From the Other Side

Lara and Tara are twins. They look like each other, but they are very different in everything else. For example, hot food is Lara's favorite, and Tara has a sweet choice.

However, this isn't the problem with the twin girls. They always argues that the opposite one was wrong. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, while Tara thought mornings were fresh and it was difficult to stay up till midnight.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} To put an end to their fights, their parents decided to create a small drama. They wanted the girls to understand that they were both correct from their own point of view. Their parents covered the girl's eyes with black ribbons (带、条), and brought them to the dining room. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Lara was asked to stand on one side of the board and Tara on the other. They couldn't see the other side of it. When the ribbons were taken away, they were surprised to see a huge board between them.

Now, their father asked Lara, "What's the color of the board?" She replied, "It's black!" {#blank#}4{#/blank#} She replied, "It's white!" The two girls began to argue again. While Lara was confident it was black, Tara was sure it was white. Then, they were asked to exchange (交换) their places. They couldn't believe their eyes. Tara, who insisted (坚持) it was a white board, saw a black one. Similarly, Lara, who argued the board was black, was surprised to see a white one. They understood that each of them was right in her own view. Most of us are like Lara and Tara. We are right most times, but insist that others are wrong!

Grace lives in Oklahoma. She is only six years old, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} she already has big ideas for helping other kids!

One Saturday morning when Grace was five, she {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (pass) a lemonade stand (柠檬水摊). Some teenagers were selling lemonade. Their purpose was to raise money for some of their {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (friend). Grace wanted to have a try, so her mother explained to her {#blank#}4{#/blank#} to start a lemonade stand.

Grace wanted to help kids too, especially foster (寄养的) kids! That was because she and her brother were foster children. She thought that maybe she could help {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (they) by starting a lemonade stand!

{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (luck), Grace's first lemonade stand made $ 132! She was very excited {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (buy) things for the foster kids with her mother. She helped 24 children for {#blank#}8{#/blank#} first time. Grace wanted to help {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (many) kids so her mum helped her start a project called Grace's Lemonade for Love. So far, she {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (raise) over $ 17, 000! Someday maybe she will be able to send toys to all foster kids in her country.

When Bruce first met Beethoven's Moonlight over 50 years ago, he lost himself in it at once and dreamed of becoming a pianist. Although a piano was absent at home then, he learned to play Beethoven (贝多芬) by ear. Unbelievably, Bruce entered the Royal Academy of Arts at 16, which marked the beginning of his successful pianist journey. But that's not all. . . 

Bruce's wife works at Elephants World, a reserve (自然保护区) devoted to the care of rescued (救援) elephants. These elephants have worked for humans all their life and many are blind or disabled from being treated badly. After learning about that, Bruce wanted to make the effort to carry something heavy himself. Finally, Bruce and his wife were allowed by the manager to bring a piano into the reserve, bringing music to the elephants' lives. It was truly magical. 

At the beginning, when Bruce started playing, it was hard to hear the piano above the sounds of nature and the elephants chewing (咀嚼) grass. However, everything changed when a blind elephant stopped eating and focused on his playing. It hit Bruce that this elephant had a love for music. From that moment on, Bruce was no longer worried about influencing their pеace. 

Now Bruce continues to play for these elephants in the reserve. Surprisingly, it's the sad male elephants who show the most fascination with the music. He believes it has a calming effect. These elephants' breathing actually slows down when he plays, which tells Bruce they are relaxed and happy. He has even seen elephants seemingly dancing to Beethoven's pieces. With their excellent hearing and the ability to sense vibrations (震动) through their feet, Bruce is confident that elephants can understand the language of human expression. 

Bruce jokes that he is now an "Elepianist" and his human audience (听众) must miss him too much! 

A good king needs honest ministers (大臣) to help him manage the country. However, one king believed that his most important minister was a bit too honest!

The Valuer's job was to say what the price of everything in the country should be. He did his best to set fair prices, so that buyers and sellers would be happy. 

This did not please the king! "A good Valuer should set the prices that I want-then I can buy things cheaply and sell them expensively. " he said. "What's the point of having a Valuer if he doesn't set the prices I want?"

Soon, the king invited a foolish man to be the Valuer and fired (解雇) the honest Valuer. People brought all kinds of goods-rocks and fruit, fans and potatoes, fish and elephants. The foolish man had no idea how much anything was worth, so he just said whatever price came into his head. People were angry about many of the prices he set, but what could they do? He was the king's Valuer, after all!

One day, a horse trader came, leading five hundred fine horses. He bowed to the king and the Valuer, and said, "How much are my horses worth?" The king wanted the horses, so he told the Valuer to set a very low price. The Valuer thought for a moment and said, "Your horses are worth. . . a cup of rice!" The horse trader was speechless! But he had no choice but to accept the Valuer's price. 

However, the next day, the horse trader went back, carrying the cup of rice he had been given. "Yesterday, you said that my five hundred horses were worth a cup of rice, " the horse trader said to the Valuer. "____"

The foolish Valuer was surprised by this question. He said, "Your cup of rice is worth, er. . . this big city, and everything in it!" There was silence. . and then everybody started shouting at once. 

"That is silly!" shouted the king. "This city is worth far more than a cup of rice!"

. . . 

Eddie loves playing football. It's his favourite sport. But there's a small problem. His shoes are very 1 . When he plays football at school, some of his classmates 2 when they see his shoes, "Are these shoes your grandpa's? Ha ha ..."

After school, Eddie goes back home and cries 3 . He doesn't want to play football anymore. He tells his 4 to Grandpa, "My shoes are too old! I can't play well with them." Grandpa listens carefully and has a good 5 . He says to Eddie, "Dear, I'm sorry to hear that, 6 I think I can help. Bring those shoes to my room and let me give you a 7 ."

His grandpa begins to colour the shoes in black and red. Slowly, the shape of a football and fireworks show on the shoes and the old shoes start to look 8 . When Grandpa finishes, he says with a smile, "You have amazing shoes now, but you should always remember: You can play well without beautiful shoes. The boy in the shoes 9 , not the shoes on the boy!" The next morning, Eddie wears the shoes and goes to school happily. After that day, Grandpa's words always 10 him when he plays with his "Grandpa's shoes".

If there was an empty lot (一块空地) in your neighborhood (街区), what would you want to turn it into? My classmates and I have turned such an empty lot into a place of hope.

The empty lot in our neighborhood was full of wild grass. As a project for our geography class, we wanted to change the lot. We hoped it could become a place to improve (改善) people's mental (心理的) health.

After weeks of designing, researching and making models (模型), we began our plans. Now the lot is a different place. There is a wood walkway with purple benches (长椅). Kids like the relaxing color, and they come to sit together and make friends.  

A few beautiful plants grow in the ground. There is also a bright blue hopscotch (跳房子游戏) board. We make it for a group of 8 to 10 school-aged kids who have no places to play in the neighborhood. And you can see a white wall painting with red words like "Love" and "Peace".

Now, the lot gives the neighborhood hope and beauty. More people love the neighborhood and have great hopes for things of the future.