Think of life as a game in which you are playing with five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends and spirit and you keep all of them in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber (橡胶) ball. If you drop it, it will bounce(弹跳) back.

    But the other four balls, family, health, friends and spirit, are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be broken. It will never be the same. You must understand that and try to have balance in your life. How?

Don't look down on yourself by comparing with others. It is because we are different and each of us is special.

    Don't let other people set goals for you. Only you know what is best for yourself.

    Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. Don't be afraid of difficulties. Be brave!

    Don't run through life so fast, or you will forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going.

    Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is a treasure you can always carry easily.

    Don't use time or words carelessly. You can't get them back. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that's why we call it "the present". Life is not a competition but a trip, step by step.

    Abbie was a shy girl. She started her ninth grade in a new school. She soon found she didn't like the new school. This new school was much too cold and unfriendly! No one seemed to care if Abbie felt welcome or not.

    Her parents were very worried about her and they hew since they got divorced(离婚), she needed a friend very badly. They tried everything they could to help her fit in(适应), but it didn't work. She was always lonely and unhappy.

    Abbie once tried joining a music club, hoping to make friends. But her shyness held her back again. She was so upset mat she was thill king of running away from home.

    As she left her warm house, she decided to leave her mother a letter. She opened me mailbox after she finished writing the letter. To her surprise, she found a letter to her in the box. It was from Wesley:

    Dear Abbie,

    I'm sorry for not talking with you sooner. You know, my parents are in the middle of a divorce, so I am hoping you could help me get over it and give me some advice. I think we could become friends.

    Wesley

    Abbie read me letter over and over again. "Become friends," she smiled, realizing that someone cared about her life and wanted her as a friend.

    A taxi hit a truck. A policeman spoke to the taxi driver and the truck driver. He also spoke to Tom. Tom was a witness(目击者). This is what they said.

    Truck driver: I was driving from the airport to Newtown. A car crossed the road, so I slowed down. I did not stop. A taxi hit the back of my truck. Nobody was badly hurt but both vehicles were damaged.

    Taxi driver: I was driving behind a truck a few kilometres from Newtown. The truck stopped suddenly. The driver did not give me a warning. I was driving very slowly. I could not pass the truck because there were two cars coming near from Newtown. My taxi hit the truck, and some glass cut my left hand.

    Tom: I saw the traffic accident about a kilometre from the airport. A truck was going to Newtown. It was not going very fast. There was a taxi about two hundred metres behind the truck. It was going fast. When the truck slowed down, the taxi hit it. The taxi driver was not looking at the truck. He was looking out of the window at something. My friend saw the accident too.

    Tom's friend spoke to the policeman and agreed with Tom.

    Some parents are always comparing their children with themselves when they were young, or with other people when they were children.

    "When I was your age," a father said to his sixteen-year-old son one day, "I was at the top of my class every year. And I knew what I wanted to do when I left school. I had goals. You are always at the bottom of your class, and you have no goals."

    The man's son said nothing. He had heard this from his father many times.

    "And when your mother was your age," the boy's father went on, "she had a good job and she was earning money. You don't even have a part-time job. You earn nothing."

    The man's son still said nothing. He had heard this before, too.

    "And when your older brother was your age," the boy's father went on, "he studied hard. You just waste your time."

    And the man's son still said nothing.

    Finally, the boy's father said, "And when Abraham Lincoln was your age, he worked all day and studied at night."

    This time the son could not stay silent.

    "And when Abraham Lincoln was your age, Father," he said, "he was the President of the United States. What are you?"

His father had no answer to this.

    The doctor handed me my medicine and said sorry to me because his register had already closed. He asked if I would mind using the register at the front of the store. I told him not to worry and walked up front. One person was in line ahead of me, a little girl no more than seven with a bottle of medicine on the counter. She held a little green and white coin purse closely to her chest.

    The purse reminded me of the days when, as a child, I liked dressing myself up in my grandma's clothes. One day, wearing her large clothes and hat, I went out to buy something. I gave a fake dollar to the shop owner, but he handed back some real coins for my purse. "Keep the change!" he told me with a smile.

    Now, with both hands shaking, the little girl pulled out a dollar bill and some coins for her medicine. As she tried to count her money, I could see right away that she was about a dollar short. Quickly, I put a dollar bill onto the counter. The child collected her change into her coin purse and ran out.

    As I walked to my car, I felt a tug on my shirt. There was the girl, looking up at me with her big brown eyes. She gave me a smile, and put out her little hand. It was full of coins. "Thank you," she said.

    "That's OK," I answered, smiling. "Just keep the change!"