April 13^th, 1539

    Outside Mexico City

Dear Mariana,

    Today we arrived safe. It was a long and dangerous trip over the ocean. The winter storms were strong. We were always a little sick from high waves.

    The journey from the shore to Mexico City is also long and dangerous. There are robbers in the countryside. We will travel together with the other ship passengers, thinking we will be safer as a group. Tomorrow we will travel into the city to find our uncle.

    Father says it will take a year for this letter to reach you. The trip from New Spain to Spain is very long.

Your loving brother,

Tomas

    April 20^th, 1539

    Mexico City

Dear Mariana,

    Father and I finally arrived at Mexico City. Here, old buildings are being pulled down; new ones are being built. Just around the corner from Uncle's city house, Aztec workers are pulling down a small, beautiful pyramid. Father says it is one of the last Aztec temples.

    In the center of the city, I met an Aztec boy named Carlos. He speaks a little Spanish. Carlos learns Spanish at his new school. He told me that the Spanish set up new schools for the Aztecs. There he got his new name, Carlos. He says he likes his new school but misses his old city. I wonder what this city used to be like before Cortes came.

    Tomorrow we will go to Uncle's farmland. He and father are talking about the Aztec workers that father will oversee.

Your brother,

Tomas

found v. 建立        battle n. 战役        conquer v. 征服

    Alice Lee is a high school student studying at a private school. She is doing some voluntary work at an after-school program to help students from poor families.

    On the first day of her work, she noticed that many kids were lining up for free sandwiches and fruits. She was surprised. One of the organizers explains that many of these students don't get enough to eat at home. So a school lunch or an after-meal might be the most food they would get all the day. She has also been told that some hungry kids can receive free lunches, but others are only allowed reduced-price meals, and those students' families have to pay for the part of their food.

    Lee was shocked, she decided to offer help to those who are suffering from hunger, "I want other kids to understand that if you see a problem, you don't have to wait to be an adult to fix it," says Lee. She and a group of friends are using their programme skill to create a new app called Food of Thought, which will allow parents, students, and even kind-hearted strangers to donate money to lunch accounts for students in a nearby school.

    Mr. Gao lives in a town. When he was twenty-five, his son was born. He calls him Gao Ling. The little boy is clever and his parents love him very much.

    It's September 1^st today. A new school year begins. Gao Ling is happy and wears his most beautiful clothes. He's going to school with his new bag.

    "Let me take you to school, dear," said Mrs. Gao.

    "Thank you, Mummy," said the boy, "The school is not far from here. I can go there myself."

    At school a teacher met the little boy and asked," What's your name, my little friend?" "Gao Ling, sir", answered the boy. "How old are you?" "Six, sir."

    "What's your father's name?" "Gao Dalin, sir". "How old is he?" "He's six too, sir." "Oh," the teacher said in surprise. "Is he as old as you?"

    "Yes, sir." said the boy. "He became a father only at that time when I was born."

    As we all know mother's love is the greatest love in the world. It's true that we should thank our mothers, without mothers, nobody could come to the world. I always believe the rule, so it's hard for me to feel father's love. I didn't realize how great my father was until last month.

    On a rainy day last month, I was sleeping in my bedroom when my father came in to wake me up. I was sleepy and upset, so I began to shout at him. He wasn't angry at all. Instead he said in a low voice to me, "Dear, it's time for lunch. I have already got everything ready for you. "I looked at the watch. My god, it was nearly twelve o' clock at noon. It was Sunday that day. That was why I got up so late.

    I went downstairs slowly and lazily. When I got into the dining room, I saw a table of tasty food. I felt surprised because all the food was cooked by my father himself. He had never done any housework before, because he was always very busy. I was still puzzled (困惑) why Dad cooked so much food for us two that day . Suddenly, I heard the voice of happy birthday. I was so excited that I cried, for I knew it was the first time I had felt father's love since my mom was not with us anymore.

    After I finished college, I couldn't find a job in Los Angeles. At last I had to move to Las Vegas but left my family behind. I missed them all week, and I went home on most weekends to see them. I often rented a car because I would often have lots of problems on the way to Los Angeles or to Las Vegas if I drove my poor car.

    One time I decided to save money, and I drove my car. It got to California, but on the way back to Vegas it was broken. I didn't know what I should do. Then a middle-aged man drove up. He put in some coolant and repaired my car. He made it start soon.

    I gave him the $12 in my wallet, and he said he would use it for the next car. Then I knew that he was a mechanic who drove up and down the highway each weekend to help the drivers in trouble.

    Now fifteen years has passed, but I still think about what a great man he is.