There was once a little orphan(孤儿的)girl who had no family and no one to love her. She felt sad and lonely(孤独的).

    One day, while she was walking in a garden, she noticed a small butterfly caught in a bush. The more the butterfly tried to free itself, the deeper the thorn(刺)cut into its body. The girl carefully helped the butterfly out. Instead of flying away, the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy(仙女).

    "For your wonderful kindness," said the fairy, "I will grant(保证)you any wish you like."

    The little girl thought for a while and answered, "I want to be happy!"

    "Very well!" The fairy leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. Then the good fairy disappeared.

    As the little girl grew up, she stayed happy. Everyone asked her the secret(秘密)of her happiness. She would only smile and answer, "The secret of happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl."

    When she was very old and on her death bed, her neighbors were afraid that her secret of happiness would die with her. "Tell us, please," they asked. "Tell us what the good fairy said."

    The lovely old woman simply smiled and said, "She told me that everyone, no matter how secure(安稳的)they seemed, how old or young, how rich or poor, had need of me."

    Everyone has need of you.

    John likes chocolates(巧克力) very much, but his mother doesn't give him. They're bad for his teeth, she thinks. John has a very nice grandfather. The old man loves John very much and sometimes he buys John some chocolates. Then his mother let him eat them. Because she wants to make the old man happy.

    One Sunday evening before his seventh birthday, he shouts, "Please, God(上帝), let them give me a big box of chocolates for my birthday." His mother says, "God can't hear you. Don't shout (叫喊)!"

    "I know," says the clever boy with a smile. "But my grandfather is in the next room. And he can."

Somebody Loves You

    One cold rainy night, I was working on my Legos in my bedroom. I was dreaming of the day when I have earned enough money to buy my favourite set. To help me, my father rewarded me one dollar a day after I jogged with him in the morning.

    Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I jumped from my chair and raced to the top of the steps, wondering who would visit us on such a rainy night. My mother opened the door. Surprisingly, she found a very untidy man. Overcome by pity, my mother invited him inside to the living room.

    I went downstairs quietly so I could get a better look. I couldn't hear clearly what they were saying, but I saw the man holding his head in his hands and crying, which made my chest ache.

    I raced back to my room, grabbed the one-dollar coin I had got that morning, ran back to the man, put the coin in his hand and gave him a hug. At that moment, I had no idea why I did so. Feeling embarrassed, I stood still.

In a while, the stranger sat quietly with his head bowed. Tears streamed down his face as he tightly held that coin. Finally, he said, ―I just thought nobody cared about me. For the last twenty years, I have been so alone… I have no family. That was the first hug I have gotten in — hmmm… I don't know how long. It's hard to believe that somebody cares.

    Being a kid, I hadn't thought about what I was doing that night. I just had the reaction to the sight of someone else's pain. On our earlier morning jogs, my dad and I had talked about the importance of giving, but I hadn't had any idea of what it really meant.

    Before the man left that night, my parents asked him why he had knocked on our door. He said that as he was walking along the streets, hopeless and ready to die, he had noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of our house. The bumper (保险杠) sticker on the car read: SOMEBODY LOVES YOU.

    As the fifth of seven children, I went to the same public school as my three elder sisters and brother. Every year, each child from the third grade took part in an old school tradition—the plant sale held in early May, just before Mother's Day.

    That year I was old enough to take part in it. I wanted to surprise my mother, but I didn't have any money. I told my elder sister about it and she gave me some money. When I arrived at the plant sale, I carefully chose my favorite. I watched each plant seriously to make sure that I could find the best geranium(天竺葵). After school, with the help of my sister I bid it on the neighbor's porch(门廊). On Mother's Day, I remember how bright my mother's eyes were and how elated she was at my gift.

    The year I was fifteen, my younger sister reached the third, grade. She told me that, she wanted to surprise our mother. Like my elder sister did for me, I gave her some money. And she bought the same gift and we hid it in the same place. When she gave the gift to my mother, I watched them full of pride and happiness. My mother noticed me watching and gave me a soft and secret smile. With a shock at my heart, I smiled back.

    I wonder how my mother could pretend (假装) to be surprised at the same sixth child, but as I watched her eyes, I knew she was not pretending.

    Mary is an American schoolgirl. She is now in Beijing with her parents. She doesn't know Chinese, but she is trying (努力) to study and speak it. She often tries to speak Chinese to her Chinese friends. Sometimes they don't understand (理解) her, because she can't speak Chinese well.

    It's Saturday morning. Mary goes out. She is on her way to the park. She is going there to see a flower show (展览). But she doesn't know how to get there. She asks a Chinese boy. The boy can't understand her. Then she takes out a pen and some paper. She draws flowers on it, gives the picture to the boy and says something about it. The boy smiles and then shows (指给) Mary the way to the park.

Eric is my cousin. He is1 14-year-old middle school student. He is different from other children in many ways. Though most kids like to watch cartoons, he never watches 2 . He thinks cartoons are meaningless. He likes to watch educational TV shows. For example, he likes watching documentaries(纪录片). He says he can 3 learn about different cultures of different countries from them. He likes to watch the news, too. "It can tell me what is happening 4 the world, " he says. And he tells me that the news is 5 than game shows. He can't stand game shows. 

Eric doesn't expect vacations. He likes having 6 . He hopes he can go to school every day, 7 he has a lot of questions to ask and his teachers are always ready to give him the answers. 8 kind they are!

Eric's favorite place is the library. He always 9 there early. In his free time, he enjoys reading books about famous people. He wants 10 a successful person one day. He plans to work hard for it.