A young man from a village called Nawalapitiya married a young woman from Maiyuwa, a small village. They lived with the man's big family—his parents, his brothers, their wives and children. The family kept an elephant, in which the woman soon took a great interest. Every day she fed it with fruit and sugar.

    Three months later, having quarreled with her husband, the woman went back to her parents' home. Soon the elephant refused to eat and work. It appeared to be ill and heartbroken. One morning after several weeks the animal disappeared from the house.

    It went to the woman's home. On seeing her, the elephant waved its trunk and touched her with it. The young woman was so moved by the act of the animal. So she went back to her husband's home.

    Once, in a small village, lived a family with two children, James and Jack. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} of them loved painting very much, but the family was so {#blank#}2{#/blank#} that it was impossible to send both of them to study at the art college at the same time. After many discussions, the two boys finally worked {#blank#}3{#/blank#} a plan. They would throw a coin. The loser would go to work in the mines（矿井） to support his brother's studies at the college. Then, when the brother at college {#blank#}4{#/blank#} his studies after four years, he would support the other brother's college studies.

    James {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, and so Jack went down into the mines. James worked with all his heart, and his paintings were soon much {#blank#}6{#/blank#} than those of most of his teachers. By the time he graduated, he was beginning to make a lot of money from his paintings.

    When James returned, the family held a big dinner to {#blank#}7{#/blank#} his great success. Soon after {#blank#}8{#/blank#} dinner began, James stood up from his seat to drink a toast to his dear brother. He said, "Jack, now you can go to the art college and your dream will come true. I will take care of you."

{#blank#}9{#/blank#} Jack said softly, "Brother, the four years in the mines has done too much to my hands, so it's too late. Now I can't even hold a glass."

James was heart-broken. One hour {#blank#}10{#/blank#}, he drew a simple picture of his brother's hands. This drawing is today known as the famous picture named The Praying Hands.

    NO matter what happens, I'll always be there for you!

    In 1989, an8.2 earthquake almost destroyed America, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the midst of utter devastation and chaos, a father left his wife safely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be, only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.

    After the unforgettably scare, he remembered the promise he had made to his son: "No matter what, I'll always be there for you!" And tears began to fill his eyes. As he looked at the badly damaged building that once was the school, it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his promise to his son

    He began to direct his attention to where he walked his son to class at school each morning. Remembering his son's classroom would be in the back right comer of the building, he rushed there and started digging through the ruins, As he was digging, other helpless parents tried to pull him off what was left of the school, saying," It's too late! They're all dead! You can't help! Co home! Come on! Face reality. Here's nothing you can do!

    To each parent he replied with one line, "Are you going to help me now?" And then he continued to dig for his son, stone by stone. The firefighter leader showed up and tried to pull him off the school's ruins saying, "Fires are breaking out. Explosions are happening everywhere. You are in danger. We'll take care of it. Go home." To which this loving, caring American father asked, "Are you going to help me now?" The police came and said, "You're angry, worried and it's over. You're making others in danger. Go home. We'll handle it!" To which he replied, "Are you going to help me now?" No one replied.

    He went on alone because he needed to know for himself "is my boy alive or is he dead?" He dug for eight hours … 12 hours ... 24 hours … 36 hours … then, in the 38th hour, he pulled back a large stone and heard his son's voice. He screamed his son's name, "Armand!" He heard back, "Dad? It's me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you would save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised, no matter what happens, you'll always be there for me. You did it, Dad!" "What's going on in there? How is it?" the father asked, "There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We're scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you're here. When the building fell down, it made a triangle, and it saved us."

    "Come out, boy!" "No, Dad! Let the other kids out first because I know you'll get me! No matter what happens, I know you'll always be there for me!"

I am a book lover. So my house is forever full of 1. I have new ones, old ones, hard covers, paperbacks, 2and non-stories. I have three boxes of books in my closet, two boxes of books on the floor of my bedroom, and a box of children's books 3 for my future grandchildren. I have even more books 4the two I wrote on my desk. I try to keep the books 5 building up by donating as many as I can to the local 6, but as soon as I donate a few, I find myself buying a few more.

    Books I read keep my mind young, and my heart 7, and soul bright. They bring me knowledge, laughter, and joy. They connect me with the wisdom of the past and the new ideas of the 8. They keep me moving on the right path as a journey through life.

    I have learned that people are a lot like books as well. Some have bright and shiny covers 9  don't have very much to say inside of them. Others look old and plain but so full of 10and light that reading them can 11your whole life. One difference between books and people, though, is that while a book has an ending, the writing inside of us 12forever.

Take care when writing the book of your own life. Fill it with love for yourself, others and this world. Fill it with all the wisdom you have learned, goodness you have done, 13you have shared, and joy you have 14. Keep writing it every day, too. Make it everything you are and everything you want to be, and then15it to everyone. I know it will be a wonderful and fantastic book.

Ray was thought to be a strange boy. One day when he was flying his kite, he said to himself," Did anybody ever try to fly a kite at night? I think it must be very fun. But the kite can't be seen in the dark. What if I tie a light to it? That would be really good. I {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(try) it tonight."

As soon as it was dark, he {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(take) his kite and lantern, and went to a large field about a mile from his home. He tied the lantern to the tail of his kite. The lantern {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(make) of paper. The kite flew higher and higher. He tied the string (线)to a tree, and then he stood there, staring at his kite. It floated (飘) high up into the air. How wonderful! While Ray {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(enjoy) his special kite, some people in the village also saw it.

"Look! A light{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (fly) in the sky," one person said. "It can't be a light," said a man.

"Perhaps it's a big firefly (萤火虫) ,"said another,

"Maybe it's a comet (彗星),"said another man.

"How strange!" said a boy.

"Let's find out what this strange light{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (be)," the last one said. Then they went to the field.

Ray, who had gotten tired of standing, was sitting behind a tree. He{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (see) the men as they came, but they didn't see him. When they reached under the light, and saw what it was, they looked at each other and said, "There is nothing unusual {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(happen)! This is just a trick of some naughty boys, but it {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (fool) us all.

Let's keep the secret. "Then they laughed and went back to the village. When the men had gone, Ray thought it was time for him {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(go), so he went home, too. When his mother heard what he had done, she hardly knew whether to laugh or scold (责备), but just told him to go to bed.

A lot of primary schools in China are doing something to improve naptime conditions (午休条件)for students.

Recently, Dongxing Experimental Primary School in Quanzhou, Fujian, is popular on the Internet. Why? Because the school uses adjustable(可调整的) sleep desks to help students have a better nap. With a simple turn of a knob(旋钮), desks become comfortable beds. In this way, students can rest in a proper way.

Longteng Primary School in Zhengzhou, Henan, is another example. At school, there are some unused classrooms. These classrooms are now naptime rooms with beds and pillows.

For classroom usage, Tianqi Primary School in Wuhan, Hubei, is planning to make unused indoor sports fields and activity rooms future nap spaces. Teachers in Tianqi said, "Students are excited to hear this news. They are looking forward to having a comfortable place to rest."

In the town of Chashan, Liling, Hunan, Meixia Wanquan Primary School plays an important role for a great number of left-behind children who live too far away to return home for a nap. An organization gave them 130 folding beds to make sure every child could have a proper nap.

The new way of napping at school is not only comfortable but also good for health. Medical experts warn, "If students take naps with their face down, it will increase(增加)their eye pressure and finally lead to some eye problems. The lying-down way of napping addresses these worries, and protects the children's health."