Only a Ribbon

    In one of the London hospitals，a short time ago，there was a young doctor. He noticed one of the patients，a ten-year-old poor girl called Katie，who had a very painful illness.

    Katie lay in her bed，day after day，with nothing to help her forget her pain and cheer up. One day the doctor noticed her trying to make a doll of her finger, and speaking to it. But she was soon tired of it，and lay back into her bed.

    That afternoon，the young doctor saw a beautiful ribbon in a shop window. He thought that it might help cheer the little girl up，so he went in and bought it for her. When he handed the ribbon to the girl，she was too surprised to speak. There were tears in her eyes. This little gift made her feel rich and happy.

    The nurse later told the doctor that the girl played with the ribbon all day long. She twisted（盘绕）it round her head. She held it in her hand while she slept.

    Some weeks later，Katie's illness became worse，and it was necessary to perform a dangerous operation. When Katie was brought into the operation mom，she cried out for the young doctor. He was brought，and he held one of the girl's hands，while the other tightly held the ribbon.

    During the operation，the ribbon fell off Katie's hand. As soon as she woke up and opened her eyes，she looked at her friend and said in a low voice，“My ribbon.”The doctor gave it to her and she smiled happily.

    It was only a little gift，but it made the girl's stay in the hospital bright with beauty and love.

    One day, I saw a boy shop alone at the shop I worked. He chose some school things he wanted and went to the checkout (付款台).

    The young shop assistant (店员) told him he needed to pay $37.60. The boy became very sad and said he only had $20. He took out one thing at a time, and at last he got down to his $20. With eyes full of tears, he asked if he could call his mom to pick him up. When he got through, it seemed that his morn was too busy to pick him up in a minute.

    He tried to stop the tears and walked outside to wait on the chair in front of the shop. This was too much for the young assistant. She kept looking outside to see if the boy was all right. Then she said, "I wish I could pay for the rest (剩余部分) of his  things." One of the other girls said she had a few  dollars. Then two others said they could help, too.

    These four young girls pooled their money and found they had more than enough to pay for the boy s things. Then they chose more school things, and gave them all to the boy. The boy laughed happily. His morn arrived much later, but he didn't just run to the car; he ran back into the shop and called out, "Thank you!"

    I was so proud (骄傲的) of my team that day. They did something wonderful for that boy and also found the pleasure (快乐) of giving.

    My interest in cooking started when I was 11, partly thanks to my mother. She didn't really like cooking and when she cooked, I didn't really like her food. Once I was watching something about cooking on TV and I thought I could do this, so I went to the bookstore and looked for the biggest cookbook I could find.

    During a year, I had produced most of its recipes(食谱) and was ready for a bigger challenge(挑战). I wanted to create my own dishes and I started cooking for more people than just my family. Now as a teen chef(主厨)， I have also cooked in top-class restaurants around the country. I am not doing it for the money, but because I love cooking.

    Now I know that when you stop caring whether you'll be famous or do well, your dream will come to you.

    Lang Lang is a famous Chinese pianist. He was born in 1982 in Shenyang. He showed his talent(天赋)for playing the piano when he was two. He began to take piano lessons at the age of 3. At the age of 5, he won first prize in the Shenyang Piano Competition. When he was 11, he won first prize at the Fifth International Young Pianist Competition.

    He began his study at the Curtis Institute(学院) of Music in America when he was 15. He became the first Chinese student at the institute. During his study there he made great progress and became a top pianist. On August 14th, 1999, the great Andre Watts was ill so Lang Lang played at the concert instead of him and he was successful. Then he became famous all over the world.

    In August of 2008, more than 5 billion people watched Lang Lang's performance at the opening ceremony(开幕式)of the Beijing Olympic Games. He also played at the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Expo(世博会).

    My name is Alex. I had an interesting and scary experience last Saturday. At about three o'clock in the afternoon, I was walking down the Main Street. I stopped in front of a jewelry store to look at some rings in the window. I really liked one of the rings. While I was standing there, two men came out of the store. They ran across the street, got into a car, and drove away quickly. Then I saw something on the ground. It was a black bag. I thought maybe they dropped the bag while they were driving away in the car.

    I went to pick up the bag and opened it. There was a diamond watch in the bag. I took the bag with the watch into the jewelry store and showed it to the store manager. The manager looked scared by what had happened but he was very happy to see the watch. He said the two men were thieves, and that the police were looking for them. He also said the watch was very expensive. To thank me, he gave me fifty dollars. I was happy that I helped him. However, the thieves stole many pieces of jewelry. They took ten rings, three watches, four necklaces, and ten pairs of earrings. I hoped the police would catch them soon.

    When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings (缺点). Sometimes she said I was thin. Sometimes she said I was lazy. Sometimes she said I wasn't a good student. Sometimes she said I talked too much, and so on. I tried to put up with (忍受) her as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

    He listened to me quietly, and then he asked, "Are the things she said true or not? Mary, didn't you ever wonder what you're really like? Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said."

    I did as he told me and to my surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true.

    I brought the list back to my dad. He refused to take it. "That's just for you," he said. "You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. When something said about you is true, you'll find it will be helpful to you. Don't shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you think is right."

    Many years have passed. The situation often appears in my mind. In our life we often meet with some trouble and we often go to someone and ask for advice. For some advice you will treasure (珍惜) all your life!