On Mother's Day, after my children arrived home from school, the doorbell 1 . I went to answer it, and there stood two clean-faced, tall, smiling2 . They held two of the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen. They said to me, “Do you 3 us? You often fed us cookies! They were so 4 . We wanted to come back and thank you and say “Happy Mother's Day” because you were like a mom to us!” I couldn't help crying, and thanked them.

    I remembered the old days. At that time I did not have a lot of money or a big house and l was a single mom with three young  5 of my own. The two boys were a bit older than my children. They always visited my yard, but they 6 cared about the fact that their faces were dirty. Every day they enjoyed themselves with my 7 girls and one small boy.

    I spent a lot of time 8 healthy cookies. The two boys played happily in my yard, and they were quite happy to share food, books, games and then, for a time, they didn't  9 us. I wanted to know what happened in their lives, and hoped for the best.

    But now they came back and thanked me. This is the 10 gift I have ever received from two young boys.

    Tom began to learn to cook when he was six years old. At that time,he was ill in hospital．During the first three days there,Tom1a lot of TV cartoons and felt bored with them．Then he visited the Internet for fun．He 2an interesting website(网站)．It taught people how to cook．Tom was very3the pictures on the website and fell in love with(爱上)cooking．4he got better,Tom went back home and tried to learn to cook by himself．Tom spent most of his free time learning5to cook．He tried a lot of recipes(食谱)．

    Now after five years of6 ． Tom is a famous cook in his town．He also uses his cooking to make money7poor children in his town．He's already given them more than 10,000 dollars．He8has his own book to teach people to cook food．The book is quite popular．"When you9to do something，try your best to do it．Then you will be10one day!"said Tom．

    Li Qinmei lives in Zhucheng, Shandong Province. She lost her 1 at three. Four years later, her father couldn't 2 after an accident. After the death of her grandmother, 12-year-old Li Qinmei had to support her broken family.

    Qinmei learnt to 3 and live a life with 24 yuan per month from the government. The most 4 things she had to deal with were to 5 her father wash, dress and use the toilet as he could hardly move.

    During most of her junior school years, she went to classes 6 once a month as her father was seriously ill at that time. “I taught 7 at home and asked teachers for help on my school days,” she said.

    Though she had a hard life, the difficulties taught her to be 8. “My classmates have both Mum and Dad to 9 them. How happy they are! However, I don't feel 10 as I still have my dear dad and many kind people with me. I believe I will go to college,” she said.

    For a full­time worker and a mother of three, it seems impossible to spend time 1, but Hope Cooper can make it.

    Cooper volunteers at Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) in Varina High School. Her work is to 2 applications(申请表格)to students with scholarships (奖学金) for college. Cooper says, "I usually run to the PTSA meetings right after work. After the meetings, I have to run home and cook dinner for my own children."

    3 of Cooper's children goes to Varina High School, but she says, "Volunteering isn't all about helping the people you know best, but it's about helping those who 4 you most." Cooper chooses to volunteer in Varina High School because she 5 some poor students can't afford the higher education. She says 6 she can't help out every student, helping out one student is rewarding (值得的). Cooper thinks volunteering not only makes a difference to the students but also 7 her thought of what is important in life. Cooper says volunteering may seem 8 to one but means so much to those who need it. She 9 everyone to take part in it. She plans to keep on volunteering in the future. "Volunteering gives me a 10 that I need. I'll ask my children to volunteer, too," she says.

    Tom was leaving school to be a criminal(罪犯), never to return. He thought he was a lonely boy who was loved by 1. His best friend, Joe, was looking for Tom for the same reason, his mother beat him, 2 , he didn't do anything wrong. The two boys met Huck who 3with their plan about starting a life of crime on Jackson's Island with some food and tools in the boat .

    In the midnight, they landed on the island 5 kilometers away and let the 4 go down the Missouri river. "It is just the life for me," said Tom. "I don't 5 to get up early to hurry to school, and wash, and all those6 things. I'm free now." The other two cheered too. It seemed wonderful for them to live7 on the lonely but happy island. But soon, they found that the life here was hard. They began to miss their parents and friends.

    On Wednesday, Tom returned home and hid under the bed .He heard everyone missed them very much and searched the river ,they thought the boys had drowned(溺亡).

    "Poor Tom, he wasn't really bad, he never8 any harm, and he had a good heart." Aunt Polly said and began to cry. They were going to wait until 9 for their funerals(葬礼).Tom had a new plan in his head, then he went back to his 10 and told everything to Joe and Huck.

    That Saturday afternoon, Aunt Polly's family prepared their 11funeral clothes for the next day with great sadness. Even the weekend was 12 for children, who had no pleasure in their games.

    When Sunday school finished, funeral began in the town church. Almost all the villagers came in black and nobody remembered 13 the church had been so full. Everybody thought they have made a mistake to see only14 in the boys, people all cried.

    Suddenly, there was a slight noise, people all turned around and saw the three "dead" boys walking up the doorway. Aunt Polly, Joe's and Huck's families 15 their boys with kisses and thanks.