B

    When I was a little girl, my father loved to play catch (抛接球游戏) with me. I wasn't very good, but he would encourage me. He was always telling me “keep your eye on the ball” as I would not be able to catch even the easiest of throws.

    As I got older, we didn't play catch as much. If I had a problem, I would go to my father to ask for his advice. He would try to joke with me and say “keep your eye on the ball”. We would both laugh because usually that advice did not apply to(适用于) the problem, but he would try to make me smile.

    My father became ill in 1995 when I was 23. As he suffered from a stroke (中风), he could not speak. There weren't any more conversations. He could only mouth words, which were sometimes hard to understand. After a while, I seemed to be pretty good at reading his lips (嘴唇), even better than the nurses who were caring for him.

    During our last conversation, I was telling him about a problem I was having with my then boyfriend. Once again, I could read his lips： “Keep your eye on the ball.” We both smiled.

    That was the last time I saw my father before he passed away.

    Since then, when I get into a stressful situation I tell myself “keep your eye on the ball”.

    Liu Mingxiao, 13, is a pretty and smart girl. She comes top in her class. But many students try to stay away from her because her mother has AIDS(艾滋病). Liu's father has died of AIDS. But Liu didn't get it.

    AIDS means fear(惧怕)for most people. “Nobody wants to play games with me. They call me bad names behind my back. Even a teacher who used to like me turns her back on me now. It makes me feel sad.” said Liu.

    Liu's mother didn't know what happened to her daughter until one day Liu came back home with her nose bleeding(流血的)，“ She fought with a boy who said something bad about her father.” said Liu's mother. “My heart really hurts. My daughter did nothing wrong!”

    For many of these children, the biggest problem they now face is how other people look at them. Many of them have to drop out of school(辍学)because they can no longer stand others' indifference(冷漠).

    “People are afraid of AIDS because they know little about it,” said Wang Chongrun, head of a group to help children living with AIDS. Wang went to the villages and gave lessons about AIDS to the people there.

    “Many of these children are just as healthy as others,” Wang said.

    “Even if they have AIDS, it's still safe to eat and play with them. They need our love and understanding. A friendly smile means a lot to them!”

    My name is Tom. I come from England. I like to have friends who are different from me. My best friend is Paul. Paul is funnier, more outgoing and athletic than me. He always tells jokes and makes me laugh. We also like different things. He likes going to the movies. He likes playing sports. He likes pop music. But I like reading books. He often asks me to go to the movies and gives me some interesting books. And I often give him CDs. We often help each other.

    Zhang Lili, a Chinese language teacher at No.19 Middle School of Jiamusi in Heilongjiang Province, has recently been considered to be "the Most Beautiful Teacher" in China.

    At 8: 38 pm on Tuesday, May 8^th, 2012, Zhang Lili and her several students were waiting for a bus at the school gate when suddenly a school bus lost control and rushed towards them. When she realized the danger, she pushed two students to safety, but she was hit and run over. The 29-year-old teacher lost her legs.

    "She is a backbone(骨干) teacher in our school. She works very hard," said the headteacher.

    The heroic teacher was the most popular teacher among the students. "Her students love her a lot. Her room is always full of students when she is free," said another teacher.

    Zhang Lili was also very generous. "My son has lost his father. Every month, Zhang secretly put 100 yuan in his desk from her own salary(工资) to support his studies," said a boy's mother, who was waiting outside the emergency room(急诊室) for hours to express how grateful she felt towards Zhang.

    Two weeks later, Zhang Lili came out of her coma(昏迷). She wrote a letter to her students, wishing them good luck on their entrance exams for high school. Her letter, 200 words long took her three days to write.

    Both of Omar's parents liked writing poetry. His father taught poetry in a college. Although his mother worked at a bank, she wrote poetry when she was free. His parents spent one evening each week on poetry readings. Most readings were at a small coffee shop.

    Omar loved going to the coffee shop with his parents. The nice smell of coffee and the beautiful voice of reading blew him away. One woman came to the coffee shop every week. People called her Mrs Abboud. She never read, but she always had a bright smile for everyone, and she would clap(鼓掌) loudly after each reading.

    Later, Omar began writing his own poetry. He did quite well. Mrs Francis, Omar's English teacher, advised him to go to a poetry competition. At first Omar was excited. However, when he read the competition rules, he became worried. The competition was an oral (口头的) reading. Omar was sure that he could write good poetry, but he was afraid of reading in front of others. "We'll be very happy to see you in the competition," his father said. And Omar knew that he had to go through with it somehow.

    On the day of the competition, he chose his favourite poem and put on his best clothes. When it was his turn, something wonderful happened! Mrs Abboud was sitting next to his parents. He saw her warm smile. He could almost smell the coffee at the small coffee shop. Now it was easy for him to read. When Omar finished, everyone clapped loudly. Omar felt great joy in his heart.

    Growing up in the US, I always wanted to know about another culture. The chance came when I was 15. After a few months of planning and preparing, I was ready to spend the second term of my first year of high school as an exchange student in Australia.

    The city I stayed in was Perth, Australia, and it is the fourth largest city of Australia. When I arrived at the airport, the family I would live with were already waiting for me there, and the new school term would start in only five days. The school I attended was very different from my school in the US. In the school we had to wear the uniform, and we were not allowed to wear bracelets (手链) or necklaces(项链). I was quite uncomfortable at first, because I had never been to a new school— even in the US. Everything went smoothly, though. The teachers were welcoming and the students were friendly.

    The most memorable time of my term abroad was with other international exchange students. We traveled around Australia during the breaks. The few weeks we spent together were filled with amazing activities. At the end of our stay in Australia, we had three weeks to share our stories and help each other. Our last day together was filled with tears. We packed our things, exchanged e-mail addresses, and got together to say goodbye.

    I really have learned a lot from my exchange experience.