A few days ago, I ran into（撞上）a stranger as he passed by. I said sorry to him, and he said, "Excuse me too, I wasn't even watching for you.” We were very polite, this stranger and I.  Then we went on our way after saying goodbye.

       Later in the kitchen at home, as I cooked our meal, my daughter Betty walked up to me, very quietly. When I turned around (转身), I nearly knocked her down  "Get out of the way!" I shouted angrily. She ran away, crying.

That night, when I lay in bed, my husband said to me, “You were so rude to Betty. Go and look around on the kitchen floor, and you'll find some flowers there. Betty brought those for you. She picked them herself-pink, yellow, and your favourite blue.''

       When I heard this, I thought deeply: While meeting with a stranger, I was calm and polite; but with my daughter, I was not patient.  I felt sad and tears began to fall.

I quietly went to Betty's bed, "Wake up, my dear," I said. "Are these the flowers you picked for me?" She smiled, “I found them by the tree. I knew you'd like them, especially the blue.” I said, ‘‘I am so sorry that I treated (对待) you that way today." And she whispered（悄声地说）, “Mommy, that's okay- I still love you anyway.'' I kissed her and said, “I love you too and I do love the flowers.”

       That day Betty gave me a lesson on how to get along with each other in the family. I spent much time on work before and didn't realize how important family life was. I decided to do better in the future.

    This is a photo of Mr Black's family. The man with glasses（眼镜）is Mr Black, the father. The woman is the mother. They have a son and a daughter. The son is behind（在……后面）Mr Black. His name is Jack. He's 14. Kate is Jack's sister. She is 12. Jack and Kate are in the same school, but they are in different（不同的）grades. Jack is in Grade Three and Kate's in Grade One. They are good students.

    Abbie was a shy girl. She started her ninth grade in a new school. She soon found she didn't like the new school. This new school was much too cold and unfriendly! No one seemed to care if Abbie felt welcome or not.

    Her parents were very worried about her and they hew since they got divorced(离婚), she needed a friend very badly. They tried everything they could to help her fit in(适应), but it didn't work. She was always lonely and unhappy.

    Abbie once tried joining a music club, hoping to make friends. But her shyness held her back again. She was so upset mat she was thill king of running away from home.

    As she left her warm house, she decided to leave her mother a letter. She opened me mailbox after she finished writing the letter. To her surprise, she found a letter to her in the box. It was from Wesley:

    Dear Abbie,

    I'm sorry for not talking with you sooner. You know, my parents are in the middle of a divorce, so I am hoping you could help me get over it and give me some advice. I think we could become friends.

    Wesley

    Abbie read me letter over and over again. "Become friends," she smiled, realizing that someone cared about her life and wanted her as a friend.

    Do you have to be very smart to live a happy life? The character of McDull (麦兜) tells you that this is not true. He is famous for having a birthmark on his right eye. He is not very clever, but he has a heart of gold. He is also happy, with lots of dreams. McDull wanted to visit the Maldives (马尔代夫). But his mother didn't have enough money for a trip there. So she lied to him and took him to a place called Hong Kong. The place has a sign that says, “Go to the Maldives.” It made McDull very happy. He thought he was really excited in the Maldives!

    McDull is just a common pig. He has many dreams, but they never come true. That doesn't stop him trying. McDull lives his life in a simple and happy way. His idea towards life is “Never give up”.

    The cartoon pig character was created in Hong Kong by Alice Mark and Brian Tse. McDull first showed up as a character in the McMug comics. McMug is another cartoon pig. But McDull is more popular with a huge number of fans everywhere!

    Professor Xu Yuanchong was born in 1921. He is best known for translating (翻译) Chinese ancient poems into English and French. Xu took foreign language studies at Tsinghua University and then he studied abroad. After that, he became a professor in English and French.

    During these years, he has been working on translating. Up to now, he has translated more than 100 Chinese classics from Chinese to both English and French. The first poem he translated from Chinese to English is Don't Cast Away in 1939. It's a poem written by Lin Huiyin. In fact, he translated this poem to express his love to a girl he liked. Though he failed, he got a life-time career in translation.

    In 2007, Xu had a cancer. During the time, he did what he liked every day and didn't give up translating. What's more, he didn't go to sleep till three or four o'clock in the morning. He still held on to work over twelve ours a day. Also, he became the first Asian to win the"Aurora Borealis"Prize.

    She used to sleep on the sidewalk of the Fifth Street Post Office. I could smell her before I came close. She wore dirty clothes and her mouth was nearly toothless. I hardly saw her talk with others. If she was not asleep, she talked to herself. I always had sympathy for her. What a poor old lady! She must be desperate (感到绝望的)and hungry.

    One Thanksgiving, we had lots of food left over. I thought about the old lady. She might be still hungry. So I packed the food up and drove over to the Fifth Street.

    It was a cold night. There was hardly anyone out. But I knew she would stay at the same place and I would find her easily.

    There she was, squatted against a fence near the post office. She was dressed as she always was.

    I drove my car over to her, rolled down the window and said, "I've brought you some food. Would you like some turkey and apple pie？"

    However, the old woman didn't seem to be very excited about this. She looked at me and said quite clearly, "Oh, thank you very much, but someone has given me food earlier and I'm quite full now. Why don't you take it to someone else who needs it？"

    Her words were clear and her manners were gracious. Soon her head sank into her arms again. I was the only person who didn't know what to say. An old lady who was clearly down on her luck still thought about others. Why don't more of us do that？