C

    I stood there listening to my father shout at top of his voice. The look on his face said that one of us had done something wrong.

    “Which one of you did this?”

    We all looked down at the step. There was child's handwriting in chalk there. I was very frightened. I hope no one could see it. Would he guess it was me? I was so scared. When he asked me, I lied, “Not me, dad.” The other denied(否认) it as well. Of course, we all knew that one of us must have done it. But as the youngest and smallest of the three, I just couldn't find courage to tell the truth.

    To find out who had written on the step, Father gave us each a piece of paper and a pencil. “I want each of you to write exactly what you see on the step.” I tried my best to write the words differently. I didn't want dad to be able to tell it was me.

    He gathered up our paper and looked at them. “Since none of you will say yes, then I will punish you all.” I stood there and said nothing. The last thing I wanted was for Dad to punish me!

    “I did it.” My sister walked forward and said she had done something she hadn't. She was punished for a month.

   We didn't talk about that day for many years. Not until we were all older and I knew it was safe to finally tell my dad it was really me. I always felt sorry because of it. That was the last time I let anyone take the blame for me. I told myself, “One must see to what he or she has done.”

Jack had an unusual experience last night. He is sharing it with his friends. Ken and May.

Ken: What were you doing, Jack What did you see

Jack: It was half past nine last night and I was getting ready for bed. I heard some strange noise outside while I was brushing my teeth. I wondered what was happening and I went to the window and looked out. To my surprise, I saw a bright yellow green light in the sky.

May: Maybe the light you saw was a UFO! Or a ghost! A few years ago, an American man saw a flying saucer while he was driving along a road. He also saw some strange yellow light. You have heard about it, haven't you

Ken: Don't be imaginative, May. Jack didn't see anything, or anybody. It wasn't a ghost. It was probably a plane, or a shooting star .Perhaps Jack just made a horrible dream!

Jack: I am very serious .I did see something. The light disappeared and then suddenly some “tiny people” were standing in the garden .There were four of them .Two of them ate some flowers in the garden .It was always stretching out its arms.

Ken: Oh, come on, Jack. I really doubt what you have said.

Jack: I am not joking! One of the people was looking at me through the window.

May: Really What did it look like Were you frightened

Jack: Its whole body was green. It had no ears and nose. Its hands were huge. Its eyes were very big and resembled eggs. It started at me and I could hardly move.

Ken: What happened then ?

Jack: I was able to move eventually. I ran and got my camera immediately.

May: And......

Jack: I didn't have a film.

May: Oh no!

    I saw an accident on my way to the college three days ago.

    I was waiting for the bus at the but stop. When the bus came, I got on the bus and sat on the window side. The bus started to move. After about five minutes, the bus stopped to wait for the signal(信号灯). I looked outside and saw an old man crossing the road. There were not many people on the road. A boy was riding a motorbike very fast form my side. It seemed that he did not see the signal. When the boy took notice of the old man, he tried to slow down his motorbike but there was no time. He collided with the old man very badly. The old man was thrown far away The boy also fell down. His head hit the road but it was saved because of his helmet(头盔). Both of them lay in the pool of blood. Many people gathered(聚集) around them and gave their ideas. I got afraid because I saw the whole accident. Then a woman stopped and called the ambulance( 救护车 ). It came quickly and rushed them to hospital.

    The next day I read the newspaper. The old man died in the ambulance but the boy was saved in time. This was the most terrible accident I saw ever in my life.

    Who were your best friends five years ago? Is there anyone you would really like to see again? In 1999, Julie Pankhurst, a computer programmer from London, was thinking about her past-and especially the people she used to go to school with.

    Julie looked on the Internet for a website to help her find her old school friends. But there was nothing. So Julie and her husband, Steve, started their own website. They called it Friends Reunited.

    The site grew slowly at first, but soon they received their first "thank you" email. The man wrote, "Thank you so much. Using your website, I found an old friend from thirty years ago！"Julie and Steve were very excited about this and continued to improve their website. By the end of 2000, there were 3,000 members.

    The next year was really hard work for the couple.

    In January, a national radio station mentioned their website. Their membership doubled in one week! People were talking about the website all over the country, and it became a full-time job for Julie and Steve. In a year, they had four million members!

    Now, over fifteen million people in lots of different countries use Friends Reunited to find old school friends, work colleagues and neighbors. Some of the stories which people tell Julie and Steve are amazing. For example, David Webster lost his memory in a car crash. He used the website to find old school friends, and they helped him remember his past.

    Julie's simple idea gave us a national obsession（痴迷）-getting in touch with old friends and hearing their news. And it made her and Steve very rich in 2005, they sold Friends Reunited for ￡120 million!

    Steven is six years old. He gets some money from his mother every week. He buys a lot of things from the shops, but he doesn't really need them, and he puts them everywhere. One day his mother gives him a notebook and says, "Now, Steven, when you buy things, write their names down in the notebook, and also write down how much they are. Then you can look at it again when your money is all gone (花光了), and you don't waste (浪费) so much money next time."

    After a week, Steven says to his mother, "Do you know, Mum, before I spend (花) any money now, I really stop and think!" His mother is very happy and thinks, "Well, my son knows the value (价值) of money now. "But then she hears him say, "Mum, before I buy something, I always ask myself, 'Can I spell (拼写) that word and put it down in my notebook?'"

    Dad was walking around the house seriously. He walked here and there in a hurry. He needed his glasses so he could read the newspaper. He likes reading. But he could not remember where he had put his glasses.

    First, Dad looked in the bedroom. He looked on the bed and under the bed. Next, Dad opened the closet. He looked in the pockets of his brown coat. He even looked inside his winter boots. Then Dad went outside to the car. He looked on the seats of the car. He searched under the car seats, too. Dad came back inside. He walked into the living room and looked around. Then he sighed loudly.

    Mom and Wendy were sitting there, and they heard Dad sigh. "What's wrong?" asked Mom. "I've looked everywhere for my glasses, but I can't find them," he said. Wendy and Mom looked at Dad. Then they smiled at each other. Dad was always losing his glasses, but this time they were not lost. Mom and Wendy knew just where they were. "Maybe Mom and I can help you," said Wendy. "That would be great," said Dad. "I've looked in the bedroom, in the closet, and in the car. I don't know where else to look."

    Now Mom and Wendy started to laugh. Dad looked surprised. "What's so funny?" he asked. When Dad looked in the mirror, he laughed, too. His glasses were on top of his head.