It was a hot day. At noon I stopped at the traffic lights and saw a homeless man walking up and down in the street.

     “This will make1 smile,” I thought, and I turned my car towards a frozen yogurt shop. I grabbed a2and filled it with a couple of flavors and came to the counter to weigh it. I wanted to add some toppings but my3was not enough for that, so I asked the lady if she would have change for a $ 100 bill. She said she wasn't

    allowed to accept a bill that large. All right, I thought and4for the yogurt. As I was about to leave, she said, “Madam, don't5your children. Please add their favorite things. ” I turned to her and said, “Thanks for your6but this is not for my children.

    It's for the homeless man in the street. ” She smiled with surprise and said, “Oh! That's really sweet of you. God bless you. ” She thought for a moment, and then she said, “I think we can do7than that. ”

    She took a bigger cup, filled it nicely and covered it with colorful toppings. Then she8it to me and said, “This is from me. Please give it to the homeless man. Let's treat him nicely. ” Now it was my turn to be 9. I said, “Thanks a lot. ” And I left with a big smile on my face. On the way I said to myself, “ Angels are10, aren't they? I believe them because I saw one today!”

Here are some students' New Year's resolutions of 2016.

Hi, my name is Selina. I'm going to do my best at school. I'm going to finish my homework on time. If I need some help with a subject, I'm going to ask my teacher for help.

My name is Dave. I'm going to eat fruit and vegetables every day. I'm going to drink more water and milk. I'm also going to brush my teeth after meals every day.

My name is Tina. I'm going to meet more people and make more friends this year. I'm also going to be friendly to other kids in my class. I'm going to be friendly to kids who need friends—like someone who is shy or new.

I'm Tony. I'll never give out personal information such as my name, home address, school name and telephone number on the Internet. Also, I'll never send a picture of myself to someone or talk with someone online(在网上).

Last week I went to the theatre. I had a very good seat. The play was very interesting. I did not enjoy it. A young man and a young woman were sitting behind me. They were talking loudly. l got very angry. I could not hear the actors. I turned round. I looked at the man and the woman angrily. They did not pay any attention. In the end, I could not bear it. I turned round again. "I can't hear a word!" I said angrily. 

"It's none of your business" the young man said rudely. "This is a private conversation!"

As many as 110 middle and high school students from more than 90 countries and regions(地区) took part in the 16th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for ForeignSecondary School Students. The competition ran from Oct 16th to Oct 30th in Beijing and Yunnan last year. In it, they took cultural trips and answered questions about Chinese characters(汉字) and Chinese culture.

Attracted by Chinese dramas

Folke Borgstorm is an 18-year-old from Sweden. When he visited Beijing for the competition, he bought a jade necklace(玉石项链). Borgstorm said he knew about jade from a Chinese TV show. "A main character in the TV show wears jade and it makes him look cool. Jade can have many colors like green, red and white," said Borgstrom. He became interested in it and started to learn more about it.

Botgstorm also enjoyed watching popular short dramas. "Most Sweden TV shows tell of boring everyday life," he said. "But Chinese shows have interesting stories."

Amazed by a Chinese host

Many of the students hoped to learn more about Chinese culture on the trip, but Ai Akasaki, from Japan, wanted to meet her idol, Sa Beining. Sa is a well-known host in China. The 16-year-old girl watches the Spring Festival Gala(春晚) every year and likes the funny Sa. "I also watched other shows Sa hosts, like Everlasting Classics(《经典咏流传》). In those beautiful songs, I found Chinese poetry is as beautiful as Japanese haiku(俳句)," said Ai.

Unluckily, she didn't meet Sa this time. But she wants to be a journalist(记者) in China and work with Sa one day.

There once lived a rich businessman who had a lazy son. The businessman wanted his son to realize the value of labor. 

One day, he told his son, "Today, I want you to earn something. If you fail, you won't have your meal tonight. "

The boy didn't want to find a job, so he asked his mother for help. She gave him a gold coin. In the evening, when the father asked his son what he had earned, the son showed him the gold coin. The father then asked him to throw it into the well (水井). The son did as he was told. 

The father guessed that the gold was from the boy's mother. The next day, he sent his wife to her parents' home and asked his son to earn something. Since no one helped him, the son had to go to the market to look for a job. A shopkeeper told him that he would pay him a coin if he carried heavy tools for him. The son accepted. As he returned home and gave the coin to his father. he was asked to throw it into the well. The boy cried, "Dad! My body is aching. I'm tired. How are you asking me to throw my hard-earned coin into a well?"

The businessman smiled. He told his son that one feels pain only when the fruits of labor are wasted. The son realized the value of hard work. He promised not to be lazy any more. 

I was fourteen years old and I just came to the junior high school. It seemed that I would have difficulties finishing high school because I was a troubled teenager. However, one person came into my life quietly and then completely changed everything. 

The first year in my school, Mr. Brown taught me history. He was quite different from the other teachers I had known. But I had to say that he was sure a great teacher. 

One day, Mr. Brown called me aside(到旁边) and asked why I was a B student in his class but a C student in the rest of my classes. I passionately(热情地)told him about my divorced(离婚的)parents, the gangs (尤指滋事的青少年团伙), the fights, the police—all of the evil things I had experienced. It was then that Mr. Brown patiently explained that the only person responsible(有责任的)for my situation was me. And the only person with the ability to change my situation was me, too. He told me that I failed not because I was a failure as a student. He encouraged me to become a better student. 

Ten years later, I was preparing to graduate(毕业)from a university. The first person coming to my mind was him. So I tried to reach him and wanted to tell him that I really wished him to come to enjoy this important moment together with me. 

I'll never forget his reply. He said, "Who is this again?"

At that moment, I came to realize that I was just one of hundreds of the students whose lives were changed by him but he had no idea of his influence. 

Mr. Brown never came to my graduation(毕业), but his not coming taught me another important lesson. His final lesson for me was that we will never know or understand the influence we have on other people's lives. And he also taught me that we all have the chance to influence people's lives for the better or for the worse.