C

    One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. "Cindy, my company wants to promote (升职) me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you've done well and allowing you to skip (跳) a grade, but you'll have to leave your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher?" She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was lost in thought. The question kept me wondering for the rest of the night. I had said "yes" but for the first time, I realized the difficult decisions adults had to make.

    For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I'd eagerly wait for the phone to ring and then tell her everything happened during the day. A phone call, however, could never take her place and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

    During my fourth-grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large empty apartment,   ▲    It was then I started to understand the difficult choices she had to make. She needed to think about both family and work. Faced with difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn't know whether you make the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with a positive attitude.

    Back home, I reminded myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she managed to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be independent. I learn how to take care of myself and set high but achievable goals.

    My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the experience has really taught me. I've learned a lot because of this separation. There are lots of difficult decisions that we have to face in our life. We need to have a positive attitude no matter what happens.

    Mrs. Brown was very fat. Her husband(丈夫) thought she should go on a diet, and he made her not eat meat or cakes.

    One morning, Mrs. Brown made a nice cake for her husband, and he ate half (一半) of it. After he went out, Mrs. Brown cut a very small piece of the cake and ate it. It was very delicious. Then she cut a bigger piece and ate it, too. In a few minutes she ate up the cake. “My husband is going to be very angry, ” she thought. “What should I do？” She made another cake very quickly, ate half of it, and put the other half on the table. Mr. Brown came back later. When he saw the half of the cake on the table, he was very happy.

    When Abe Lincoln was just a boy, he had to help his father to look after his farm. It was hard work and there wasn't any interesting thing for him. Abe wanted to go to school, but there was no school there. Abe was sad most of the time. Mrs Lincoln loved the boy very much. She tried her best to make Abe happy. One early morning she got up early and went to town. That was a long way and it took her a long time to get to town. She bought something there and went back. And it was late in the evening when she got home. The next morning Mrs Lincoln said to Abe, “Today is your birthday. We're going to have a party.” She put some food on the table, then brought out a present. A book. Abe cried. It was an old book, but he liked it. A smile came to his face. He looked up at Mrs Lincoln and said, “Thank you, Mum.”

    Laura has an aunt who works in London. She loves Laura so much that she invites Laura to

    London every summer.

    Last year Laura was happy to go to London and see some famous places in London, including the British museum, National Gallery (画廊)and other great buildings. How beautiful! She fell in love with them, but one thing made her very unhappy. It's her first time to go to a big square, but when she passed the square alone, a thief(小偷)stole her wallet in her pocket. She had to walk to her aunt's home angrily.

    This year Laura's aunt invited her to London again. One day, when she passed the same square with her aunt, she was more careful not to be stolen. After a while, she saw a man go close to her and put his hand in her pocket with a smile. Then he took out his hand quickly and left. She became very angry and shouted, "Stop it, or I will call the police!" To her surprise, she found her aunt and all the other people there laughing with the word "Congratulations(祝贺)"! In fact, the man was not a thief. Instead, he put ten pounds in her pocket. It was an interesting game. The organizers(组织者)wanted to correct the bad impression(印象)of the square, so they hired(雇佣) some "thieves" to do that game.

    Old John goes to see a doctor. The doctor looks over (检查) him carefully and says, "Medicine can't help you. You must have a good rest. Go to a quiet place for a month. Go to bed early, drink some milk, walk a lot and smoke one cigar (抽一支雪茄烟) a day."

    "Thank you very much," says Old John," I can do everything you say."

    Four weeks later, Old John comes to the doctor again. "Well," says the doctor. "I am glad to see you. You look much younger."

    "Oh, doctor," says Old John, "I feel quite well now. I have a good rest. I go to bed early. I drink a lot of milk and walk a lot. Your advice (建议) helps me. But you ask me to smoke one cigar a day, and it nearly kills me at first. It is no joke (笑话) to smoke at my age. "

    Mrs Brown is very fat. She has a lot of health problems. Her husband (丈夫) and she go to see the doctor. Her doctor says to her, "Don't eat meat and cakes.” Her husband says, "'I am going to make her stop eating them, doctor.” The next morning Mrs Brown buys a can of meat and her husband eats half (一半) of it. Then he leaves home to work. Mrs Brown cuts (切) a very small piece of it and eats it. It is very good. She cuts a big piece of cake and eats it. Ten minutes later she eats it all.

    "My husband will be angry. What shall I do?” she thinks. She buys another (另一个) can of meat very quickly.

    She eats half of that and leaves half on the table. Her husband comes back later and he sees the half meat on the table. He is very happy.