Dear sister,

I've been happy here in New York. But when holidays are coming near, I really feel "There's no place like home", just like the English proverb says, "East, west, home is the b{#blank#}1{#/blank#}."

You must be doing well in English class. The letter you sent to me was written in good English.

Well, I want to i{#blank#}2{#/blank#} my friend Diana to our home. I dare not tell Mama directly. If Dad and Mum say that will be all right, please write to me as soon as possible.

Diana is a poor girl whose parents died last month in a terrible accident. She has to spend the holidays alone. She wants to see China and try e{#blank#}3{#/blank#} that we Chinese do. She p{#blank#}4{#/blank#} speaking Chinese for two years and can speak a little now. She has great curiosity about our family life and will ask you many questions about it. Isn't it a good chance to u{#blank#}5{#/blank#} each other? I'm sure you'll learn many things from her.

Please give my love to our father and mother!

Your sister,

Mei

    It was very cold, Amaya was warm in her house, thinking about an article she'd read at school. The article was about kids who 1 out their communities, and she thought it would be really cool to help her own town, Harvard.

    The only2 was that she wasn't sure how to help. In the article, the kids had grown food for people who needed food, but it was winter. She couldn't start a garden. Amaya was deep in thought when her mom said it was time to go shopping.

    As they drove along the road, Amaya saw a family wearing only light jackets. The cold wind blew 3 outside. How cold they must be! That gave her an idea! She could 4  winter coats, hats and gloves for people who needed them.

    She shared her idea with her mom, who thought it was great. But how would they 5 the idea to get plenty of winter clothing? Amaya decided to talk to her teacher, because then she could share her idea with her classmates at least.

    Ms. Monroe agreed when Amaya talked about her idea. They decided to call the 6  Hats in Harvard. Then they wrote a letter explaining the project. They also met with the headmaster during lunch time. He was excited about the idea, and said he would make sure copies (复印件) of the letter went home with all the students.

    They collected enough winter clothing in only one week. Then they left the clothes around two parks, so families who needed clothes could get them there. Three days later, Amaya and her mom went shopping again. She saw the same family that had given her the7for Hats in Harvard.  This time, though, the family wore some new coats, hats and gloves. Amaya felt 8 in her heart, and was very glad she could help others.

Bex Lindsay's dream was to be a host. From a young age, she was very 1 in radio. In her childhood she often pretended (假装) to host her own shows on Bex Radio while 2 her parents' CDs. At that time Lindsay wanted very much to work at Fun Kids, a radio station 3 young listeners, so she sent them a strange recording, hoping to be accepted.

"In the old host-to-be performance, the final thing you were 4 to do was to jump on a trampoline (蹦床) while interviewing 5, "she told the reporter, "I didn't have a trampoline and I didn't want to do it in front of anyone else, so I interviewed myself while jumping on my bed, having the recording made. "

Lindsay's recording really 6 and she was asked to host the Sunday breakfast show. Now she hosts a popular program and she loves radio more than ever. She says, "My 7 as the host is kind of to be a listener, so I will ask questions that other people would want to ask."

When she is asked how she has been 8, Lindsay says, "First of all, keep the dream in your mind and 9 give up. "She adds, "Hosting isn't about how high up in the world you are; its about having a good 10 and a good idea. Go and do it."

Do you have trouble trying to create the next big idea?

Sometimes the answer isn't to just force an idea out of your mind.

Instead, you might want to try sitting back, relaxing and letting your mind wander（走神）. Yes, you heard that correctly. If you are in need of a new idea, try daydreaming.

Daydreams allow your mind to run freely and even increase productivity in some cases. Daydreaming develops creativity which is why you have an ah-ha moment and sudden insight（领悟） about a situation. Daydreaming allows you to uncover thoughts and ideas you did not realize you even had and get the thoughts hidden under the surface.

Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, found a connection between daydreaming and creative problem-solving. Their study includes making participants first do an "unusual-use task". They had to try to come up with as many different ways to use an object as they could.

Then, the participants choose to do one of the following four things before doing the "unusual-use task" again; complete a difficult task, complete an easy task, take a 12-minute break, or skip a 12-minute break and move right on to the task exercise again.

Surprisingly, the group that performed best was the one that completed the easy task. Many participants reported that they were daydreaming while performing the easy task. So the researchers believed that this daydreaming might have helped unlock their creativity.

But how could daydreaming help the brain come up with creative ways? The answer is something known as "unconscious thought". Even when you are not actively working to solve a problem, it is still in the back of your mind. Your brain is still thinking about the problem, but in a way that you are unaware of.

When you daydream, your mind is allowed to think in ways it normally would not. Because it is free of control, it can create completely new and out-of-the-box ideas.

Great ideas never come easily, but that does not mean you always have to work hard to get them. Feel free to do what you want and let your mind wander.

Did you find or lose anything? Here are some lost and found notices.