Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in 1835,in the state of Missouri. When he was four, his family moved to the town ofHannibal, Missouri. Hannibal was a port on the Missippi River, and Clemensloved to watch the big steamboats going up and down the river. He said that allthe boys in his school had one ambition in life: to work on a steamboat!

    His father died when he was just 12 yearsold, and Clemens then went to work for a printer to help support his family. Hetravelled around, and worked in many different cities. But when he was 22, heachieved his ambition—he got a job working on a steamboat. He sailed up anddown the wide Missippi River until the American Civil War began.

    He then moved around America, and triedseveral jobs. He was a soldier, and a silver miner. Then he started working asa writer for a newspaper. It was at that time that he decided to use a pen namefor his stories, and he chose the name "Mark Twain".

    The name is interesting. It comes from hisdays on the steamboats. He used to throw a piece of rope into the river. Therewas a heavy weight on the end of the rope, and the rope had some marks on it.He used the rope to find how deep the river was. Then he shouted out, "MarkOne" or "Mark Twain", meaning "Mark Two". Each markwas about two metres, so when he shouted "Mark Twain", it meant thatthe river was deep enough for the big boat.

    In 1865 Clemens wrote a story about ajumping frog. The story and the writer became famous. In 1867 he toured Europe.He married when he returned, and lived for most of the rest of his in Harfort,Connecticut. He wrote many books, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, whichhe wrote in 1876. He also gave many lectures, and became a very famous andpopular man.

    Once two of his friends decided to write tohim, but they had lost his address. So on the envelope they just wrote "MarkTwain, God knows where". Several weeks later, they received a replay fromthe writer. It just said, "He does!"

    Samuel Clemens died in 1910. He isconsidered to be one of America's most important writers.

Kate is both my neighbour and my best friend. I first met her five years ago. 

Kate is tall and slim(苗条的). She has long hair. She has big eyes and a small nose. I like her smiling face best. It makes her look really pretty and kind. Kate is a friendly girl. She always has a smile on her face and looks happy. She likes to help people. She helps me with my homework and she is very patient. When I feel bored or unhappy, I often go to her. She will talk to me and tell me interesting things. 

Kate wants to work with children. She would like to be a teacher when she grows up. I think she will be a great teacher. 

In recent years, Chinese cartoons are catching more and more people's eye. For Chinese cartoon lovers, I Am WhatI Am is a film they can't miss. The film tells the story of Ah Juan, a left-behind child(留守儿童). He lives in a village in Guangdong Province. He's having trouble with his life. He's weak in other people's eyes. One day, after meeting a girl, he comes up with an idea of learning lion dances and joining in a competition in Guangzhou with his friends. They learn lion dances from a former(昔日的) lion dancer and train hard day after day. Things are getting better.

However, here comes the bad news: Ah Juan's father has an accident. Ah Juan has to go to the city and find a job to feed his family. But his love for lion dances doesn't stop. The strong love pushes him to run after his dream once again.

This film is very different from traditional Chinese cartoons. Traditional Chinese cartoons often have to do with Chinese fairy tales(童话故事) or legends. But this film looks at real life. It tells us how a left-behind boy faces up to his hard life. Although life isn't perfect or easy, Ah Juan never loses hope. At the same time, there are many scenes of traditional lion dances in the film. They show this kind of traditional Chinese culture to more people.

Sam had to take care of his little sister Julie by himself. Their parents passed away long ago. 

One day, Sam woke up1 three in the morning as usual. When Julie was sleeping alone, Sam went out 2 newspapers. When he found an old man sitting in front of their house, Sam was so surprised that he stopped to look at him closely. It was 3 icy morning and he looked very cold. 

The poor old man didn't have anything to cover4 body with. Sam went into his house to get the old man a blanket(毯子). However, there were no extra blankets, so Sam thought hard and took his 5 coat. Sam wrote a short note. "Sir, I found you sleeping in front of my house. This is an old coat of my dad's. I hope it fits you well. " 6 then he left. When he came back, both the man and the coat were gone. Sam thought that it was 7 thing he could do with his dad's coat. 

That afternoon when Sam got home, Julie and the old man8 in front of the house, and Julie shouted to Sam9 ，"Brother！He's our grandfather！"The grandfather smiled and said, "Sam，thank you for giving me the coat and letting me know 10 good my grandson is. "

It's many people's dream to travel around the world, and Cory Lee has already done it. 

Cory's traveling journey started early in his life. 1 he had to stay in a wheelchair because of his illness，Cory went on his first trip to Disney World when he was four.  At the age of 15, he traveled abroad for the first time with his mother, and since then he 2 great interest in traveling. 

The fearless young man never lets his wheelchair stop him from 3 what he can do. After visiting 37 countries all over the world, Cory just became 4 traveler in a wheelchair to visit every continent(洲)!"I understand that not 5 is sure to be possible, " he said. "But if you have made up 6 mind to do something and keep positive, you'll make it. "

It took 7 research and planning for Cory to prepare for his trips, and he said it was plenty of work.  That's what made him begin Curb Freewith Cory Lee， 8 website where he shares ideas with other disabled travelers. He also wrote a book for 9 -Let's Explore with Cor Cor. It tells a story about a boy who travels to different countries in his wheelchair. As you can imagine, many children 10 by his story. Just in his own way, Cory shows the world that where there's a will, there's a way. 

Can 13-year-olds do something to change the world? Cris Kesz Valdez, 13, from the Philippines believes so.

At the age of 7, Valdez set up an organization to give homeless kids things like slippers and toothbrushes. So far he has helped more than 10,000 children improve their lives in his hometown.

Valdez won the 2012 International Children's Peace Prize on September 19, 2012.

"My motto is ‘we can change the world one heart at a time,' " Valdez said at the award ceremony.

In fact, Valdez is a homeless kid himself. He looked for food from trash, lived on the streets and slept in a public cemetery for most of his childhood. His parents didn't care about him and often beat him. Valdez said he felt he was living in "darkness" at that time.

But this "darkness" didn't turn him into a dark person. Valdez got help from community workers. On his first birthday party, at the age of 7, Valdez decided what he wanted most was to help other children who were still living on the streets.

"I didn't have a lot of money, but I had a lot of love to give," Valdez explained.

That day was the birth of the organization, Championing Community Children. Since then, Valdez and his friends visit homeless children and hand out bags with slippers, toys and even candy. They nurse their wounds, teach them about their rights and offer them hope.

"I want children on the streets to get the same chance as I have," he said.