Miss Mitra didn't want to be a Sunday school teacher any longer. The students there were all rude and never listened to her. "I give up." She shouted at the students. "Cool." Rick said. He was the most impolite kid in this school. Two months later, Miss Betty Ray came to the school. She looked young. The students thought that she wouldn't stay very long.

    "Have any of you ever been out of state?" She asked in a friendly tone. A few hands went up.

    "Anyone has traveled to California?" One hand went up as the disrespectful(无礼的) laugh reduced.

    "Anyone visited outside the country?" No hands went up now. The silent kids were puzzled.

    Betty took a map of the world from her bag.

    "What else do you have there? Lunch?" Someone cracked.

    Betty smiled lightly and answered, "Cookies for later." "Cool," Rick quipped(困惑的).

    Then she pointed at a place on the map, "I was born here, and I lived here until I was about your age."

    "Is that Texas?" Someone asked.

    "No. Quite a long way from here. It is Mumbai in India."

    Betty fumbled again in her bag, this time pulling out some old wrinkled pictures along with a box of chocolate chip cookies. They passed the pictures around, viewing each with great interest.

    The kids studied them as they bit into the sweets.

    The hour quickly slid by as she told them her stories about faraway places and what the people were like there and how they lived.

    "Wow, this is as exciting as TV!" One young girl told her.

    Sunday after Sunday, Betty came to class, tying her lessons to their everyday lives. She told the kids how they could make a difference right now. The students grew to love her.

    Betty taught that Sunday school class for thirty years. At last, her hair grew into a natural gray.

    Every now and then, she received a letter from a former student. There was a doctor, a research scientist, a homemaker, a businessman, and many teachers among them. One day she pulled out a blue envelope from her mailbox. And there was a photo in it. Squinting her eyes, she smiled at the man in the photo, still seeing the boy in him. Standing in the rubble(瓦砾), in the city of Delhi, India, he came to help the homeless people in the earthquake. Some words were written in the upper part of the photo, "Because of you, I am here now."

    Although half a century has passed, Shao Guohua never forgot the film ticket his teacher gave him that warmed his heart when he was a boy.  Shao entered primary school in Zigong, Sichuan Province, in 1960, Back then, sports and watching movies were the students' favorite times.

    Once, the school organized a trip to the movies for the students, and many of Shao's classmates signed (签约)  up for it.  But the boy had no money to buy the 0. 05-yuau ticket. When his classmates lined up to enter the movie theater, the boy stood alone outside. Then Shao's Chinese teacher Mo Xunru saw him and bought a ticket for him.

    He can't remember what movie it was, but Shao never stopped being thankful to his teacher. “Ms. Mo made forty or fifty yuan a month back then, so a 0.05-yuan ticket may not be a big deal for her. But for me, it moved me deeply,” said 63-year-old Shao.

    After graduating from primary school, Shao moved to another city along with his parents. In the following years, he tried to find his former teachers and classmates, but failed. It wasn't until this year that Shao visited his teacher Mo Xunru after 50 years.

    “The reunion (重聚) was emotional,” said Shao, who is over sixty himself now. “The 89-year old Mo did not hear well anymore and seemed to not know me at first sight, but she was still as kind as she used to be.” Shaoleft 1, 000 yuan to his teacher as well as a letter which reads: “Dear Ms. Mo, wish you good health. Your student: Shao Guohua.”

Just outside a village, there was a pretty but small Fir tree. He lived in a very beautiful forest with a lot of sunshine and fresh air. However, he didn't care about that, and always wished for something more interesting instead of enjoying the simple things in his life. 

One day, the largest trees were cut down. They would be made into masts. The Fir tree thought happily, "I want to be a mast. It seems so cool. "

The air and the sunshine heard the tree and said, "Don't wish for another life. Be happy now. You have warm sunlight. You have a health y trunk. "But the tree did not understand them.

This year, some young trees were cut down. They would live in a warm room and were decorated(装饰) with so many colors and lights. The Fir tree was very interested in this and really wanted to be like that. 

Again, the sunlight and the air said to the tree, "Do not be so silly. Your life in the forest is the best. Be happy with that. "But the tree didn't listen to them.

Finally, the woodcutters came to cut down the Fir tree and put him into a large room. 

On Christmas Day, many servants came in. They decorated the tree. On its top, there was a large golden star. Later, all people came in and sang Christmas carols together. The tree enjoyed watching all of this. 

"This is all for me!"thought the tree, "I will live my life in this warm room. The sunlight and the air were all wrong. "He felt very good about his future.

However, the next morning, some servants came into the room. They put him into a dark room. He was forgotten. 

As many lonely nights passed, the door to that dark room finally opened. Two servants came in and took the tree outside. 

"This is wonderful. "thought the tree. "My new life is beginning. "He relaxed in the sunlight. Just then, he discovered something terrible. His branches were all yellow. They were weak.

At that time. Some children were running around the garden They cned, "Look! The Christmas true is old and ugly. But it still has the yellow star on top of it. "One of the children took the star from the tree. Now, there was nothing beautiful about the tree anymore.

Soon, a gardener came with an axe. He chopped the poor Fir tree into pieces. Then, he placed each piece into a fire. The poor tree burned in the flames. As he burned, he could see the children playing. They were playing with his golden star. But it was too late for regrets now. 

"This really is the end, "thought the tree.

I spent an hour writing out all the invitations to my daughter's classmates. She told me who said they were coming. We spent so much time and money making gifts. "Tina would love the sunglasses, and Mike would love this pencil…" Jenny said. She helped me to make cupcakes, 60 of them with different colors and tastes. 

Everything was ready. At four, it started to rain. However, it didn't seem to stop soon. "Will they come at five?" Jenny asked me. She looked worried. I was not sure, either. We sat on the sofa and waited. At 4: 50, Lisa, Jenny's best friend, arrived. We were both happy and welcomed her. Until 5: 20, seven of thirty classmates came. 

I thought Jenny would be sad. "I'm happy today, Mom," Jenny told me after the party was over. "It was rainy, but some of my classmates still came. I know who are my real friends."

"Yes, it's the most important thing," I said.

Ashley was honest, fashionable, and the"Queen Bee" in my school. 

I looked up to her and idolised(崇拜) her. I listened to the music she listened to, and wore the clothes she wore. I even took art class though I had really wanted to take theatre. I finally fitted in 1 group. 

 One day, I got out of my last class a few minutes early to 2 seats for our group at the dining hall. Paying all attention to my homework, I didn't notice they had sat down behind me. Before I could say a word, I3 realised what they were    3   . 

I listened silently. "She's such a loser, " one girl said. 

 Another girl added, "Ashley, she 4 follows you, trying to copy you. "

"I wish she would leave us alone. We were in the same summer school and now she thinks we're best friends. " The once familiar voice sounded so5 and strange. 

I was mortified (感到羞辱的). My hands were shaking. I couldn't help crying 6 . I felt heartbroken for the very first time. How did this happen? I 7 we were friends. 

I ran home. My mother just held me while I cried for hours. The advice she gave me was so 8 , and I had heard it a million times, "Just be yourself and people will like you for 9 you are. " This time I could understand it better. Then and there I 10 to find myself back. That was exactly what I did. 

 Over the next month, I went through a lot of 11 . I bought new clothes that I wanted to wear. I no longer went to art class 12 them, and took theatre. I began making new friends. I developed my own 13 and never again followed the crowd. 

I had an amazing school year. 14 I look back, I think it was the year when I discovered the person I was going to be. It was a 15 they had given me, though I was deeply pained that day. 

Every child has a hobby. My hobby is studying the night sky. But some friends of mine have special hobbies.