A few days ago, I ran into（撞上）a stranger as he passed by. I said sorry to him, and he said, "Excuse me too, I wasn't even watching for you.” We were very polite, this stranger and I.  Then we went on our way after saying goodbye.

       Later in the kitchen at home, as I cooked our meal, my daughter Betty walked up to me, very quietly. When I turned around (转身), I nearly knocked her down  "Get out of the way!" I shouted angrily. She ran away, crying.

That night, when I lay in bed, my husband said to me, “You were so rude to Betty. Go and look around on the kitchen floor, and you'll find some flowers there. Betty brought those for you. She picked them herself-pink, yellow, and your favourite blue.''

       When I heard this, I thought deeply: While meeting with a stranger, I was calm and polite; but with my daughter, I was not patient.  I felt sad and tears began to fall.

I quietly went to Betty's bed, "Wake up, my dear," I said. "Are these the flowers you picked for me?" She smiled, “I found them by the tree. I knew you'd like them, especially the blue.” I said, ‘‘I am so sorry that I treated (对待) you that way today." And she whispered（悄声地说）, “Mommy, that's okay- I still love you anyway.'' I kissed her and said, “I love you too and I do love the flowers.”

       That day Betty gave me a lesson on how to get along with each other in the family. I spent much time on work before and didn't realize how important family life was. I decided to do better in the future.

    Lin Dan is a famous badminton player. He didn't win the gold medal this year but many people know him because he won the gold medals in 2008 and 2012. He is from Fujian. He was born on October 14, 1983. He lives with his parents, grandmother and his wife now. Lin Dan's favorite player is Jordan. Jordan is a basketball player. Lin loves Coke. He likes pets, but dog is his favorite. Many young people love him very much. They think Lin Dan is their super star. They also call him Super Dan.

    Rob Frenette had problems with bullies(欺辱) at school for eleven years. He was often lonely and scared. When he was fifteen, however, he decided to do something about his problems. He walked into a newspaper office and told them about the bullying. His story went into the newspaper and soon all the TV stations in Canada wanted to talk to him about his experiences. They also wanted to hear his ideas to stop bullying.

    After that, Rob continued his studies at school, but in his free time he helped other people with bullying problems. With a friend Katie Neu, he made a website called www. bullyingcanada. ca. Visitors to the website can find advice, stories and poems about bullying, in both English and French. When people are upset, they can talk on the phone or online to Rob and his team. Every weekend Rob has to answer e-mails to the website. He also speaks to children, teachers and members of government around the country about bullying.

    Rob's most important message is: “When bullies are unkind to you, it isn't your fault (过错、责任). There's nothing wrong with you, so you should try to keep trusting yourself. And remember that people care about your problems. You just have to find those people.”

    One of Rob's ideas is “Blue Day”, a special day for stopping bullying in schools. Students have to wear blue clothes and in class they learn how to stop bullying. More than 150 Canadian schools now celebrate Blue Day, but Rob won't stop until there's a Blue Day in every school in Canada.

    Several days ago, I was walking home from school and saw some writing on the fence of a house I was passing by. It said, “Happiness is a direction, not a destination (终点).” I had been having a bad day and just reading this brightened my day a little. I also took out a pen and wrote one of my favorite quotes (格言) down.

    When I came back to the fence, I saw another quote under mine in the handwriting as the first one. I added another, and we kept at this pattern for quite a while. One day, I was writing another quote on the fence and the old man, one of my neighbors, who owned the fence, saw me. He came out and I was afraid he would be mad at me for writing on his fence; he was not known to be very friendly. He gave me a sharp glance and then read the quotes on the fence. Without saying a word, he said something to himself and then went back inside. I was a bit terrified for a while, afraid to go back to the fence, but when I did, I noticed not more quotes but two words in entirely different handwriting had been added, “Thank you.”

    Later, I saw the old man in his front yard. He beckoned (召唤) me over and told me how my quotes had been inspiring him, how he thanked me and how he was glad to see young people still have “values”. We are now good friend and I talk to him a lot. This experience has changed my life. I still don't know who wrote that very first quote, but if he is out there, I'd like to say “thanks” to that unknown friend.

    Frank was a very talkative little boy. He never saw a new thing without asking a great many questions about it.

    His mother was very patient and kind. When it was proper to answer his questions, she would do so. Sometimes she would say, "You are not old enough to understand that, my son. When you are ten years old, you may ask me about it, and I will tell you." When his mother said this, Frank never bother(烦扰)her any more. He knew she always liked to answer him when he asked proper questions.

    The first time Frank saw an hourglass, he was very much interested, but he did not know what it was. His mother said, "An hourglass is made in the shape of the figure 8. The sand is put in at one end and runs through a small hole in the middle. As much sand is put into the glass as will run through in an hour."

    Frank watched the little stream of sand. He was impatient, because it would not run faster. "Let me shake it, mother," said he, "it is lazy, and will never get through."

    "Oh, yes, it will, my son," said his mother, "The sand moves by little and little, but it moves all the time. When you look at the hands of the clock, you think they go very slowly, and so they do, but they never stop. While you are at play, the sand is running, grain by grain(一粒粒). The hands of the clock are moving, second by second. At night, the sand in the hourglass has run through twelve times. The hour hand of the clock has moved all around its great face. This because they keep at work every minute. They do not stop to think how much they have to do, and how long it will take them to do it."

    Now, Frank's mother wanted him to learn a little hymn(赞美诗), but he said, "Mother, I can never learn it."

    His mother said, "Study all the time. Never stop to ask how long it will take to learn it. You will be able to say it very soon."

    Frank followed his mother's advice. He studied line after line, very busily; and in one hour and a half he knew the hymn perfectly.