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    Annie is a neighbor's daughter. When her birthday month came around I found out she felt blue and lonely.

    Her family is quite small and kind of poor so there wouldn't be any birthday visitors. I wanted to send her a card and maybe a small gift to make her happy.

    I told some of my friends I would like to have a birthday party for the girl. I asked them for help. Then I bought some small presents, a cake and something else.

    When the day came, my friends and I went to her house. When she got home after school, we gave the presents to her and wished her a happy birthday.

    It was so easy to do something helpful. My friends helped take the party. They still laugh and talk about it. And Annie tells me she likes the birthday very much and she can still remember it!

    Wu Dong is from Guangdong. Gorge is from America. They are in No.1 Middle School in Nanjing. Now they are in their teacher, Mr. Smith's room. There are many, many English books on the bookshelf(书架). Wu Dong and Gorge are asking some questions. There are some apples, bananas, cakes, bottles of milk and orange on the table.

    After questions, Mrs. Smith gives something to eat to Wu Dong and something to drink to Gorge. Wu Dong would like something to drink. Gorge would like something to eat. Mr. Smith doesn't know. They put them on the table again.

    Now it's seven thirty. It's time to go to the classroom. They must go.

    A tornado happened in Illinois, the USA on April 9th. The tornado hit the ground at around 7:00 p. m. on Thursday evening. According to a report, eight of the 150 local people were taken to hospitals after the tornado. All the people there were evacuated(撤离), and the power was off across the area. The Red Cross and Salvation Army built a rescue centre in a high school.

    Chad Connell, the Chief of Kirkland Community Fire District, said he watched the tornado moving toward the town from his house. “I've never seen anything like it in my life," he said, almost lost for words.

    It is reported that about 20 houses in Ogle County were badly damaged or even destroyed. Luckily, no people were killed or badly hurt there. It is also reported that 12 people were trapped(被困住) in a restaurant which collapsed(坍塌) in the tornado in Rochelle, about 20 miles south-west of Fairdale.  Raymond Kramer, 81, was one of them.  He said they were trapped for 90 minutes before the emergency crews were able to rescue them.

    "When the tornado hit, we all got a dust(灰尘) bath," Raymond told a reporter. "Everyone there got covered with dust. We are so lucky that we are finally saved. "

    Sally Ride was born in California in 1951. She was the first American woman to travel into space. She loved to play tennis and wanted to be a tennis player when she was young. But after three months' professional（专业的）training, she changed her mind. She went to Stanford University and started to study science. She studied stars and planets. She did researches at the university and got her PhD in astrophysics（天体物理学博士学位）after several years' hard work.

    In 1977, she took a test to become an astronaut. And then she was picked up from over 8, 000 people. In order to realize her dream of going into space, she had to get different kinds of special and difficult training. She learned how to fly a plane, how to jump out of a plane as well as how to operate（操作）special machines.

    Sally and four other astronauts flew a spaceship called Challenger on Jun. 18, 1983. She became the first American woman to travel into space. Later, she taught at the University of California. Then she wrote seven books on space for children, encouraging children to study science. Unfortunately, she died in 2012.

    Mr. Black decided to know more about the different jobs of his students' parents. But some of students were laughing as he talked with Mary. Betty shouted, "Mary's father is a garbageman!"Then everybody in the class laughed out loud. Mary felt her face tum red.

    "Be quiet! Stop laughing!"Mr. Black said," It is difficult but useful to be a garbageman. We should all be thankful to Mary's father."

    Mary's father came to walk her home from school as usual, but she didn't run up to him the way she always did. When they got back home, Mary went to her room and cried for a long time. Her father came into her room, "What happened? Why are you so sad?"

    Mary told her father what happened and looked at him sadly. He didn't seem angry or hurt, "Well." He said," They are right. Being a garbageman is a dirty job. Tomorrow's Saturday. Come to work with me, Mary."

    Mary wrinkled her nose because of the bad smell. "Don't worry. In five minutes you won't smell a thing." said her father.

    Everybody there was working hard, and they seemed to have a good time. Mary's father handed her a pair of gloves and told her to get the little plastic bags and throw them into the truck.

    It was fun, but also hard work. At last, no more garbage was left and Mary felt very proud and happy.

    "Garbage makes us uncomfortable and unhealthy but when we clear it away, everything is nice and clean. You can make yourself happy only by making others happy."

    Mary gave her dirty, smelly garbageman daddy a big kiss because she regarded him as an unselfish man. Now whenever someone asks Mary what her daddy does, she says, "He is a garbageman! Everyone makes garbage, but my daddy takes it away!"

    "I am going to the store, Uncle Moti, "Mina said. "Do you want to come along? You have not seen much of the neighborhood yet."

    Uncle shook his head. "No, thank you," he said. "It is just too loud and crowded for me. Everyone is always on the go, while I am used to the peace and quiet of our village. I feel afraid out there, like a frightened (害怕的) child. "Mina sat on the sofa next to her uncle. "Tell me about the village, Uncle Moti," she said. "Would I like it there?"

    Uncle laughed. "Without a doubt, you would find it dull at first-the loudest sound is usually birdsong. The people I meet on the street are all people I know, and we stop and talk or go to the tea shop and have tea. There are not many shops, but the shopkeepers know all their customers. Everyone is friendly and has a smile for everyone else."

    "Sounds really nice," Mina said. "But I think maybe it is not different in every way. I really wish you would come with me, and I could show you why I say that. "Uncle sighed and got up, saying, "All right, Mina, I will go."

    Out on the street, cars zoomed by, some of them honking. Uncle looked very nervous at all the noise and activities, and Mina took his hand.

    "Look," she said, "there is my friend Nate, and coming down the street is my teacher, Ms. Sanchez." Mina waved to Nate, who waved back, and called hello to her teacher. Then she led her uncle down the street to the store, where she greeted the shopkeeper. "Hi, Ms. Franklin, this is my uncle Moti, who has come here to live."

    "Over here," Mina took her uncle's arm and led him across the street. A sign over a door read "Navid's Tea Shop." Uncle smiled. They went in and sat at a table. They ordered tea, and Uncle sighed happily.

    "Well, I see what you were trying to show me," he said. "This neighborhood is your village. Now it will be mine to. It has friends, kind shopkeepers, birds, and even a tea shop…"