Jodie's Daddy is a Garbageman (垃圾清理工)

      Mr. Swales wanted to find out what his students' parents did. He had just called Jodie when some girls burst out laughing. Shirley shouted, “Jodie's Daddy is a Garbageman!”

      Everybody in the class laughed out loud, except Jodie. She felt her face turn red.

      “Silence!” Mr Swales said, “Being a garbagemen is a difficult and useful job. We should all be thankful to Jodie's father.”

      Jodie's father came to walk her home from school as usual, but she didn't run up to him the way she always did. When they got back home, Jodie went to her room and cried for a long time.

      Her father came into her room, “What happened, Jodie? Why are you so sad?”

      Jodie told her father what had happened and looked at him. He didn't seem angry or hurt. “Well,” he said, “they are right. Being a garbageman is a dirty job. Tomorrow's Saturday. Come to work with me, Jodie.”

      The place really smell too good. Jodie wrinkled her nose. “Don't worry, kid. In five minutes you won't smell a thing.” said her father.

      Everybody there was working hard, and they seemed to have a good time. Jodie's father handed her a pair of gloves and told her to get the little plastic bags and throw them into the truck.

      It was fun, but also hard work. Jodie's arms soom got tired. At last, no more garbage was left and Jodie felt very happy.

      “Garbage is disgusting, but when we clear it away, everything's nice and clean. You can make yourself happy only by making other happy. That's why I like being a garbageman so much.”

      Jodie give her dirty, smeely garbageman daddy a big kiss(吻). She said, “When I grow up, I will be a garbagegirl!”

      Now whenever someone asks Jodie what her daddy does, she says, “He's a garbageman! Everybody makes garbage, but my daddy takes it away!”

    A man goes into a restaurant one day. His clothes are very nice. He sits down at a table near the window.

    A waiter comes to him and says, “Can I help you, sir?” The man says, “Yes, please. Can I see the menu (菜单)?”

        “Sure,” answers the waiter. The man wants a good meal and he wants a lot of nice dishes. After a moment, the waiter brings them to him. The man has his meal happily. At this time, a boy comes in and sits down besides the man. He asks the waiter to give him ice cream. The man says, “I will be back in 5 minutes.” Then he goes out. After the boy eats his ice cream, he stands up and goes to the door. “Excuse me, your father doesn't give the money for the meal and your ice cream,” the waiter stops him and says.

    “Father? You are wrong. He is not my father. I do not know him. I meet him in the street. He says he'll give me ice cream when I come here at twelve o'clock.”

    What can a poem writer and a film director share? More than you think! Langston Hughes began writing poems in high school and soon became one of America's greatest writers. Most of his writing is about his experiences as an African American. He wrote poems about people who worked hard through life but still found things to be happy about. He wrote plays and books about justice(正义)for all people, and he wrote kids' books too. The Sweet and Sour Animal Book is a book of his animal poems. Pictures and photos were used in the book. "Hold fast to dreams" is a line in Hughes' famous poem. That's exactly what he did throughout his life.

    When Steven Spielberg was in middle school, he wanted to make a film. He had an idea for a film, but no money. He started a tree-planting business and made his film with the money he earned. Spielberg never stopped making films, even after many film schools refused him. Now he is one of the most popular and important filmmakers in the world. His films are about people who are adventurous(爱冒险的), brave and kind. His characters often fight for what is good. Some of his films are about his Jewish background, such as Schindler's List. Spielberg once said, "I don't dream much at night because I dream for a living." In different ways, both Hughes and Spielberg have encouraged people of all ages to achieve their dreams.

    Patrick Johnson, an artist for the Washington Post, found some treasure in his new house-35, 000 dollars in a place where no one could see it. Although he had car and house payments in his head, he still decided to return all of the money to the previous(先前的)owner of the house, Mr Williams. Would you had done the same？

    Just hours after he had bought the house, Patrick came into the small house, where he was planning to lay out his tools and hang things up. He looked up and saw a little hole in the wall. He didn't know what it was inside, so he walked towards the wall. It was very dark inside, but an old box caught his eye." I caught the thing. It was heavy. I thought it might be some pieces of wood, "he said. Actually it was not. It was filled with lots of dollar bills. But he and his wife knew they had to return the money to Mr Williams.

    "I've got two boys and we teach them to be honest and to do what is right. I knew this was a teachable moment that I would never get back again, "Patrick said to his wife." So I thought we would do something honest with it. It's been a great thing for us and our kids."