Mrs. Smith is an unusual teacher. Once she told each student to bring along a few potatoes in plastic bag. On each potato the students had to write a name of a person that they hated And the next day, every child brought some potatoes. Some had two potatoes；some three；some up to five.

 Mrs. Smith then told the children to carry the bags everywhere they went, even to the toilet, for two weeks. As day after day passed, the children started to complain(抱怨)about the awful smell of the rotten（腐烂的）potatoes.

 Those children who brought five potatoes began to feel the weight trouble of the bags. After two weeks, the children were happy to hear that the game was finally ended. Mrs. Smith asked,“How did you feel while carrying the potatoes for two weeks?” The children started complaining about the trouble loudly．

Then Mrs. Smith told them why she asked them to play the game. She said,“This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred（仇恨）for somebody inside your heart. The terrible smell of the hatred will pollute your heart and you will carry something unnecessary with you all the time. If you cannot stand the smell of the rotten potatoes for just two weeks, can you imagine how heavy it would be to have the hatred in your heart for your lifetime? So throw away any hatred from your heart, and you'll be really happy．

    Mr. King goes to a dinner party. He is wearing old clothes. He comes into the room. But people in the room don't look at him. They don't ask him to sit at the table. Mr. King goes home and puts on his good clothes. He goes back to the party. Everyone in the room stands up and smiles at him. They give him very good food to eat. Mr. King takes off his clothes, and puts them in the food and says, “Eat, clothes!” The other people ask, “What are you doing?” He answers, “I'm asking my coat to eat food. I am wearing my old clothes. You don't look at me. You don't ask me to sit down. Now I'm in these clothes. And you give me very good food. Now I see, you give the food to my clothes, not to me!”

    On March 14, one of science's brightest stars went dark. Stephen Hawking, the world-famous British scientist, died at 78 in Cambridge, UK.

    Hawking is considered by many to be the greatest scientist in history since Albert Einstein. He came up with the theory（理论） that the universe (宇宙) began with the Big Bang and will end in black holes. His theories became the base for a lot of later research. He also wrote books to help common people understand the universe. His most famous book is A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 10 million copies around the world.

    Besides his scientific achievements, Hawking was also someone who had a strong will. When he was 21, he got a serious illness that stopped him from walking and talking. Later in life, he had to sit in a wheelchair and “speak” using a computerized voice. But this didn't stop him from living a meaningful and colorful life.

    He celebrated his 60th birthday by going up in a hot-air balloon; when he was 65, he took part in a zero-gravity (零重力) flight to experience weightlessness. He hoped to travel into space one day. In 2015, Hawking spoke about how he felt life was unfair when he first knew about his illness. “But now, 50 years later, I can be quietly satisfied with my life,” he said.

    Every January we celebrate the life of a great man, Martin Luther King who fought for civil rights. He believed that all Americans should be treated fairly, no matter what their skin colors were.

    Dr. King was born in 1929 in Atlanta. Because he was dark, he could not go to the same schools as white children. Black Americans also had to use separate restrooms, restaurants, theatres and swimming pools in some states.

    Dr. King thought this was wrong. He was a Christian minister(牧师) who worked for equal right for black people. He helped organize protests to change those unfair laws.

    It was a hard fight. Dr. King was attracted and arrested(逮捕) many times. But more and more Americans grew to understand that it was wrong to treat black people differently from white people.

    In 1963, Dr. King led many people in a march to Washington D. C. where there he gave his famous speech "I have a Dream." He said people should be judged by their hearts, not by their skin colors. His efforts helped bring about new laws to create equal rights for all Americans.

The third Monday of January is a holiday to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King. We should respect his courage in working to improve the lives of so many people.

    Boom! A clap of thunder (一声霹雳) made the old house shake. Ramon stayed under his bed. A flash of lightning (一道闪电) lit up the room."I hate this house,"Ramon thought. It was his first night in his new home.

    The house had belonged to his grandma. It was very, very old. It looked really scary at night. The trees outside his windows looked like monsters (怪物) in the dark. Their branches (树枝) looked like long arms. They waved when the wind blew. The storm made everything even scarier. Ramon hated storms, and it seemed worse in the old house.

    Later the thunder became quieter. Ramon climbed into bed and fell asleep. When he woke up, the sun was shining through his windows. Ramon climbed out of bed.

    The trees outside didn't look like monsters anymore. The branches had nice green leaves growing on them. Ramon could see a bird sitting on one of the branches. It was singing a happy song. The yard looked pretty nice in the daylight. A stream (溪) ran across the yard. A swing hung from one of the trees. Many flowers grew next to the  tree.  Butterflies  flew  around  the flowers.

    "Maybe living here won't be so bad after all," Ramon thought.