What will you do when you have something difficult to do? I used to ask my mother for help. But she always said, "Do it yourself, dear." or "God helps those who help themselves , girl." I was not glad at all. I thought she was the laziest mother in the world.

For example, one day, I decided to invite some friends to my home. My bedroom was not in order. Books were everywhere. And I didn't make the bed. I asked my mother to help me to clean it, but she still said, "Do it yourself, girl."

Because of my "lazy mother", I have to wash my clothes and clean my room. I have to help my parents do some housework. I even have to go to the dentist by myself. It is really hard for me to do everything well, but I have learned a lot.

    As time goes by, I come to understand my mother. She makes me clever and active! What a great mother!

    Mr. Lee was in bed and was trying to go to sleep when he heard the bell ring. He turned on the light and looked at his clock. It was twelve o'clock. "Who can it be at this time of night?” He thought. He decided to go and find out. So he got up, put on his dressing gown(长袍) and went to the door. When he opened the door, there was nobody there. "That is very strange." Then he went back to his bedroom, took off his dressing gown, got back into bed, turned off the light and tried to go to sleep.

    A few minutes later he heard the bell ring again. Mr. Lee jumped out of bed very quickly and rushed to the door. He opened it, but again he found no one there. He closed the door and tried not to feel angry. Then he saw a piece of paper on the floor. He picked it up. There were some words on it: “It is now after midnight, so it is April Fool's Day. April fool to you!”

    “Oh, it was the English boy next door!" Mr. Lee exclaimed(惊叫) and almost smiled. He went back to bed and fell asleep at once. The bell did not ring again.

    A little boy almost thought of himself as the unluckiest child in the world because he was born with a lame (瘸的) leg. He seldom played with his classmates and always lowered his head without a word.

    One spring, the boy's father gave each child a small tree to plant." Whoever grows the best tree will get a favorite gift," he said to them. Seeing his brothers and sisters watering the trees happily in the garden, he had a terrible idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So he never cared about it.

    A few days later, he was surprised to find it not only didn't die, but also grew some fresh leaves, and it looked greener and healthier than the others. He got a favorite gift and was told by his father: from the tree he planted, he would become a great botanist (植物学家). One night, looking at the bright moonlight outside the window, he suddenly remembered what his teacher once said: most plants grew at night. Why not go to see the lovely tree? When he came to the garden, he found his father was watering his tree carefully. At that time, he understood: his father had secretly taken good care of his shall tree! He returned to his room with tears (泪水) running out.

    Many years passed. The little boy didn't become a botanist, but he was known as a great president of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.

Harbin is known as "the City of Ice". Usually, it has heavy snow from the early November. It's time for Harbin to come to life and attract visitors all over the world. 

Harbin Ice and Snow World has been a business card since 1999. This 816,682-square-meter park is the largest ice and snow theme park in the world. Visitors can enjoy more than 1,000 artworks made of ice and snow. And also, they can try the super ice slide (滑梯). The number of the ice slides this year is increased from 8 to 14 and the longest one is 512 meters. 

Visitors from the south of China is a large part of the tourism crowd. Chen Ling, a visitor, said, "I'm from Guangzhou. I come here to enjoy the hot winter. My trip will last about a week. I hope I will have a great time!" However, the southern visitors may be less prepared for the cold. So the local government gives the most important suggestion: Pack enough warm clothes. The more, the better. A Harbin taxi driver said, "My wife works in a hotel. These days we're busy but we both feel very excited. Ice and snow are important parts of our city. All the visitors are sure to feel the enthusiasm (热情) of us. Welcome to my hometown!"

You may feel bored in winter sometimes. But Harbin Ice and Snow World can make the long, cold months beautiful and creative.