Jane was from a small village in Southern America. Her family was poor and noodles were often their only food. Her parents couldn't afford to pay the electricity bill (电费), so she had to study by candle light.

    What was worse, to live on, her parents moved to a faraway village with the other four children. As for Jane, she didn't want to give up learning and she dreamed to enter a famous university. She stuck to living alone in her village.

    After Jane's parents left, she lived a really difficult life. Having no place to live in, the homeless girl had to sleep on the back seat of the school bus. Luckily, Mrs. Brown, the caring school bus driver, learned about Jane's situation and invited her to live with her family. Soon, Jane found a job in her school. She worked from 6 a. m. to 7:40 a. m. before the first school bell rang. She swept floors and picked up rubbish again in the afternoon. With the money she got from the work, she paid for her education. And she stayed up late in the evenings studying for all kinds of exams day after day.

    Jane's hard work made a difference to her life. She finished high school with unexpected results. She was accepted by Harvard, one of the world's most famous universities with full scholarship (全额奖学金).

The 18-year-old girl created her own future with her never-give-up attitude and hard work.

In China, there is a fun activity on a baby's 1st birthday. People call it "Zhuazhou". 

On that day, parents usually put a table on the bed. On the table, there are some books, pens, rulers, food, toys and so on. Then parents put the baby at the table and the baby can take anything on it. 

The things may show what the baby may be good at in the future. For example, if a baby takes a book, people will say he or she will be good at writing. If a baby takes a kitchen ware (厨具), people will say he or she will be a good cook. When a baby takes a cake or a toy, people will say he or she will know how to enjoy life more. 

Today, we have a "Zhuazhou" for my cousin. He takes a book from the table. My uncle is very happy and calls him "Wenhao". He puts much hope(希望) on the name.

I am a little helper in the school library. Usually the library is open from nine to four and I get there on foot. But on Tuesday and Thursday, it opens very 1 at 7:50. I have to 2 there before 7:40. So I must go there by bike. Usually I do some 3 with the librarian(图书管理员). First, we clean the floor and then the tables. After that, we put the tables and chairs in place. Students always 4 books after school. The next morning we have to put those books back. It takes lots of 5 . I have to know where different kinds of 6 should go.

After we put all the books back, we 7 on the computer to work. The 8 can come in and borrow books. We' re always very 9 , but we are happy that students 10 a lot.

Li Yuaner runs a vegetable stall （摊位） in Changsha, Hunan. Many people like her because she sells her vegetables in a special way.

Li found that her son did not often cook at home because he was always busy working. He would like to order take-out food, although he thought it was bad for his health. After talking with her son, Li decided to provide （提供）a "one-week-menu" service for buyers at her vegetable stall.

After buyers order, Li washes and cuts up vegetables, and also tells them how to cook. "Nowadays young people dislike spending time in wandering （游荡） in the vegetable market. I make weekly menus and help them prepare ingredients （配料） so that they can just buy and cook directly at home." she said. So a lot of people like Li's thoughtful preparation.