“Homestay is a form of study abroad program．It allows visitors to rent a room from a local(当地的)family to better understand the local lifestyle．It also helps to improve the visitor's language ability，"said a teacher during a school meeting last term．“Students who wish to learn more about foreign cultures or to get foreign experience should join this kind of holiday．I am sure you won't be disappointed(失望的)．”

    After this special meeting，I always thought about this kind of holiday．Last month I had a chance at last to go on such a holiday with some of my schoolmates and we went to London．a place where I had wanted to go since years ago．

    As we were still young，we had a group leader who planned things for us and looked after us．After we got to London. we went to stay with different families．I was lucky that my host family(寄宿家庭)was a white couple who had a daughter about my age．They treated me as a daughter of their family during my stay there．They were interested in me and I learnt a lot of things from them，too．

    The holiday was filled with activities every day．After breakfast，a local teacher would come to take us in his car．Then we would have classes or go on a sight—seeing trip to different places of interest like the Big Ben，the London Bridge，and the Buckingham Palace．We would go back to our own homes after the activities．

    The holiday was a valuable experience for me．I enjoyed every minute of it．Yet，time really flew fast．Three weeks later，we had to leave “home” for Hong Kong．

    It's 14：00. The house is quiet (安静的). "Tom？" Mom says. No one answers. Mom comes to Tom's room. He is not on the bed. But his model plane is on the desk. "He is not in his room, and he is not in the yard (院子)，" Mom thinks. Then Mom comes to his grandparents' room. Tom likes to play with Grandpa's tape player. But he is not there.

    Mom looks for (寻找) him everywhere. But where is Tom? Mom is worried. She wants to call Dad. She comes to the living room to get the phone.

    "What's that？" Mom sees something black under the sofa. Oh, it's Paul, Tom's dog. It loves sleeping (睡觉) there. But what is next to Paul? It's Tom!

    Thirteen-year-old Sophie had been bullied (欺凌) at school for two years. She had had her keys and mobile phone stolen. She had also been knocked off her bicycle, kicked and punched (以拳重击). She tried to fight back, but it always seemed to be her, not the bullies, who got into trouble.

    Her headmaster encourages students to look after one another. He encouraged Sophie to play the guitar in a school concert. It gave Sophie new confidence and earned her respect from the other students.

    Sadly, Sophie's story is not rare. Bullying is always around us. They can take many forms. And there are new bullies. Cyber (网络的) bullies can be harder to avoid and harder to catch. It is too easy to send a nameless threat by text, or post something insulting (侮辱的) on social media. Yet the results can be serious for the victim.

    But help is out there. There are many charities and organizations giving support to young people. Remember one very important piece of advice: If you are being bullied, don't put up with it-tell someone.

    My father is seventy-five years old this year. But he looks very young. He looks like a sixty-year-old man. Now he can do everything all by himself. For example, he cooks, washes clothes, does the housework and so on.

    Every morning, my father goes out with a radio. He listens to the music or the news and goes to the park to play taijiquan. In the park, he talks and laughs with other old people. After coming back from the park, he begins to have breakfast and then he goes to the university (大学) for the old. He learns to draw there. In the afternoon, he plays on the computer for about one or two hours. After supper he watches TV and learns about the world. He goes to bed at about eight o'clock. He never stays up. He likes to share his ways of keeping healthy with others.

    Are you healthy? If not, what do you learn from my father's secret of keeping healthy?

    After I finished college, I couldn't find a job in Los Angeles. At last I had to move to Las Vegas but left my family behind. I missed them all week, and I went home on most weekends to see them. I often rented a car because I would often have lots of problems on the way to Los Angeles or to Las Vegas if I drove my poor car.

    One time I decided to save money, and I drove my car. It got to California, but on the way back to Vegas it was broken. I didn't know what I should do. Then a middle-aged man drove up. He put in some coolant and repaired my car. He made it start soon.

    I gave him the $12 in my wallet, and he said he would use it for the next car. Then I knew that he was a mechanic who drove up and down the highway each weekend to help the drivers in trouble.

    Now fifteen years has passed, but I still think about what a great man he is.