Steve visits the nursing home near his house two afternoons each week. On one of those days, he reads to his friend Martin. On the other afternoon, he plays cards and talks with Mrs. Johnson. Steve enjoys spending his extra time this way. He is a volunteer. A volunteer is a person who helps another person or has a job for which he or she does not get paid. A volunteer donates his or her time for free.

    Everyone else in Steve's family is also a volunteer. Steve's mother Mary volunteers one afternoon each week at the local hospital. She talks to patients, delivers flowers, and helps the nurses with odd jobs. Steve's sister Gina volunteers two afternoons at the museum. She welcomes visitors and answers their questions. Steve's father David also is a volunteer. He is a volunteer fire fighter for the town in which they live.

    Steve's family thinks volunteering is very important. Steve's parents think being a volunteer helps to teach values. Steve and his sister learn how to be kind and respect other people.

    Steve's family does volunteer work to give something back to the community. They want to help people who are not as fortunate as they are.

    A family of volunteers

    "Never set foot in this house again!" should father." BANK!" the door closed behind me. With tears in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street.

    The street lights were shining, causing rather sad-feeling. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} I don't know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old. We differ in our ways of thinking. He always put his opinions on me. We are just like two people coming from two different worlds. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I wandered the streets, without any aim in my mind. As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people on the streets. When I finally reached the apartment where I lived, I saw that the light was still on.

    I thought to myself: Is father waiting for me, or is he still angry with me?

    In fact, it was nothing. Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps. Perhaps he thought they were useless. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} All the lights were off except father's.

    Dad was always like this. He had got used to arguing with me. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} After shouting at me, he never said sorry to me. But after an argument he always came into my room secretly and made sure whether I was asleep.

    The light was still on." Am I wrong?" I whispered, maybe… With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been. At last, I decided to open the door. As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Love is second to none.

A. It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened.

B.I wandered aimlessly.

C.I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all.

D. Maybe he didn't know how to express himself.

E.I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps.

    We live in a world filled with many different kinds of people. We want to get along well with others. We also want to be liked by others. The following ways will make others like you.

    Do this and you will be welcome anywhere

    Become really interested in other people. A show of interest must be true. It must bring good results not only to the person showing the interest, but also to the person receiving the attention. It is a two-way street-both of you get an advantage.

    An easy way to make a good first impression(印象)

Smile as often as possible. Your smile is a sign of kindness. When someone feels stressed(有压力的)from his or her teachers or parents, your smile is like the sun breaking through the clouds. Your smile can help him or her realize(意识到)that all is hopeful—there is still joy in the world.

    If you don't do this, you are getting into trouble.

    Remember a person's name. A person's name is the sweetest and the most important sound in any language. We should realize the magic in a name. The name makes the person different from others; it makes him or her special among all others. If you remember a person's name, the relationship(关系)between both of you will become much closer.

An easy way to become a good talker

    Be a careful listener first. Ask questions that other persons will like to answer. Encourage (鼓励)them to talk about themselves and their achievements. What you need to do is just listen, because people are much more interested in themselves.

    TapeMeasure Murder is a short story by Agatha Christie. In the story, Miss Politt, the dressmaker, finds that Mrs. Spenlow is dead in her house in a small village called St Mary Mead. Everybody, including the police, thinks that Mr. Spenlow is the murderer(凶手) because he is so calm and quiet after discovering his wife's death. But after the police talk to Miss Marple, she finds out the real murderer.

    The best part of the story is when Miss Marple explains how she solves the mystery(疑案) by noticing a tiny pin(别针) on a policeman's uniform. Her explanation is very clear and clever. Miss Marple is my favorite character in the story. I think she is very special because she is just an old lady but she is even smarter than the policemen. I never thought that an old lady could be the main character of a detective story!

    Can you guess who the murderer is? Read the book to find out! You will enjoy the story very much because the ending is so surprising.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}、{#blank#}2{#/blank#}、{#blank#}3{#/blank#}、{#blank#}4{#/blank#}、{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Which meal do we need most, breakfast, lunch or dinner? Dinner is a big meal of the day, but it is not the meal we need most. Breakfast is the meal we need most, because from night to the next morning is a long time to go without food. We may feel hungry or sick if we have no breakfast.

    How many times a day should children eat? Most people eat three meals a day  but five times a day is fine for children. Children are always hungry after school. They should have a snack then. Then they will not eat too fast at dinner because eating too fast is not good. They should also have an apple or an orange between lessons. They are growing. They need to eat often.

    Is it right to eat much when we get tired? It is not good to eat too much. It can make you sick. Wait until(直到)you are rested. Then your food will do you better.

    We can talk about interesting things at the table but we should talk quietly. If we are glad, our food does us better.