Several months ago, a couple with a little girl moved in next door to me. The girl seemed too quiet to make any noise, while the parents were always 1her loudly. Whenever we met my new neighbors, I always spoke, but the only 2 I ever got was a hello from the 4-year-old girl.

    I usually go out for breakfast and one day when I returned, they were just coming from their home and the little girl was holding the door open for others. I stayed in the car doing unnecessary things as I wasn't in a 3. The parents were telling her to get into the car immediately. I looked up and saw the little girl was still holding the door open, waiting for me.

As a disabled man, I can't hurry at 4, but I hurried as much as I could and thanked her. She was smiling like a lovely angel. I was so 5 by her small act of kindness. That afternoon I was shopping and I saw a white bear. I thought of the girl and said to myself. "I believe she would like that" so I bought it.

    The next day there was a knock on the door and it was the little girl and her parents. She was so 6of her bear and thanked me as if I had never been thanked before. The mother and father both thanked me. 

    Now when we meet, we all speak, and in a friendly manner I might add. As time passes, I don't hear that shouting as often.7, hardly at all.

    Last night we had about four inches of snow. I looked out at my car and wondered 8 I was going to keep my doctor's appointment(约会). When I opened the outside door, there was my car with all the snow cleaned. I can't express how I felt at that moment. The man next door was the only person I knew in the whole building,9when I saw him the next day, I asked him if he was the good man that cleaned my snow. He said No. He wanted to but his wife said she wanted to do it.

    Isn't it amazing that a 4-year-old girl can change so many things for the better? It is said that good things usually come from 10.

    Several days ago, we had an exam. When the first day's exam 1; we checked the answers with each other. I found some of my answers were 2 from my classmates'. Since I didn't do 3in my subjects, I thought they were right and I was wrong.

    The math questions were 4 difficult that I couldn't finish them. There were at least 35 points lost. So5 the physics exam. I made many mistakes. Watching my classmates' happy 6; I was deadly sad. I leaned on the desk 7. I wanted to cry but it seemed that there were not any tears. I could do nothing but go on with 8 exams. I shouldn't give up. I decided to listen to some music so that I could be calm（冷静的） and confident in the other exams. Thank goodness! The music did work! I became9. And I did better than before. I got good marks in the others.

    From these exams, I learnt that we must have confidence（自信心） in whatever we do. Confidence is the first step to10. If we study hard, success is just right there waiting for us.

    Once there lived a king in a small country. Every summer, the king went to his palace near a forest and then 1 to his palace in the city center in autumn.

    One afternoon the king went swimming in a river in the forest. He didn't tell anyone else where he had gone, so he was very happy 2 the peace and quietness as he swam. 3, he heard a loud noise. Looking around, he saw a big bear coming at him. The king was very 4. He jumped out of the water and ran away at once. He ran and ran 5 he was completely lost. Finally, being hungry and tired, he saw an old house in the forest. He knocked on the door and an old farmer 6 it. "I'm your king," he said to the old man. "I'm hungry. Bring me something to eat quickly！"

    The old man lived a poor life and his 7 was not good enough for the king. He had only four eggs, but since the king was so hungry, the farmer 8 the simple food and gave it to the king. The king ate the eggs and felt much better. "Thank you, good man," the king said, "How much must I pay you 9 them？"

    "$19. "

    "How 10 they are! Are eggs rare (稀罕的) here？"

    "No," answered the old farmer, "but kings are！"

Mr. and Mrs. White are not very rich, so they always spend their holidays in a small hotel at the foot of the mountains near their hometown. They can go climbing and enjoy the fresh air, and they are always very happy. One year, Mr. White got a lot of money in his business. They were so excited that they decided to go to a foreign country and stayed in a really good hotel.

 They flew to London and booked a 5-star hotel. They arrived there late in the evening. They thought they would have to go to bed hungrily, because it didn't serve meals in the former(以前的)hotel after seven in the evening. So they were surprised to know that this hotel served dinner until ten.

"Then what are the times of meals?"asked Mrs.White.

"Well, madam, we serve breakfast from seven to eleven. Lunch from twelve to three, tea from four to five, and dinner from six to ten."

"But that hardly leaves any time for us to see the city!" said Mrs. White.

Harry and Annie live a mile from the town, but they walk there to school every day. It is a pleasant walk around the pond* on their way to school. In winter, when the ice is thick and hard, they go across the pond. But their mother doesn't like them to do it unless* someone is with them.

"Don't go across the po nd today, children,"she says, as she kisses them goodbye one morning."It is    beginning to thaw."

"All right, mother,"says Harry, not very happy, for he likes running and skating on the ice very much.

When they come to the pond, the ice looks hard and safe.

"There,"Harry says to his sister,"Let's skate over it."

"But you promise mother,"says Annie.

"No, I don't. I only say‘All right', and it is all right."

"I don't say anything, so I can do as I like,"says Annie.

So they step on the ice and start to go across the pond.

They don't go far before the ice melts*, and suddenly they fall into the water.

A man who is at work near the po nd hears the children asking for help and rushes into the water to save them. They are almost drowned * before the man can reach them.

They get home almost frozen* and learn a lesson they will remember for a lifetime.

John's notes on the road

Sunday 19 March

Hi there. I'm now in China. I will bike around the country. It won't be easy because China is so big! It is a beautiful and interesting place. I just want to see it with my own eyes. Good luck（好运） to me!

Sunday 26 March

It is very hot today. I didn't have enough water for me. I went to a house by the road for help. I couldn't speak any Chinese, but they understood! They gave me some water. To my surprise, they also asked me to stay for lunch. The food was so good!I love the special taste of China! How lucky（幸运的）I am!

Thursday 13 April

I am in Yunnan Province now. It's the Water- splashing Festival（泼水节）! People get together to celebrate（庆祝） the Dai New Year. They splash water on each other. To them, this will bring good luck to others. I get very wet. How lucky I am!