Esperanza lives in a poor Latino(拉丁美洲人) neighborhood in Chicago, .America. She dreams of having her own house one day. Her parents told her that when they moved from their last house, they would have a new' and shiny(亮闪闪的) house. But the house is small and old.

    Many people live in Mango Street in a big old house. Esperanza lives behind it with her family. A lot of the people who have come from Mexico don't speak English. Many miss their home country. Esperanza understands their sadness, but she also feels at home in America. She is an American, but her roots(根) will always be Latino,

    Esperanza is young. Like her friends, she has to grow up fast. She is stuck between being a girl and being a woman. In the poor and dangerous area where she lives, this is difficult for her. Mexican people usually live in a close neighborhood. This means that people live packed(挤塞的) in together. Everyone knows everyone else. So Esperanza knows other older girls that do things she is not comfortable doing. It is just a fact of her life.

    But Esperanza has good friends too. She becomes friends with two sisters named Lucy and Rachel. They ride bikes and have adventures together. Esperanza is also friends with a girl named Alicia. Alicia is afraid of the rats in her apartment. She shares her poems with Esperanza.

    Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night, I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 a. m. When I arrived at the place, I saw a small woman in her eighties standing before me. I took the woman's suitcase to the car and then returned to help her. She took my arm and we talked slowly toward the car.

    She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

    "Oh, you're such a good man," she said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked." Could you drive me throughout the downtown?"

    "It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

    "Oh, I'm in no hurry," she said," I'm on my way to the hospice(收容所). I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long time." I quickly shut off the meter(计价器). For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, and the neighbourhood where she had lived. Sometimes she asked me to slow down in front of a special building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

    As the day broke, she suddenly said," I'm tired. Let's go now."

    We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

    "How much shall I give you?" she asked.

    "Nothing," I said.

    "You have to make a living, "she answered," Oh, it doesn't matter! I have other passengers to pick up." I answered.

    Almost without thinking, I bent sown and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly and said," You gave an old woman a little moment of happiness."

Does Fame Drive You Crazy

    Although being famous might sound like a dream comes true, today s stars, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world's attention. Paparazzi (狗仔队) camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature (签名)!

    According to psychologist Christina Villarreal, celebrities—famous people—worry constantly (不断地) about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. "Over time," Villarreal says, "they feel separated and alone."

    The phenomenon (现象) of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B. C, painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his works attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s ran articles about film—stars in much the same way that modern websites do.

    Being famous people today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their "story" alive forever.

    If fame is so troublesome, why aren't all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.

    Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.

Charity(慈善) took one famous lady far away from her home. Mother Teresa spent most of her life helping others She was born in 1910. When she was eighteen years old, she decided to be a nun(修女). Soon she was sent to India. At first, she worked in a school in Calcutta. Most of the students came from the rich family, and Mother Teresa's life was comfortable. Twenty years later, she left the school and Started to help poor people. First she opened a free school. Some of her former students came to help he rather new school, In 1950, she started the Missionaries of Charity(仁爱之家) that was made up of nuns. In 1952, she opened the first home for the dying. Some people didn't like it because they were at raid of having dying people in their neighborhood. But slowly people changed their mind. They began to see all the good that Mother Teresa and her nuns were doing. Later, Mother Teresa became very famous, and received a lot of money from people who wanted to support(支持) her work. In 1979 she won the Noble Peace Prize. More people have begun to do charity work since then. Now there are homes for the dying in many different countries. Mother Teresa died in 1997, but she is still remembered all over the world for what she did for the poor. 

My first home was a beautiful meadow(牧场) with a pond of clear water. There were some large trees near the pond. On one side of the mead ow was a field and on the other was the house of our master(主人), Farmer Grey. He was a kind man.

My mother and I had a happy life. She worked during the day. I played with the other young horses and had great fun. At night I lay next to her.

One day, my master sold me to Squire Gordon. He lived with his family in a big house.

" You' re a beautiful horse, he said." You have a beautiful black coat. I shall call you Black Beauty."

I learned to carry my master on my back and pull a coach(马车). I learned to ware reins(缆绳) and a bit (马嚼子) in my mouth, I did not like them but all the horses had to wear them.

My master had two horses. One of them was Merrylegs. He was very friendly. The other was Ginger. She was not friendly. She bit and kicked people.

Ginger and I pulled a coach together. The coachman's name was John Ginger and I worked very hard. We became friends.

Ginger told me about her life when she was young. She told me. " My master was not kind to me. My reins and bit hurt me. My master did not care."

Squire Gordon and his men felt sorry for Ginger. They were always kind to her. She stopped biting and kicking people. She became a happy horse.

One day in autumn Squire Gordon went on a long journey, John went with him and I pulled the coach.   The weather was rainy and windy. Mr. Gordon and John could not see well in the rain. We came to a bridgeI stopped." Something is wrong。"I thought, I did not want to go on to the bridge. Mr. Gordon and John wanted me to go on to the bridge. I did not move. Just then a man saw us." Hey there! Stop!" he cried.

" What is it?" shouted the Squire.

" The bridge is broken in the middle, he answered." If you go on to it, you are all going to drown(溺死) in the river."

" Thank God!" said the Squire. " Thank you, Beauty!" said John. We turned around and went along the road by the river. For a long time no one said anything. Then John said: " Black Beauty saved our lives. He knew the bridge was dangerous."

When we returned home, the Squire told Mrs. Gordon:" We are all safe, thanks to Black Beauty!"

That night I was glad, although I was very tired.

—— from Anna Sewell Black Beauty