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    A dog got away from his leash（拴狗颈的皮带）one day and went for a walk in the woods. After a time, he met a wolf.

    The dog said to the wolf, "Brother Wolf, you look so thin! How can you be happy when you are so thin? You should come to live with me and my master. I eat much every day and I never worry about food."

    The wolf thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, you are right. Why should I be out here in the wild hunting for small pieces of food when someone else will give it to me? And you are so well fed. Very well, I will come to live with you."

    "Good," said the dog, "then follow me."

    As they went to the dog's home, the wolf noticed a patch (斑点) around the dog's neck where the fur had been worn off.

    "Brother Dog," asked the wolf, "why do you have that patch around your neck where there is no fur?"

    The dog slowed down, stopped and turned to the wolf with sadness in his eyes.

    "That is where they place the leash around my neck. They do this so they can control me and keep me in my place," replied the dog, sadly.

    "Never!" said the wolf as he began to go back into the forest. "I would rather be hungry and free than be fat and as a slave."

    Mo Yan was born in 1955 in Gaomi, Shandong. His real name is Guan Moye. Mo Yan is his pen name. It means “no speaking”. Mo Yan's parents are farmers.

    When he was young, Mo Yan had to leave school and start to work, first as a farmer and then in a factory. In 1979 he married Du Qinlan. Two years later, their only daughter Guan Xiaoxiao was born. Xiaoxiao likes literature (文学) very much. She is a famous writer like her father.

    In 1981, Mo Yan's first novel (小说) Falling Rain on a Spring Night came out. His works — Red Sorghum Clan, The Republic of Wine, Big Breasts and Wide Hips, Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out and Frog are very famous. Mo Yan won many prizes (奖). In 2012, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

    Kate, Jack and Sam are good friends. They are in the same school.Kate and Jack are classmates. But Sam is in a different grade－Grade Three. They often do sports or play games after school.

    This evening Jack is going to Sam's birthday party and he is going to give him a new book for his birthday because he likes reading very much. Kate wants to go to the party, too. But she has to stay at home because her mother isn't feeling well. She asks Jack to take a present to Sam for his birthday. She wants to give Sam a different present, so she gives him a very mice new pen.

    When Grandma welcomed us, she was dressed in bright colors and wore jewelry(珠宝)I never knew she had. She seemed to be in a good mood(心情), but because of her deafness, communication was still difficult.

    It had been half a year since my last visit. She must have thought that as an overseas student, I don't get to eat much good food anymore. So, with her wrinkled(皱纹)hand, she passed me some homemade pastries(糕点).

    Her hands tested the temperature of my cup again and again, and every time it showed a slight sign of cooling down, Grandma poured in more hot water. She also never allowed me to stop eating. As soon as I finished what was on my plate, she gave me something new to try. Finally, when my stomach couldn't take any more, she stopped and held my hands as she sat beside me.

    When it was time to leave, she walked downstairs to see us off. The sun shined on the white pearls(珍珠)round her neck. She was smiling, and her wrinkles sat happily on her soft skin. People usually compare wrinkles to a dry tree trunk(树干). But to me, my grandmother's wrinkles are among the loveliest things I've ever seen.

    There used to be a time when I disliked old age and stayed away from elderly people, but that was because of my ignorance(无知). And now I understand that there's beauty in everything. My grandma's wrinkles are just like a thousand stories being told all at once.

    I teach economics in a university three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so good. He had his wisdom teeth removed. Then he went on to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful.

    His question reminded me of something I'd read somewhere before: Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to live that day. I said, "I choose to be cheerful."

    "Let me give you an example," I continued. "Besides teaching here, I also teach at a college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. One day a few weeks ago I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn't work. So I put my flashes on, took my books, and walked down the road to the college. When I got there, I called AAA(汽车协会) and asked for a tow truck to meet at my car after class. The secretary there asked me what had happened. "This is my lucky day," I replied, smiling.

    "Your car breaks down and toady is your lucky day? What do you mean?"

    "My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. I didn't," I replied. "Instead, it broken down at the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance of here. I'm still able to teach my class, and I've been able to ask for the tow truck to meet me after class! If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn't have been arranged in a more convenient way."

    I ended my story. In spite of the early hour, no one in my class seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them.

    My friend Alice visited my city last week. She arrived in HongKong on Wednesday morning .She is from Australia. I showed her around the city.

    We visited the Clock Tower first. The Clock Tower was very tall. We took some photos there. Then we went to the City Museum. After that, we saw a good movie.

    The next day, we visited the Ladies' Street. There were a lot of clothes shops. The clothes were cheap and beautiful. Alice bought some clothes for her parents and friends. Then we went to the Seafood Street. We bought some seafood. We also had seafood in a restaurant. Both of us enjoyed the meal. Then we went to a concert in the evening. The music was fantastic!

    On the third day, the weather was very hot, so we decided to visit Hong Kong Wetland Park. We saw many kinds of plants and animals in it. They were very interesting.

    Alice went back to Australia on Friday evening. She enjoyed the trip. She invited me to visit Australia next summer.