It was a cold snowy morning after the winter vacation. And it was my first day at my new school. I was walking alone slowly and worrying about lots of things. It was early and there weren't many people on the road. Suddenly a girl who was riding a bike on ice fell down. She was trying hard to get up but fell again. Without thinking, I went over and helped her. She said" thank you" with a smile and then rode away. Her words warmed me a lot.

    Finally, I got to school. The teacher led me to the classroom and introduced me to the class. Then he asked me to sit down beside a girl. I felt so nervous that I didn't dare to look at her. Soon the first class, English, started. Their textbooks were different from those in my old school. As I was wondering what to do, an English book appeared in front of me. "Let's share," the girl beside me said. "Hi, I'm Carrie." I looked up. It was the girl I helped this morning. Later on, we became good friends.

    From that I learned: To help others is actually to help ourselves!

    Once upon a time, there lived a very rich and wealthy man in a big town. He led a luxurious life. He always showed off his wealth to his friends and relatives.

    His son was studying in a distant city and he returned home for vacation. The rich man wanted to show off to his son how rich he was. But his son didn't like any luxurious lifestyle. However, the rich man wanted to make his son realize that his lifestyle was extremely rich and that poor people suffered a lot. He planned a day's visit to the entire town to show him the life of the poor people.

    The father and the son took a chariot and visited the entire town. They returned home after two days. The father was happy that his son was very quiet after seeing the poor people honoring（尊敬） the rich man and after witnessing the sufferings of the poor.

    The rich man asked his son, "Dear boy, how was the trip? Have you enjoyed it?"

    "Yes my dad, it was a great trip with you," the son replied.

    "So, what did you learn from the trip?" the father asked.

    The son was silent.

    "Finally you have realized how the poor suffer and how they actually live," said the father.

    "No father," replied the son. He added, "We have only two dogs, they have 10 dogs. We have a big pool in our garden, but they have a large bay（港湾） without any end! We have luxurious and expensive lights from various countries, but they have countless stars lighting their nights. We have a house on a small piece of land, but they have abundant fields that go beyond the horizon（视野）. We are protected by huge and strong walls around our property（财产）, but they bond with（与……连着） each other and surround themselves with their fellow beings. We have to buy food from them, but they are so rich that they can grow their own food."

    The rich father was stunned and speechless, on hearing his son's words.

    Finally the son added, "Dad, thank you so much for showing me who is rich and who is poor. Thank you for letting me understand how poor we really are!"

    I am a fifteen-year-old girl in a junior high school. I have a problem now. I hope you can give me advice. Three months ago, I knew a boy on the Internet. I found that he had the same hobbies as me, so we got on well soon. Two weeks ago we began to talk on the phone. We both felt comfortable when talking to each other, as if（好像）we had been good friends for a long time. Last week we met because he doesn't live far from my home. We talked a lot and enjoyed ourselves together in the gym.

    However, some of my friends said that I shouldn't make friends on the Internet. They also said that the boy might be dangerous. I don't know what I should do. I don't want a close relationship with him, but I'm really happy with him. Should I talk about this problem with my parents or teachers? I'm afraid that they would be angry and think I'm a bad girl. So I am turning to you for advice. Please help me.

    While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had an experience which happened only two feet away from me.

    Trying to locate my friend among the passengers coming through the jet way, I noticed a man walking toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.

    First he kissed his three children one by one and said, "It's nice to see you. I missed you so much!" Then he hugged his wife, "I've saved the best for last!" giving her the longest, most passionate (狂热的) kiss I ever remember seeing. They stared at each other's eyes, smiling at one another, while holding both hands. For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds (新婚夫妇), but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn't possibly be.

    Full of admiration, I asked, "Wow! How long have you two been married?" "Being together for fourteen years total, married twelve of those." He replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife's face. "Well, then, how long have you been away?" I asked. "Two whole days!" "Two days?" I was astonished. By the intensity (热烈) of the greeting, I had thought he'd been gone for at least several weeks —if not months. I knew my expression betrayed me, so I turned away my eyes and said quietly, "I hope my marriage is still that passionate after so long!"

    The man suddenly stopped smiling and looked me straight in the eye. With forcefulness he told me something that left me a different person. "Don't hope, friend. Decide!" Then he smiled again, shook my hand and said, "God bless!"

    With that, he and his family turned and walked away together.

    I was still watching that man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked, "What are you looking at?" Without hesitation, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, "My future!"