I went to a dinner party at a friend's home last weekend and met her five-year-old daughter for the first time. Little Maya was all curly brown hair, dark eyes, and lovely 1 her shiny pink nightgown ( 睡裙) .I wanted to say, “Maya, you're so2!

    Turn around and model that pretty gown for me. You're beautiful!” But I didn't.

    “Maya,” I said,3into her eyes, “it's very nice to meet you.”

    “ Nice to meet you, too.” She said, in that4, talking-to-adults, good girl voice.

    “Hey, what are you reading?” I asked. Her eyes got bigger, and the practiced, polite facial 5gave way to real excitement over this6. But she seemed too7 to answer me.

    “I love books,” I said. “Do you?”

    Most8do.

    “Yes,” she said. “And I can9them all by myself now!”

    “Wow,10!” I said. And it is, for a five-year-old.

    “What's your favourite book?” I asked.

    “I'll go and get it! Can I read it to you?”

    Purplicious was Maya's11, and a new one to me, as she sat next to me and12read aloud every word. Then I told her that I'd just13a book, and that I hoped she'd write one, too, one day. She was crazy14 that idea. We were both sad when Maya had to go to bed,15I told her next time to choose another book and we'd read it.

    Try this the next time you meet a little girl. She may be16and unsure at first, because few people ask her about her17, but be patient and stick with it. Ask her what she's reading. What does she like and dislike, and why? You're just18 an intelligent (明智的) conversation that respects her brain. Tell her about your19 and accomplishments, and your favourite books. Set a good example for her of what a 20woman says and does.

    One day, a well-known speaker was invited to give a lecture to an audience of 200. He started his lecture by1a $ 20 bill. He looked around the room, and asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?”2started going up.

    He said, “I am going to3this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this.” He crumpled up (揉皱) the 20-dollar bill. He then asked, “Who4wants it?” Still the hands were5in the air.

    “Well”, he replied,“6I do this ?” And he dropped it on the7and started to step on it with his shoes. He picked it up. Now it was crumpled and8

    “Now, who wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.

    “My friends, we have all learned a very9lesson. No matter what I did to the10, you still want it because it doesn't decrease in11It is still worth $20, with12we can buy what we need.

    Many times in our lives, we are13, and trampled underfoot by the decision we14and the circumstances that come our way. We feel15we were worthless. But no matter what has happened or what may happen to us, you will never16your value. Dirty or clean, you are still priceless to those who do love you. The worth of our lives is determined not by17we do or who we know, but by who we are. You are18Don't ever forget it.”

    If you19this lesson in mind, it will help you to20again when you fall. Each time it makes you grow much stronger.

    Several weeks ago, our headmaster, Mr. Gaudi, told us that our school had been chosen to compete on Smart Aleck—a game show which my best friend Carla and I both love. Carla has a good imagination, 1 I know a lot of history. So we thought we'd be good 2 for the team.

    A few days later, Mr. Gaudi held a meeting with everyone interested in the 3 . He told us that Smart Aleck uses a five member team. He also said that three more people would be needed as backup (替补). 4, four times that many students were at the meeting. So Mr. Gaudi said we would have a 5 among all the students present and the top 6 scorers would become the team and the backup. Everybody agreed that this was a 7 way to decide.

    Yesterday, all of the hopefuls went to the dining hall after school. We would have to 8 the starting line-up（阵容）. Mr. Gaudi acted as the 9. After a couple of hours, all the 10on the team were set except one. Carla and I 11 for that last position. We had to hold a one-on-one competition 12 the two of us. The winner would be on the team and the loser would be the 13.

    Midway through our two-person competition, I was starting to pull ahead. 14 I saw the look on Carla's face. I waited for a second and knew what I had to do. As much as I wanted to be on Smart Aleck, Carla wanted 15 even more. So, starting with my next question, I held back and let Carla 16, just by a little bit. Her expression as she 17 she would be on the show made up for my not being on the team. And since I will go as backup, I'll still have the 18 of seeing the show up close.

    Was I 19 by not trying as hard as I could? I don't think so. No one noticed, and Carla and I didn't 20 it. It won't hurt the team because Carla will be a very good competitor on the real show. I think that making my best friend happy was the right thing to do.

    Skydiving isn't an activity for the faint of heart, but when you do it at 101 years old, you're pretty much a superhuman. On May 13, Verdun Hayes became the 1person in the world to complete a 15,000-foot tandern jump (双人伞), 2 the Guinness World Records he once set up.

    Verdun Hayes wasn't 3. He finished the jump with eight family members and two close 4 at Dunkeswell Airport in England. As they5to make the jump, the entire family looked nervous, but6as well. Hayes' grandson–in–law Ian Honnor, the organizer of the family's jump, told TODAY, "He was probably the calmest one on the 7. He had no fear and just loved it. He just wanted everyone to8it and be healthy." Honnor, who helped 9the outing, said this wasn't Hayes' first jump! "When he was more than ninety years old, his family kept telling him he wasn't 10 to do the jump. However, he didn't give up his 11. At the age of 100, he 12realized his ambition and became the first man of such an advanced age to 13a tandem skydive."

    This time he decided to shoot for the world record. "Because it's such a big14, it was decided that as many people in the family as we could possibly get were going to go15him," Honnor said. "He had four generations(世代) of his family in the 16at the same time—they ranged from age 16 to 101." The family held a big party to 17his achievement.

    Hayes even had some18for those people hoping to 19the same thing at his age. "Just keep your mind20occupied by positive thought and keep your body as fit as you possibly can," said Hayes. "Those are the two great things."

As a young girl growing up in France, Sarah Toumi dreamed of becoming a leader who could make the world a better place. Her passion to help others was awakened when, from the age of nine, she accompanied her Tunisian father to his birthplace in the east of the country during holidays. There she organized homework clubs and activities for children. Toumi witnessed first-hand the destructive effect of desertification. "Within 10 years rich farmers became worse off, and in 10 years from now they will be poor. I wanted to stop the Sahara Desert in its tracks." A decrease in average rainfall and an increase in the severity of droughts ( 干 旱 ) have led to an estimated 75 percent of Tunisia's agricultural lands being threatened by desertification. 

Toumi recognized that farming practices needed to change. She is confident that small land areas can bring large returns if farmers are able to adapt by planting sustainable crops, using new technologies for water treatment and focusing on natural products and fertilizers (肥料) rather than chemicals. 

In 2012, Toumi consolidated her dream to fight the desert. She moved to Tunisia, and set up a programme named Acacias for All to put her sustainable farming philosophy into action. "I want to show young people in rural areas that they can create opportunities where they are. Nobody is better able to understand the impact of desertification and climate change than somebody who is living with no access to water." 

By September 2016, more than 130, 000 acacia trees had been planted on 20 pilot farms, with farmers recording a 60 percent survival rate. Toumi estimates that some 3 million acacia trees are needed to protect Tunisia's farmland. She expects to plant 1 million trees by 2018. In the next couple of years, Toumi hopes to extend the programme to Algeria and Morocco.