I was coming back home late at night in a ”Sharing” minivan. In Hyderabad, India, it is a cheap and quick means of transport. The van drivers ply (揽客) as many as 13 people at times in a vehicle which is designed for the transport of 8 people．Our van was crowded as well. People were getting off and on at many places.

    On the journey, one girl waved her hand to ask the driver to stop. While getting down, she tripped and fell．None of us notice it，as it was dark. The driver was waiting for her to pay. It was then that we saw the girl was on her knees by the side of the road. Another passenger and l got down and held her up．

    Even in pain, the girl held up a note and asked us to pay the driver．The other passenger took the note and paid the driver．My stop was a few hundred meters away. I decided to stay with her till she was fine. I paid the driver for myself and he took off with the other passengers.

    I neither knew her nor did I know what to do, but I was there, saying some comforting words to a stranger in pain. I asked her to stand still for a few minutes. We then looked for a place for her to sit. From out of nowhere, her friend joined us.

    We made her sit in a nearby grassland and her friend rushed to get a taxi. In the meantime, she examined her leg and her ankle had swollen up (肿胀). It looked like a sprain (扭伤). Once her friend came back, they took the taxi and rushed to a hospital. Before they left, the girl thanked me and said they could manage as it was only a small sprain.

    I do not know if I did enough. But I feel I gave some comfort to her in a small way.

C

    Once upon a time，there was a king who had gone to visit neighboring kingdoms．He was gifted a pair of baby parrots by the king of the last kingdom where he was visiting．They were the most beautiful birds that he had ever seen．so，after returning to his kingdom，he called for a bird trainer and asked him to train parrots．

    The king also set up a place in the palace garden for the parrots．He often looked at them from his palace window．As time passed，one day the trainer came to the palace and told the king that though one of the parrots was flying high in the sky，the other one was not moving from its branch since the day it had arrived．

    When hearing this,the king summoned the best trainer from all his land and the nearby kingdoms．They came quickly and tried their best, but none of them could make the parrot fly!He even asked his courtiers to try to find a good way to make the parrot fly but they all failed．The parrot was not moving from his branch at all．Finally，after trying everything，the king thought to himself："Perhaps I need someone who may be more familiar with natural habitat．"He asked his courtier to get a farmer from the countryside and take him to the parrot to see if he could understand the problem with the parrot．

    The next morning，the king was surprised to see the parrot flying high above the palace gardens．He asked his servant to call that farmer to meet him．The servant quickly went and found the farmer．The farmer came and stood before the king．The king asked him，"How did you make the parrot fly?" With his hands folded with respect，the farmer said to the king，"It was very easy．I just cut the branch where the bird was sitting．"

    Mo Yan is the winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature(文学) .He comes from Gaorai, Shandong Prcvince. He was born in a common family of farmers. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} As a young boy, Mo often helped to look after the sheep of the family. He enjoyed watching over them when they were eating grass. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}He also enjoyed the green open land of Shandong. He enjoyed looking up at the clean blue sky and white clouds. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It was the beginning of his life as a storyteller.

    Many years later, Mo left school and worked in a store. Though he still wanted to study, he had to make a living first. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Luckily, a friend gave him some books. Later .Me joined the army and could go on learning .Then he started to write.

    Mo left Gaomi many years ago, but Gaomi never left him. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Mo is famous now, but he is still a true son of the land.

    In Western countries, most children get pocket money by doing some chores at home. They usually start to do chores at the age of ten. School students have to do their homework and study for test, so they don't have a lot of free time on weekdays and they often do some chores on weekends.

    Young kids can only do easy chores, so they don't get much money. But many of them only want to buy candy. And candy is cheap! They do the dishes after dinner and feed the pet cat or dog. Sometimes they water flowers and other plants in the garden.

    When kids get older, they want to buy more things. They want something more expensive than candy. Then they have to work harder. They often wash the car, cut the grass of feed the dog.

    Some chores can help kids learn new things. It is important for kids to learn how to do chores and help their parents with housework.

Four ways to have a good school life

    Your schooldays should be some of the best and happiest days of your life. How can you get the most from them, and be sure you do not waste (浪费) this great chance to learn?

    Be active (积极的) at school

    Don't say things are difficult or boring. Take interest in school life and your school subjects. Join lots of activities. Put up your hands quickly in class. Go around the school with a big smile. If you are not working, you are wasting your time at school. Teachers cannot make everything enjoyable (令人愉快的).

    Keep fit

    If you don't eat a good breakfast, you will be thinking about food in class. If you go to bed late and don't have enough sleep, you will be sleepy in class. Play enough sports every day in order to keep your body strong.

    Face the problem

    Do not say you will do things tomorrow. If you get behind the class, it is very difficult to get back in front. You cannot finish the race if you rest all the time. Everyone fails some exams, loses some matches and has bad days. Don't make small problems very big and important. Don't forget to ask for help. You are young, and no one thinks you must do everything quite well!

    Spend the weekends

    Don't waste time lying in bed on Saturday or Sunday morning. Go and play sports, get together with friends in the park to relax, learn to play the piano, or help someone with problem. If you don't want to go out, there are also a lot of things to do. You may read a book, practice English or help Mum with housework.

    Follow our advice, and have a happy school life!

    Good morning! My name is Mary and my last name is White. I live with my parents and my brother in China now. I am a student. I study in Xinghua Middle School. My telephone number is 5574782. My school ID number is 888098. Tom is my best friend. His last name is Miller. He is in my school, too. His telephone number is 5570895. His school ID number is 8702223. We often go to school together in the morning and help each other with homework after school. At weekends, we like to play together with in the park near my home.

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