The story is about a young student. She worked very hard at her lessons. She worked so hard that she became ill. She couldn't go to sleep at night. When she got up the next morning, she felt very tired.

    So she went to see a doctor. Hearing the student's words, the doctor said, "You are too stressed out. You must eat more food like vegetables and tofu. Besides you can try to count(数) numbers when you are lying in bed. By the time you reach one thousand, you will be asleep. I'm sure of it."

    The next day, the student came to see the doctor again. "Well," said the doctor, "how are you feeling today?"

    The student still looked tired. "Yes," she said, "I tried to count one, two, three, four... up to one thousand. But when I reached five hundred and sixty, I feel sleepy. I had to get up and drink some coffee so that I could go on counting up to one thousand. But then I still couldn't be asleep."

    I am from South Africa. I didn't at all know the weather here was so cold, but I am glad to say that I have all the clothes for this freezing weather.

When I First got to know that l would be attending this international conference here in Finland, I had no idea what kind of clothes I should take along. I didn't know what to do when I thought of this two-week stay here, with a very formal dinner, a few parties, social gatherings and a dance during the conference.

    Luckily, my friend Julia has been to northern Europe. Yes, she was a great help. She helped me with my biggest problem. She placed an order for some warm suits and dresses, business-type clothes, of course, of dark colors. She also bought me some skirts and blouses so that I could wear the same clothes in several different ways. A couple of lively colored dresses will give me a nice change from time to time. She also helped to choose a very warm raincoat and a pair of boots.

    Oh, how lucky I am to have such a helpful friend. She saved me a lot of trouble, nothing worries me about my meeting, nor my clothes.

    Joe Read studied in this school for four years. When he finished school, he was already eighteen years old. And then his father said to him, “You finished school, and you are a good student. Now you may go to town and get a good job. They need some clever people to work in the office. The people there can get a lot of money now. If you stay at home, you can't get money from our family.” A few weeks later, Joe went to the office and asked for a job there. A man took him into a small room and gave him some questions on a piece of paper. Joe answered the questions quickly, and he gave the paper to the man. The man looked at the paper for a few minutes and then asked, “You were born on Sep. 23. But which year were you born in?” Joe answered, “Oh, every year.”

    Mona doesn't like to ask people for help. But it is hard for her to perform daily activities on her own. She is almost 13, yet she is no larger than a 5-year-old. Mona has trouble keeping her balance and can't walk very far. When she uses a wheelchair, she can't push it herself.

    Fortunately, Mona has a wonderful service dog named Sam. A service dog is a dog that has been trained to assist someone who has a physical problem. Sam lets Mona lean on him when she walks. He also pulls her wheelchair and turns lights on and off. When Mona drops something, Sam picks it up. He even pulls her socks off at night.

    Sam also helps Mona with everyday tasks at school. He carries her books from class to class in a special backpack. He puts Mona's completed assignments in her teachers' homework trays. In the lunchroom he throws away her trash.

    Besides making Mona less dependent on other people, Sam helps her lead a fuller life. Mona's classmates flock around Sam like geese. This has helped her make friends. Sam also helps Mona be more active. With his aid, she raised over $500 in walk-a-thon for her local humane society.

    Because of Sam, Mona doesn't have to ask people for help. Sam brings her closer to other kids. And he even helps her contribute to her community.

Scene 1

    (The setting is a room in the palace of the Queen of Sheba. The Queen sits at one end of the room on a chair. Zahrah stands on one side of the chair. Amram is showing some silks to the Queen.)

Amram: Would your Majesty be good enough to feel this silk? See how fine and soft it is!

    (Amarm comes a little closer to the Queen and holds out some purple silk. She feels it.) 

Queen: Yes, it is. And I like this bright purple color very much. (She turns to Zahrah.) Zahrah, what do you think of it?

 Zahrah:  I like it very much, and it is a good color for a queen, your Majesty. (She folds up the silk and puts it to one side.)

Amram:  The king of my own country, the wise King Solomon, likes this bright purple better than any other color.

Queen: I have heard many things about your king.   

Amram: He is a good king, your Majesty, and a kind man. All his people love him.

Queen:  I have also heard that he is very wise. Is it true, Amram, that King Solomon understands what animals say?

Amram: It is true, your Majesty.

Queen (Smiles): It's very hard to believe.

Amram: If I told you what happened one time when I was with the king, I think you would believe it.

Queen: I'd like to hear your story.

Amram: Well, one day our king and some men of his palace were riding on horseback to a nearby city. The king was riding ahead of the rest of us. All at once he pulled his horse to stop. He looked down at the sand in the road.

Queen: Go on.

Amram: Then the king turned his horse off the road and onto the grass. He kept his horse on the grass a little way before turning back onto the road.

Queen:  Did he say why he stopped and then turned his horse off the road?

Amram: King Solomon told us he had seen some ants hurrying along in the sand of the road. He said he had heard them say they were afraid that the horses would walk on them.

Queen (Surprised): And that was why your mighty king turned off the road?

Amram (Proud)Yes, your Majesty. The mighty King Solomon stopped to hear what the little ants in the sand were saying. He turned off the road to save them from being hurt.

Queen: Then he must be as wise and as kind as people say he is.

Amram: Now you can believe it, can't you?

Queen:  I won't fully believe it until I see and hear him myself, Amram.

Amram: Then why don't you come to our country and pay him a visit, your Majesty?

Queen:  Yes, I think I shall do that, Amram. But first I must think of a way to test this wise king. You may go now, Amram,

Amram: Good day, your Majesty. (He backs away.)

(Curtain)

    Dear friend, do you know the boy in the picture? He is Wang Yuan, a member of the Chinese boy band, TFBOYS. Do you want to know more about him? Follow me, please.

    Wang Yuan was born November 8th, 2000 in Chongqing. His English name is Roy. He is good at singing, dancing and playing the piano. He can also write songs alone. He and two other boys formed the boy band TFBOYS in 2013. They are very popular with the young girls and boys in China now.

    In January, 2017,Wang Yuan made a speech on good quality education (优质教育) in English at the United Nations in front of 500 people from, around the world. It's great. As for middle school students, we should learn from Wang Yuan, and put our hearts into what we are doing to make a difference in our daily lives.