This story happened three years ago. Jack was an eight-year-old boy at that time. He was a good pupil. He was good at every subject at school. But he could not get up early. He often slept until nine or ten o'clock in the morning. So he was often late for school.

    Jack's mother didn't want him to be late for school again. So she bought him a clock. She said to him,“ You must get up when you hear the clock ring.”

    “Yes, Mum.” said Jack. After that Jack got up at twenty to seven when he heard the clock ring.

    One day his mother forgot to make the clock ring at the usual time. And the next morning Jack didn't get up. It was six forty-two at that moment. It was time for breakfast. Mother went to see him. Jack was still in bed and his eyes were open.

    “Why didn't you get up?” Mother was angry.

    “You told me to get up when I heard the clock ring. So I am waiting for the bell.”

    “Mum, is the clock still sleeping?” Jack asked.

    JOINING A CHOIR

    I've always loved singing, but singing hasn't always loved me. I

would open my mouth with a beautiful song in my head, fully expecting my voice to follow suit — only to get an awful tone (音调）in return.

    Still, without a second thought, I continued to try to sing whenever possible. On car journeys, when my now twenty something sons weresmall, they would make a great play ( hands over their ears， shoutingNo，Mum，stop!') of going through punishment as I sang along to the radio.

    Never in a hundred years would I have thought about joining a choir. And when I did finally become a member of my first choir 15 years ago, something fantastic happened to my life. From the first time I experienced my voice as something special but also comfortable, in harmony (和谐）with the other singers, I lost my heart to singing. It was like falling in love. And everyone in the choir had the same shining smiles and bright eyes — singing made them feel happy, too.

    Although it is singing itself that makes me happy，it is also how a choir works together. There is something magical about breathing together. The voice of everyone singing quietly together is powerful and excitingly mysterious (神秘的），almost spiritual.

    And there's the unexpected friendship from the activities we do as a choir: raising money for good causes and taking our singing sometimes to places where people are forgotten and sad.

    I am now a member of six choirs and，if I can，sing every day of the week. I stand in front of several hundred people，and know that some，if not all，of each song will sound not bad at all.

    One day a little boy dialed a telephone number and started to speak and he put part of his hand over the phone at the same time. He wanted to change the tone (音色，语调) of his voice. While all this was happening, a man who was working nearby, watched carefully and listened with great interest to the conversation that followed:

    “Lady, can you give me the job of cutting your lawn (草坪)?”

    “I already have someone to cut my lawn,” answered the woman at the other end of the phone.

    “Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now.” “I'm very satisfied with the person who is cutting my lawn.”

    The boy said, “Lady, I'll even sweep the floor and the stairs of your house for free.”

    “No, thank you.”

    With a smile on his face, the young boy thanked the lady and hung up the phone. The man then walked over to the boy and said: “Son, I like your attitude（态度）. I'd like to offer you a job.”

    “No, thanks,” said the boy.

    “But you're looking for a job, aren't you?”

    “No, sir,” answered the boy. “I was just checking on my performance at the job I already have. I am the one who cuts that lady's lawn!”

    When she was at the age of 9,Katie planted a cabbage seed(种子)in the garden outside her house. She took care of it every day by watering it, weeding(除草)it and giving it plant food. At last, it grew to be HUGE! More than 18 Kilograms huge!

    Katie wanted to do something special with this very special cabbage. With her mom's help, Katie made up her mind to donate(捐赠)it to a local soup kitchen to help feed the hungry people in her community(社区).

    When she arrived to make her donation, she saw a long line of people waiting for food. Then Katie gave her cabbage to the guests. As people thanked her, she knew she could do more to help. With the help of her parents and school, Katie's Krops was born! Katie's Krops creates gardens to grow food that is donned to local soup kitchens to feed the hungry.

    Katie's dream is to end hunger around the world. So, after she created several gardens in her community, she decided to do more. She wanted to help other kids create gardens in their own communities!

    There are now about a hundred Katie's Krops gardens growing all over the United States! Kids between the age of 9 and 16 take care of them.

    Then Alice saw a small glass table. There was a little golden key on it. She picked it and put it in all the locks on the doors but it didn't open any of them. She moved a curtain on one of the walls and discovered another door, a very small one. She put the key in the lock. It was exactly the right size! She opened the door and looked through it. At the end of a low passage she saw a beautiful garden. It was full of brightly coloured flowers and fountains.

    "Oh, how beautiful!" she said. "I'd love to go there but I'm too big to get through the door."

    She walked back to the table. There was a bottle on it now.

    "I'm sure that bottle wasn't there before," she said, a little confused.

    She put down the key and picked up the bottle. She read the words "DRINK ME" on it. Alice wasn't a stupid girl. She didn't drink it immediately. First she looked at the bottle carefully. There wasn't a label on it that said "POISON".

    So she put the bottle to her lips and drank.

    "Mmm, ifs nice," she said. It tasted like cherry tart, pineapple, roast turkey and toast-all the things that she liked to eat-so she drank some more. And some more. Soon the bottle was empty.

    "What a curious feeling," she said. "I'm getting smaller and smaller.'" It was true! She was now as small as her cat Dinah.

    "Good! I can go through the door into the garden," she said. But, poor Alice! When she got to the door, she didn't have the key! It was on the table. She couldn't reach it because she was too small now. She sat down and cried.

    After a while she said, "Alice! Stop crying! Crying doesn't help! Dry your tears immediately!"

    When she looked at the table again, she saw a small glass box under it. She picked it up and opened it. There was a small cake inside. It had the words "EAT ME" on it. She put a small piece of it in her mouth.

    "If I grow bigger I can reach the key," she thought. "And if I grow smaller I can go under the door."

    But nothing happened so she finished it.