I walked quickly out of my church. It was late. My dad was waiting. I stared at the parking lot. Then I saw my dad's little red Honda. “Get in! Get in! Why are you so late all the time?”

      The ride home was not much more than five minutes but each minute moved slowly. We were stuck behind an old man. He wasn't going more than 15 kilometers an hour. My dad started to shout, “Learn how to drive, Grandpa!” He hit the steering wheel(方向盘) with his hands. He was really angry.

      “Dad, stop it. Why do you always…?” He cut me off, “I'd not get stuck at the light without this fellow!” The old man got to the light just as it was changing. “You're free! Drive away quickly,” I thought. I looked over my dad. “Can you believe that, Steph? I get stuck at every light. There are so many stupid drivers out there, he said angrily.

      Who gives him the right to shout at someone? Anger built inside me. “What if I shouted at my friends when they asked me for help?” I said. I looked out of the window, trying to catch my breath.

      “You know, Steph, I think you are going to be a psychologist(心理学家),” he said. I remembered the last time I tried to say something, he had fumed, “Don't tell me how to drive! If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it! Think about what you say before you talk.”

      Usually, he'd be angry that I would doubt his authority (权威), but this time, he accept what I had said. A sense of pride rose up in me. It had been a short drive, but it had been the best car ride of my life.

    There was once a little orphan(孤儿的)girl who had no family and no one to love her. She felt sad and lonely(孤独的).

    One day, while she was walking in a garden, she noticed a small butterfly caught in a bush. The more the butterfly tried to free itself, the deeper the thorn(刺)cut into its body. The girl carefully helped the butterfly out. Instead of flying away, the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy(仙女).

    "For your wonderful kindness," said the fairy, "I will grant(保证)you any wish you like."

    The little girl thought for a while and answered, "I want to be happy!"

    "Very well!" The fairy leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. Then the good fairy disappeared.

    As the little girl grew up, she stayed happy. Everyone asked her the secret(秘密)of her happiness. She would only smile and answer, "The secret of happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl."

    When she was very old and on her death bed, her neighbors were afraid that her secret of happiness would die with her. "Tell us, please," they asked. "Tell us what the good fairy said."

    The lovely old woman simply smiled and said, "She told me that everyone, no matter how secure(安稳的)they seemed, how old or young, how rich or poor, had need of me."

    Everyone has need of you.

    Her name is Mary. She comes from America. She is in China with her father and mother. She can speak a little Chinese. She studies in No. 80 Middle School in Tianjin. She is in the same school as her parents (father and mother). She is a good student. She goes to school six days a week. She likes getting up early. She doesn't like to be late. She often goes to school very early. But today she gets up late. So she gets to the classroom at 7 :30. But there aren't any students in it. She is not late（迟到）. She is still early. It's Sunday today. The students are all at home.

    One morning it was shining brightly when I woke up. I looked at the alarm dock. It said 3:45! It had stopped! What time was it? I spent two minutes putting on my clothes and ran down to the kitchen. The kitchen clock Said 8: 30--I was late! My parents were away. The school bus went at 8:00. I had missed it, I rang my friend Tony on his mobile phone.

    "Tell the teacher I'll be in as soon as I can!" I said "Come on your rollerblades," Tony said. "It will be faster than the bus." I got an apple to eat on the way. That was my breakfast! Then I put on my rollerblades and set off for school. It took half an hour to get to the school. I took all the shortcuts I knew, I went across the park-even through some backyards! When I got to school. I was very hot and my legs ached. I had missed math, our first lesson of the morning. But I made it just in time for history, our second lesson. I was very happy because history is my favourite subject.

    There was a boy and his family was very rich. One day his father took him on a trip to a place. He wanted to show his son how poor people were there. They spent several days on a farm. There were many poor families living on the farm.

    On their way home, the father asked the son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad," the son answered. "Did you notice how poor people were there?" asked his father. "Oh, yes," said the son. "So, tell me," said his father. The son said, "Well, we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool in our garden, while they have a river that has no end. We have expensive lanterns, but they have stars above their heads at night. We have only a small piece of land to live on, while they have the endless fields. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have high walls around our houses to protect us, but they don't need walls, because their friends will protect them.

    The father had nothing to say. Then the boy added, "Thank you, Dad, for letting me see how poor we are."

    After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed.

    During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy(肌肉营养不良). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dreams.

    I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, "Why me? "He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn't mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weights with me. When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I had won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, "You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you. "

    Last summer I received a letter from Matthew's parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before: Dear Dick,

    My mum said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don't have tong to live any more, but I still smile as much as I can. I told you someday I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal, but I know now I will newer get to do that. But I know I'm a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show, it to you. Thank you for loving me.

Your friend,

Matthew