Amy was looking for a gift for her little daughter. Suddenly she stopped before a store of dolls.

    “Girls like dolls,” she thought as she was walking into it. Looking around, she saw a grandma doll - one with gray hair and a pair of glasses. In her mind appeared Joyce, her mother.

    When Amy was a little girl, she got her first doll from Joyce for her birthday. Then the second, the third...A doll a year from Joyce never arrived late. “Why always a doll?” This question had been in Amy's mind until one day her father gave the answer, Little Joyce dreamed to have a doll. Her parents promised one for her fifth birthday. Sadly, they both died in a traffic accident before it arrived. The never-received gift was the most precious in her eyes. Her mother's story being recalled(回忆) , Amy got an idea.

    It was Joyce's 60th birthday. A package was delivered(递送) to her, with a card that read:

    Dear Joyce,

    I forget to send you the package(包裹) that you should have received on May 20, 1956, your fifth birthday. The gift inside has aged, but I felt that you might still wish to have it.

    Angel of Joy

    Joyce opened the package and saw a lovely grandma doll. She held the doll that she had waited for so many years, with tears running down her face. The doll, given by “Angel of Joy”, made her the happiest “child” in the world.

    A man in Pakistan is now working to help children get an education. When he was a child, he did not go to school because he was too poor.

    It is reported that Pakistan has 25 million children who do not go to school. That is the second ­highest number in the world. Only Nigeria has more. Many Pakistani children must work to support their families.

    Mohammad Ayub was once one of those children. He is now a firefighter. He also manages a small school. VOA recently visited the school in the capital Islamabad.

    Ayub started with just one student in 1982. He saw a boy cleaning cars for days. He asked him, "Why don't you go to school?" The boy answered that his parents were dead and he had to work to help support his five brothers and three sisters.

    Ayub was also an orphan and he, too, had to work to help support his five brothers and three sisters. He said, "When my father died, everyone who came to the funeral said they were sorry, but no one helped." He sold newspapers and did other work to earn enough money to pay school fees for his brothers and sisters.

    Ayub wanted to help the young boy who washed cars, but he did not have enough money to pay the boy's school fees.

    Today, Ayub teaches many children at his school in a public park. Some of the children attend other schools in the morning, but come to Ayub in the afternoon to get help with their homework.

    Ayub has helped a large number of poor children since he began teaching. Many of them come from very poor areas near the park.

    Ayub said," I used to argue with kids who worked ' Why are you washing someone's dishes or their clothes? Why don't you study? ' "

    One of the children he advised to attend classes was Farhat Abbas. Ayub found him working with his friends about 12 years ago. "He followed us back home. He told our parents he wanted to teach us and asked them to send us to his school, "Abbas said.

    Today, Abbas is taking classes at a college and is helping Ayub.

    Many children are out of school, and those who do attend classes often get a poor education. Information gathered by an organization shows half of all Pakistani children in the 5th grade do not understand basic mathematics and cannot read a story in their language.

    A group in Islamabad reports Pakistan spends less on education than any other country in South Asia.

    Long long ago, there was a blacksmith(铁匠). He was always unhappy with his life. "I'm always hot as a blacksmith. I want to be a stone on the mountain. There it must be cool." A wise man could change everything. The blacksmith went to the wise man. The wise man said, "Be a stone!" The blacksmith became a stone. A moment later, a stonemason(石匠) came and saw the stone. "It's what I want," he said and began to cut it. The stone cried, "Ouch! I don't want to be a stone. I want to be the sun. That would be great." The wise man said, "Be the sun!" And he became the sun. But the sun was much hotter, so he said, "I don't like this. I'd like to be the moon. It looks cool!" The wise man said again, "Be the moon!" And he became the moon. "This is hotter than being the sun, because the light from the sun shines（照射）on me" he said, "I don't want to be the moon. I want to be a blacksmith again. That's the best life."

    But the wise man said, "I'm tired of your changing. You want to be the moon, now you are the moon, and you'll be the moon in the future."

    Elena jogged with her dad in some empty lots(空地)at the edge of town. These out-of-the-way lots were good places to jog. But the lots were full of rocks and rubbish.

    One day, Elena saw a sign on the lots. It said, "New City Park. " Elena was excited.

Maybe the park would have a jogging trail(小路)！Elena told her parents about the sign.

    "I read about the park in the newspaper, "said Elena's father. " The city wants volunteers to help clean the area. Then the city will build a soccer field and a playground. "

    "Will they build a jogging trail? "Elena asked.

    " No, the paper didn't mention a jogging trail. "

    "Well, perhaps if I help clean up the lots, they'll put in a jogging trail, "said Elena.

    On Saturday Elena went to the lots. Many adults were working there. Some were picking rubbish. Some were moving rocks. "I want to volunteer, "Elena told a man, "What can I do? "

    "This is not a job for children, "said the man. " You'd better go home. "

    Elena looked around. She could carry rubbish. She could move rocks. A lady was pulling a bag of rubbish. Elena saw a box of rubbish bags. She took an empty bag. " I'll take this bag to the Dumpster, "said Elena, "Here's a new bag. "

    "Thanks, "said the lady. " Keep those new bags coming. "

    Elena dragged rubbish bags. She told everyone she was glad to help build the park. She explained that she hoped the park would have a jogging trail.

    Elena went to the area every week. Soon everyone knew her and she told everyone how wonderful a jogging trail would be.

    Soon the volunteers cleared the lots. The city could start building. The mayor gave a speech. He showed a drawing of the new park. He told them about the soccer field and the baseball diamond. There would be picnic tables. There would be a playground. The park would even have basketball courts. There was no sign of a jogging trail.

    The mayor thanked the volunteers. Then he asked if they had any suggestions. The volunteers said they wanted to build a jogging trail around the park. They told the mayor how helpful Elena had been and how she wanted a jogging trail. The mayor said, "A jogging trail won't be hard to build. Let's do it！"Everyone clapped and cheered. Elena cheered loudest of all.

Tim was a {#blank#}1{#/blank#} （作家）who lived in a small village. He liked to write songs. He wasn't{#blank#}2{#/blank#}（富裕的）, but he was happy. He wanted to go to new places, but he couldn't. One day, he wrote a song about the world {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（在...之下）the sky. The song was loud and fun.

People in his town liked the song a lot. It made them feel good. His song{#blank#}4{#/blank#} （赢得）a singing contest. The{#blank#}5{#/blank#} （奖品）was a trip to a faraway place. Tim was excited to go on this trip.

He traveled and {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（看见）many new things. He met people with sad stories and happy stories. Some stories were{#blank#}7{#/blank#}（更糟的）than his, and some were better. Tim wrote more songs about the people he met.

When he came back home, he didn't have more money, but he had many good memories. He knew his songs could take him to different places in his {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（头脑）. He was happy with his life, and he kept writing songs that made people smile. Tim's songs were like a loud and {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（美丽的）voice that told stories from {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（任何地方）in the world.