best to understand his teachers, but it was quite hard. Also, he had few friends.

    Things changed when he started high school. His high school had students from 30 countries and a cricket team. Tareq was excited to join the cricket team. He was happy to be with kids who loved the game as much as he did. He practised before and after school. "Playing with the cricket team was the first time I felt accepted in America," he said. "When you play, it doesn't matter what grade you' re in or what language you speak."

    During his second year in high school, Tareq was named the cricket team' s most valuable player(最有价值球员).

    Tareq will go to university next year. He said, "Most universities don't have a cricket team. But that's OK, because cricket was there for me when I needed it most."

    One day, Jack received a call. It was his mother: "Mr Depp died last night," his mother said. Memories flashed through Jack's mind like an old film. He sat quietly remembering his childhood days. It had been so long since Jack thought of the old man who used to live next door. In fact, he had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his family.

    "Well, he didn't forget you," his mother continued. "Every time I saw him, he'd recall the days you spent with him."

    "He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important," Jack said. "Mum, I'll be there for the funeral."

    Though Jack was very busy, he kept his word. He flew to his hometown. After the funeral, Jack and his mother looked at the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack stopped suddenly.

    "What's wrong, Jack?" his mother asked.

    "The box is gone," he said. "There used to be a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most'."

    About two weeks later, Jack received a parcel (包裹). On it, the name Harold Depp caught his attention. He couldn't wait to open it and a small gold box appeared in front of him. In it, there was a beautiful gold pocket watch with a note. Jack's hands shook as he read these words: Jack, thanks for your time! Harold Depp.

    "The thing he valued most…was…my time." Jack held the watch for a few minutes, and then called to cancel his appointments (预约) for the next two days.

    "Why?" Janet, his assistant, asked.

    "I need some time to spend with my mother, wife and son," he said. "Oh, by the way, Janet…thanks for your time!"

Tom gave up working and lived by himself a long way from town. He hardly ever left his home, but one day he went into town to buy some things in shops. After he bought them, he went into a restaurant and sat down at a table by himself. When he looked around, he saw some old people put on glasses before reading their newspapers. So after lunch he decided to go to a shop to buy himself some glasses too. He walked along the road and soon found a shop.

    The man in the shop made Tom try on a lot of glasses, but he always said, "I can't read with these."

    The man became more and more puzzled (迷惑的) until finally he said, "Excuse me, but can you read?"

    "No, of course I can't!" Tom said angrily. "If I was able to read, do you think I would have come here to buy glasses?"

    This is Tom. He is a student. He is in Class Four, Grade Seven. There are 25 girls and 20 boys in his class. His English teacher is Mr. Zheng. He is about 31. He is a good teacher. The students all like him.

    Tom has a good friend. His name is Jim. He is from Canada. He is in Class Four, Grade Seven, too. Tom and Jim live in China now.