Tom and Mike are good friends. They are kind to children.

    They want to find summer jobs. One day Tom tells Mike that Beidaihe Kids Summer Camp needs help with sports, music and computers. They are both very glad to hear(听说) this. Tom can play basketball and volleyball and he can swim, too. Mike can play the violin, the trumpet, the drums and the guitar. Tom and Mike like computers very much. Can they join the Summer Camp?

    Esperanza lives in a poor Latino(拉丁美洲人) neighborhood in Chicago, .America. She dreams of having her own house one day. Her parents told her that when they moved from their last house, they would have a new' and shiny(亮闪闪的) house. But the house is small and old.

    Many people live in Mango Street in a big old house. Esperanza lives behind it with her family. A lot of the people who have come from Mexico don't speak English. Many miss their home country. Esperanza understands their sadness, but she also feels at home in America. She is an American, but her roots(根) will always be Latino,

    Esperanza is young. Like her friends, she has to grow up fast. She is stuck between being a girl and being a woman. In the poor and dangerous area where she lives, this is difficult for her. Mexican people usually live in a close neighborhood. This means that people live packed(挤塞的) in together. Everyone knows everyone else. So Esperanza knows other older girls that do things she is not comfortable doing. It is just a fact of her life.

    But Esperanza has good friends too. She becomes friends with two sisters named Lucy and Rachel. They ride bikes and have adventures together. Esperanza is also friends with a girl named Alicia. Alicia is afraid of the rats in her apartment. She shares her poems with Esperanza.

    Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn't exist(存在). That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin's work-was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.

    One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball.  He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.

    Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put wheels under his shoes. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of reaching the party on wheels while playing the violin.

    On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot MerIin's grand entrance for a long time!

    The moon was behind a cloud and there weren't many stars in the sky.

    It was a dark night. I saw a glow(光) in my neighbour's kitchen. I thought he was having a night meal so I went back to my bed.

    Soon, there was a smell of burning in the air and I thought there was probably something wrong. I jumped out of the bed quickly and went out to make sure. I saw a fire coming out of my neighbour's kitchen. Then I shouted "Fire! Fire! ".But no one in the neighbourhood heard my shouts for help.

    I ran into my house, called the fire department(消防队) and went back to my neighbour's house. I banged(猛敲) on the door and called out my neighbour's name, but there was no answer. Finally I broke into the house and rescued a cat and a dog.

    I tried to pour water through the kitchen window but it was no use. It was a big fire. Luckily, the firemen arrived soon and stopped the fire.

    When my neighbour came back, he was sad for his kitchen but he thanked me for calling the fire department and for saving his pets. He wanted to give me some money but I did not accept it.

    Weeks later, my neighbour had a new kitchen. He invited me to see his new kitchen and we enjoyed a big meal there. It made me very happy.