Ali, who was working a long way from home wanted to send a letter to his wife, but he could neither read nor write, and he had to work all day, so he could only look for somebody to write his letter late at night. At last he found the house of a letter writer whose name was Nasreddin.

    Nasreddin was already in bed. "It is late," he said. "What do you want?" "I want you to write a letter to my wife," said Ali, Nasreddin was not pleased. He thought for a few seconds and then said, "Has the letter got to go far?" "What does that matter?" answered Ali.

  "Well, my writing is so strange that only I can read it, and if I have to travel a long way to read your letter to your wife, it will cost you a lot of money." Ali went away quickly.

    Have you ever been sad because you failed in something? If so, please remember, for often, achieving what you expect is not the most important thing. Here is a story to tell you why.

    One day a little boy decided to dig a hole behind his house after watching a science program. As he was working, a couple of boys stopped by to watch. “What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “I want to dig a deep hole all the way through the earth!” the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling him that it was impossible to do it. Then they left.

    The little boy kept on digging and digging. Suddenly, a few small colorful stones caught his eyes. He collected them and put them into a glass jar (罐) patiently. Humming (哼唱) a song, he went on digging. The jar was full soon. Then he talked to himself calmly and proudly, “Maybe I can't finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I have found in the process (过程) of digging!”

    The boy's goal (目标) was too difficult, but it did cause him to go on, in other words, to cause us to keep working!

    Not every goal will be achieved. Not every job will end up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you can't achieve your goal, maybe you can say, “Yes, but look what I've found along the way! There are so many wonderful things that have come into my life because I tried to do something!” It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really has a meaning.

Dear Liz，

    My stay in Thailand has certainly been the experience of my life．

    Life is busy and exciting．Bangkok is just like any other big city with a population of 10  million and heavy traffic．I'm very lucky because my host family is in a nice quiet area outside the city．There are Mr. and Mrs. Phairat, their son Sanan, who is 18, the daughter Chinda, who is 16, and Grandpa and Grandma．

    I go to an international school with Sanan and Chinda．The school teaches about 70 percent in English，and 30 percent in Thai. I've learned some spoken language，but Thai writing is very difficult．The cooking lesson is my favourite．I'm learning all about Thai food and culture People don't use chopsticks here，but spoons and forks．When I come back，I'm going to cook you a real Thai meal．

    Last weekend we visited some temples．We also drove to Pattaya beach near Bangkok．I thought it was great，but Sanan and Chinda say that next month they're taking me to Phuket  Island，where the beaches are even more beautiful．The month after next，we're going to travel to Mr．Phairat's hometown in the north of Thailand．The Phairats own land there，and they have two elephants．I'm going to ride those elephants — and even wash them．Sanan and  Chinda say it's really fun．I'm amazed by everything in this country，especially by the elephants．Elephants are an  important pan of Thai culture and way of life．They have been a traditional symbol(象征)of Thailand for many years in times of war and peace．In the seventh century，a Thai king trained 20,000 elephants for battle．

    I'll tell you all about my Thai boxing(拳击)lessons next time I write．

Love,

Mandy

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer and pianist. Many people think he was one of the best composers of music of all time.

    Mozart was born in Austria in 1756. He was educated by his father, a very good violinist. His father started to give him piano lessons when he was 4 years old. When he was 6, he went on his first musical tour of Europe. Mozart also wrote music. When he was only about 5 years old, he started to compose music. At the age of 8, he composed his first real song. He grew up to write some of his most beautiful music ever heard. However, he died when he was only 35 years old.

    One afternoon, Kate and her brother, Bob, went out to play. Kate was eight, and Bob was ten. "Let's go to the bridge and we can see fish in the river," said Kate.

    "I don't know..." Bob said. "Mum told us, 'Don't go on the bridge.' She said it's dangerous."

    Kate said, "I am not afraid. Are you?" They walked onto the bridge and began looking for fish in the river. The bridge was a train bridge. Trains went over the bridge three times a day.

    The children were standing in the middle of the bridge when they heard a loud noise. "A train is coming!" Bob shouted. "Run!" He ran to the end of the bridge. He was safe.

    Kate ran, too, but she fell. The train was coming fast. Kate ran towards Bob. She fell again right on the train tracks (铁轨). There was no time to leave. She had to lie down between the tracks. A few seconds later, the train went over the girl, but she was not hurt at all. She stood up and said to Bob, "Don't tell Mum! Don't tell Mum!"

    At last their mother found out about the story. She was angry because they went on the bridge. But she was happy that Kate was all right.