Celebrate the Good Days

    It was in April of what seemed to be a great year. I was in fourth grade with the greatest teacher, Miss De Rosear -- the coolest teacher. I had just come home from school to find Mum at home. That was1because she never arrived home before me. Mum was sitting on the sofa with Dad. A thousand terrible things started flashing through my mind. What if Grandma had passed away? I did not have the 2to say goodbye. What if my brother was hurt? As I crawled(爬) up on the sofa next to Mum, she gave me a kiss and a huge smile, so I3and went on with my normal after-school activities. During the TV show that I always watched after school, Mum started getting phone calls. The calls continued for the rest of the night. Each time the4 rang, Mum rushed to her room.  I then knew that something bad had happened.

    When Mum came back, I asked, "Mum, why do you keep on5the room every time you get a phone call?

    She turned to my sister and me and said, "Girls, I have something to tell you. I have cancer(癌症). "

    As she said that I felt a sharp pain in my heart. I was thinking, "Why is God taking my mum from me so soon? What have I done?" I didn't know that we were just beginning a very long, 6 journey.

    The next day on the bus I turned to my friend, Kate. "My mum... "That was all I could say before I started crying. Kate gave me a big hug and said 7, "I know, and I'm here for you." I knew that Kate would support me.

    During the summer, Mum stayed home. On the good days, sister and I talked about what we were going to do next day, week, month, or year with 8. We never talked about losing her.

    We got9from many different people. When school started again, Mum had to have surgery(手术). I stayed with one of my teachers, Mrs. Stephens. Mrs Stephens made me rainbow French toast. She was always there for me with a smile, a hug, or --it will be okay advice.

    On April 5, my morn became a five-year survivor (幸存者). When that day came, we had a big party. Friends came from far and wide to celebrate how10Mum is and her success against cancer!

    There will be good days and bad days--some more bad than good. But as I have learned from my mother, celebrate the good days!

    One of my best friends went abroad to enjoy her holidays, so the job of looking after her dog Missy has been given to me. A few months ago, Missy came to my friend's house. She looked terrible. She has been abused for a long time.

    When we first visited my friend and Missy, my friend had to gently pull her over on a lead (牵绳) to get her to come to us. She wanted to come but afraid to do so—the poor, beautiful thing. Clearly Missy came to the right home. My friend has given birth to a baby of his own and shows the love of a mother. This is just what Missy needs. Thanks to the love of my friend, she has changed into a new dog step by step. Sadly, she is still afraid of strange humans. I hate to imagine what the dog must have gone through.

    Now, Missy trusts me completely, so I can touch her berry（肚皮）.While standing, she will jump up so gently to be closer to me, putting her paws（爪子）on my legs as she looks at me with those beautiful eyes.

    Missy is really brave. She has the courage to try again, to open her hearts, and to know that not everyone is the same kind of people as before. Keep it in mind that tomorrow is another day.

    Education is not an end but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children1 for the purpose of educating them; our purpose is to fit them for life.2we realize this fact, we will understand that it is very important to 3 a system of education which will really prepare children for life.

    In many modern countries it has for some time been accepted that, by free education for all-whether rich or poor, clever or stupid one can solve 4 of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not 5 : we find in such countries 6 people with university degrees than 7 jobs for them to do. Because of their degrees, they refuse to do8"low" work.

    But we have only to think9to understand that the work of a completely uneducated10is far more important than11: we can live12education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we should get terrible diseases in our towns. In countries where there are13because everyone is ashamed(感到羞耻的) to do such work, the scientists have to waste much of their time doing14.

    In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit15for life, it means that we must be educated16that each of us can do whatever job17him, and that we can realize that all jobs are 18to society, and that it is very bad to be ashamed to do one's work, or to laugh at19. Only such a type of education can be20valuable to society.