Tony Wheeler was born to travel. His father worked for an airline. For the first 16 years of his life, Wheeler and his family lived in many counties.

    In the early 1970s, Tony met a young woman named Maureen. Soon they got married. Before getting jobs, Tony and Maureen wanted to travel. They took a year-long trip from England, through Asia, to Australia. On the trip, they visited places like Iran, India and so on.

    When Tony and Maureen arrived in Australia, people asked many questions about their trip. To answer these questions, Wheeler wrote a book called Across Asia on the Cheap. The book told people about different countries weather, customs, and places to see. But unlike other travel books of that time, Tony Wheeler's book also talked about places most tourists didn't go. He also wrote about special things to see and to do. The book was very popular.

    Tony and Maureen started a company called Lonely Planet. They went on traveling. They wrote books for each place they visited. Today, 800 people work for Lonely Planet. The company has over 650 books. Tony Wheeler, the great traveler, still writes about travels to many places and will bring us more surprises.

    It was Mother's Day. But the young mother was a little unhappy. Because she was 800 miles away from her parents. In the morning she phoned her mother to wish her a happy Mother's Day. and her mother told her about the beautiful lilacs(丁香)in the garden.

    Later that day. When she told her husband about the lilacs. He said. "I know where we can find all that you want. Get the children and come on. "So they went. Driving down the country roads.

    There on a small hill. They saw a lot of beautiful purple lilacs. The young woman ran quickly to enjoy the flowers. Carefully. She picked a few here and a few there. On their way home there was a smile on her face.

    When they were passing a nursing home(养老院). The young woman saw an old granny sitting in a chair. She had no children with her. They stopped the car and the young woman walked to the old woman. Put the flowers in her hands. And smiled at her. The old granny thanked her again and again. She smiled happily. Too.

    When the young mother came back to her car. Her children asked her. "Who is that old granny？Why did you give our flowers to her？"

    "I don't know her." their mother said. "But it's Mother's Day. And she has no children. I have all of you. And I still have my mother. Just think how much those flowers meant to her. "

    An old man is sitting on the sofa in his house along with his son. Just then, a crow (乌鸦) stops on their window.

    "What is that?" asks the father.

    "It is a crow." answers the son.

    "What is that?" asks the father again after a few minutes.

    "Father, I just told you. It's a crow." the son answers again.

    "What is that?" asks the old father a third time.

    "Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again?  I have told you so many times 'IT IS A CROW'!" shouts (大喊) the son.

    After a little while,  the father goes to his room and comes back with his old diary (日记). He asks his son to read one page. The son reads the following words in the diary:

    "Today my 3-year-old son is sitting with me on the sofa. When a crow is sitting in the window, he asks me 23 times what it is, and, 23 times, I answer, 'it is a crow' I hug (拥抱) him warmly every time he asks me the same question, again and again."

    When your parents get old,  do not look them as a burden (负担), but be kind to them. Remember they are the people who always love you. Love your parents, please.

    Last Friday a storm swept through two villages in the New Territories, destroying(摧毁) fourteen homes. Seven others were so badly damaged (破坏) that their owners had to leave them, and fifteen others had broken windows or broken roofs. One person was killed, several were badly hurt and taken to hospital, and a number of other people received smaller hurt. Altogether over two hundred people were homeless after the storm.

    A farmer, Mr. Tan, said that the storm began early in the morning and lasted for over an hour. "I was eating with my wife and children," he said, "when we heard a loud noise. A few minutes later our house fell down on top of us. We tried our best to climb out but then I saw that one of my children was missing. I went back inside and found him, safe but very frightened."

    Mrs. Woo Mei Fong said that her husband had just left for work when she felt that her house was moving. She ran outside at once with her children. "There was no time to take anything," she said." A few minutes later, the roof came down."

    Soldiers helped to take people out of the flooded (水淹的) area and the welfare department (福利机构) brought them food, clothes and shelter.

    Life is colorful. However, life sometimes plays jokes on us, especially when one has a bad day. Ryu is an unlucky one.

    Ryu got up late in the morning. He set the alarm clock at 8:00 a.m. the night before because he had a job interview at a company today. But the alarm clock didn't ring. How strange!

    Then Ryu sat at the kitchen table where his breakfast usually was, but it wasn't there. Instead, he found a note left by his sister, "I am really busy today. Make breakfast yourself." So Ryu had a quick breakfast of bread and milk. Then he rode his bicycle to the company for the interview.

    When Ryu arrived, he was scolded(责骂) by the angry boss(老板) for being five minutes late. But he still got the job after the interview. Also, he was told to get to work at 9:00 a.m. the next day. That night Ryu went to bed earlier at 11:00 p.m., in order not to be late the next day.

    The next morning, Ryu's sister woke him up at 8:00 a.m. But he wanted to stay in bed for five more minutes. He finally had to get up when the sunlight shone down on his eyes. He did everything like any other normal day. When he finished his breakfast, he found it was already 9:05 a.m. He was late again.