“Homestay is a form of study abroad program．It allows visitors to rent a room from a local(当地的)family to better understand the local lifestyle．It also helps to improve the visitor's language ability，"said a teacher during a school meeting last term．“Students who wish to learn more about foreign cultures or to get foreign experience should join this kind of holiday．I am sure you won't be disappointed(失望的)．”

    After this special meeting，I always thought about this kind of holiday．Last month I had a chance at last to go on such a holiday with some of my schoolmates and we went to London．a place where I had wanted to go since years ago．

    As we were still young，we had a group leader who planned things for us and looked after us．After we got to London. we went to stay with different families．I was lucky that my host family(寄宿家庭)was a white couple who had a daughter about my age．They treated me as a daughter of their family during my stay there．They were interested in me and I learnt a lot of things from them，too．

    The holiday was filled with activities every day．After breakfast，a local teacher would come to take us in his car．Then we would have classes or go on a sight—seeing trip to different places of interest like the Big Ben，the London Bridge，and the Buckingham Palace．We would go back to our own homes after the activities．

    The holiday was a valuable experience for me．I enjoyed every minute of it．Yet，time really flew fast．Three weeks later，we had to leave “home” for Hong Kong．

    David walked down the street. All he wanted to do was to play basketball with Jim. But his mother told him to return his sister's books to the library on his way to Jim's house.

    In his eyes, books and summertime just don't go together. He thought he had read a lot during the school year. And he had never set foot inside a public library. Today he'd just drop the books off in the outside return box, but it was locked. He had to go inside to return them.

David walked inside the building a few minutes before closing time. He put the books into the return box. After a quick drink of water and a short stop in the toilet, he'd be on his way to meet Jim. He walked out of the toilet. The library lights were turned off. He was locked — in a library.

David tried to use the telephone, but he couldn't find one. As the sun began to set, he searched for a light and found a little one on the desk. He used a pencil to write a note on a big piece of paper. It read, “I'm locked inside. Please call for help.” He put it on the front door. Surely, someone passing by would see it. He then turned his attention to the library itself.

    He was surprised to discover that this place was not so bad. Rows and rows of books! When he saw a book about Michael Jordan on the desk, he picked it up. He opened the book and began to read. He felt that being locked in the library didn't seem to be such a terrible thing.

    Once a great boxer(拳击手), Tom Brown, went to a restaurant for dinner. He put his bag near the door, but he was afraid that someone would take it away. So he got out a pen and a piece of paper and wrote on it, “The great boxer, Tom Brown, left his bag here and he will be back in a few minutes.”

    He put the paper on his bag and went to have his dinner. When he came back, his bag wasn't there. But he found a piece of paper on the ground. It said, “A great runner took away your bag, and will not be back.”

    Animals are our good friends. Some are active and others are quiet. But do you know anything about the clever animals in the world? Just have a look!

    Jeff Black has only one leg. When he was 12 years old, he got cancer. The doctor had to cut off most of his right leg to save his life.

    Every day Jeff walks with all artificial(人造的) leg. With the help of the leg, he can ski, ride a bike and play tennis. He can even run.

    When he was 22 years old, Jeff ran across the United States. He ran 5,150 kilometers. That was about 9.6 kilometers each day. Jeff wore out 36 pairs of running shoes and five artificial legs.

    On his way, people in every city gave Jeff some money. The money was not for Jeff himself. It was for a project, which helps people with cancer. Jeff talked to people about cancer and his disability.

    Though Jeff is disabled, he can do lots of things like a healthy man. He has finished college and now he is studying to be a lawyer. He says, "I want people to know that I ran not only for the disabled but also for everybody. I hope my spirit can cheer others up."

    As we all know mother's love is the greatest love in the world. It's true that we should thank our mothers, without mothers, nobody could come to the world. I always believe the rule, so it's hard for me to feel father's love. I didn't realize how great my father was until last month.

    On a rainy day last month, I was sleeping in my bedroom when my father came in to wake me up. I was sleepy and upset, so I began to shout at him. He wasn't angry at all. Instead he said in a low voice to me, "Dear, it's time for lunch. I have already got everything ready for you. "I looked at the watch. My god, it was nearly twelve o' clock at noon. It was Sunday that day. That was why I got up so late.

    I went downstairs slowly and lazily. When I got into the dining room, I saw a table of tasty food. I felt surprised because all the food was cooked by my father himself. He had never done any housework before, because he was always very busy. I was still puzzled (困惑) why Dad cooked so much food for us two that day . Suddenly, I heard the voice of happy birthday. I was so excited that I cried, for I knew it was the first time I had felt father's love since my mom was not with us anymore.