David did well in all his subjects except physics, Mr. Brown, his physics teacher, gave him his physics paper and said to him, “Show it to your dad and ask him to sign his name on the paper.”

    David played football until it was 7 o'clock. When he got home, his parents had finished supper. His dad was watching TV and his mother was doing the dishes in the kitchen as usual.

 “Dad, may I ask you some questions?” David asked happily.

 “Yes, of course,” answered his dad.

 “If you can't answer them, you'll have to do something for me.”

 “OK, I'll do as you tell me,” said his dad.

 “Which is cooler, walking or sitting in the sun?”

 “Walking is cooler. It can make wind.”

 “Which clothes can keep out (阻挡）the sunlight，shirts or coats?”

 “Coats can keep out the sunlight because they are much thicker than shirts.” “Is a man smart if he wears a coat and walks in the sun in summer?” David looked at his dad and waited for his answer. His dad thought for a minute and shook his head.

   David took out his paper, “Now sign your name on the paper, please.”

    Frank is my brother. He is twenty-one years old. He is a waiter. He works in Green Restaurant. He works very hard. And he is kind to people. So his boss Mr. Green likes him very much. Every weekend he always gets some money from his boss. But Frank isn't happy because he doesn't like his job. He thinks it's boring. He likes singing. He sings very well and he can sing songs in English. So he wants to be a singer. He likes Jay Chou best and he likes his English song Thousands of Miles Apart.

    It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were happy. After all, their forefathers (祖先) had lived in the same way for centuries (世纪).

    Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people who liked to eat frogs' legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.

    This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was to catch them. They reached an agreement and people sent their children into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck (卡车) arrived to collect the frogs and give them the money. For the first time, the people could dream of a better future, but the dream didn't last (持续) long.

    It was not easy to notice (觉察到) the change at first, but it seemed like the crops (庄稼) were not doing so well. It was more worrying that the children fell ill more often, and there seemed to be more insects (虫) around lately.

    The villagers decided that they couldn't just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money got to buy pesticides (杀虫剂) and medicines. Soon there was no money left.

    Then the people found out the problem. It was the frog. They were not useless. They had been doing an important job—eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing (增加) more quickly. They were eating the crops and spreading diseases (传播疾病).

    Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.

    “In this life，what did you miss？”

    The wife asked the husband when she was 25．Despondently （沮丧地），the husband replied，“I missed a new job chance．”

    When she was 35，the husband angrily told her that he had just missed the bus．

    At the age of 45，the husband sadly said，“I missed the chance seeing my close relative before his last breath．”

    At 55，the husband said disappointedly，“I missed a good chance to retire （退休）．”

    At 65，title husband hurriedly replied，“I missed visiting my dentist．”

    At 75，the wife did not ask the husband any more，she was very sick．Remembering the question the wife used to ask him，this time the husband asked the wife the same question．The wife，with a smile and peaceful look，replied，“In this life，I did not miss having you!”

    The husband was full of tears．He always thought that they could be together forever．He was always busy with work and other things．He had never thought of his wife．The husband gave a big hug to the wife and said，“Over 50years，how I had allowed myself to miss your deep love for me．”

    Life does not last forever，so always live in the now．Don't neglect （忽视）the loved ones who care for you．Express your gratitude （感激）to your loved ones in words．Show your love with actions．Treat every day as the last day of life．In this way，when you are gone，your loved ones would have nothing to feel sorry about．

    Sydney Fredette is very busy. Not only is she a high school student, but she has also set up her own organization（组织）, Beary Merry Christmas. She volunteers(志愿) to offer services to poor children and families in Orange Country in California, US.

    To remember her best friend who died of cancer nearly 10 years ago, Fredette decided to offer services to those in Orange Country who are less lucky than she is.

    She began with the easy idea of collecting donated(捐赠) Build-A-Bears, the popular toy animal that is made by children themselves in the stores' workshops. Fredette then gave them as presents to the homeless children in California during the holiday season.

    With donations at more than 100 bears a year, Fredette and volunteers hold activities every year, where volunteers not only give out the bears, but also clothing, meals, and other things.

    Not wanting to limit(限制) the giving to just the holiday months, Fredette held other activities for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Halloween, offering the chance to her volunteer team to make a difference through the year.

    "I love making friends with the people I offer services to," Fredette said. "It's so cool to hear their stories and see how happy they are."

    Fredette even built a public food bank and offered a self-development class to students in her school.

    She plans to stay local and continue to help out in her hometown.