When Justin Tong was a child, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him doing lots of housework such as carrying out the rubbish and sending newspapers. But when he grew up, he was better off than his childhood friends and lived a happier and healthier life.

This is the finding of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 children in London. It showed that the children who had worked hard in childhood had a richer and a happier future. "Children who worked in the home or community gained competence(能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society," said Daniel Brown, the psychologist(心理学家) who made the discovery. "And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them."

Brown's study followed these children in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Brown, the researchers compared the children's mental-health scores with their childhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

    Working at any age is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence — the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this.

    Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, "One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work."

    Miss Miller, the English teacher wants to know about her students. She asks them some questions. The next are some of the students' answers：

Mount Qomolangma is the highest mountain in the world.It is in the Himalayan (喜马拉雅) Mountains between Nepal(尼泊尔) and China，and it is about 8,900 meters high. Sir Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay from Nepal were the first people ever to climb Mount Everest in 1953. Men from several different countries climbed it after that.

Junko Tabei，a Japanese was the first woman to make this difficult climb. A Japanese newspapertelevision company chose fifteen women from mountaineering clubs to climb Mount Qomolangma in 1975.The group climbed for several days.Then there was an accident.The heavy ice and snow hurt ten of the women.They had to stop climbing.The other five went on climbing.

Only Ms Tabei was able to climb the last 70 meters. She was standing on the top of the world. She was the first woman there. Ms Tabei was 35 years old at the time. She started climbing mountains in 1960. She still climbs mountains.She is not an ordinary Japanese housewife. Ms Tabei makes money for her trips by teaching English and piano to children.She climbs a mountain about every three years.She has climbed some of the highest mountains in six countries. Finally，she wants to climb the highest mountain in every country in the world. When she reaches the top of a mountain，she thinks，"I'm glad that I'm at the top."

Alice has a restaurant next to her home. Its name is Alice's Restaurant. It opens（营业）from 10:00 in the morning to 8:00 in the evening. The restaurant is not big, but it's clean（干净的）

David and Mike are cooks in the restaurant. They cook well. David can make（做）delicious Chinese food like jiaozi and fish. Mike makes great hamburgers and sandwiches. A lot of people come to have lunch in the restaurant. So David and Mike are usually busy from 11:00 a. m. to 2:00 p. m. 

Alice is kind to people in the restaurant. Kids like her very much. And the food is very cheap（便宜的）and nice, so many people like the restaurant. 

A terrible smell caught Ariana again, she tried to hold her breath. She moved away a bit, but Ashley only moved1 and went on talking. Ariana felt it2 to make the decision. She wanted badly to tell Ashley that she didn't smell very good. But how could she do that3 hurting Ashley's feelings? She stood up and decided to tell her the truth, but she stopped at the last minute.4 , she put the remains of her lunch together to throw in the trash bin, thankful for the5 to get some fresh air. She looked back to see Ashley eating there. Ashley's hair was tangled*, and her clothes were6 . Ariana forced herself to go back to the table and take her7 , hoping that she wouldn't sit with Ashley tomorrow.

When Ariana got home from school, she complained to her mother, "There's a girl named Ashley who likes to sit next to me in school, but she smells bad."

"She must have a difficult day and8 from it," said her mother.

"No, it's not just one day. She smells bad a lot," Ariana explained. "9 else likes to sit next to her, either."

"I don't think you understand Ashley's situation, so let me ask you this…" her mother said

10 . " Who makes sure that your hair is combed* every morning so you'll look nice?"

"You do," answered Ariana.

"Who makes sure you're bathed and your clothes are washed properly?"

"11 and Daddy," Ariana said again.

"Do you live in a nice home and have enough to eat?"

Ariana12 her head, beginning to feel sorry. She was starting to13 now. Ashley couldn't help her situation because she was only seven years old—the same age as Ariana. Grown-ups14 take care of kids, because it is their duty.

"Why doesn't her family15 her ? " Ariana asked.

"Not all children live in the best situation," her mother said. "The best thing you can do for Ashley is to treat her with kindness and love." Ariana began to get her mother's point.

 Do you know Cold Food Day in China? It is also called Hanshi Festival. It's usually a few days before Tomb-Sweeping Day. This year it falls on April 3rd. It came from the story of Jie Zitui. He was loyal(忠诚的) to Duke Wen of Jin(普文公). But Jin asked people to fire his house in the mountain. Unluckily, Jie didn't want to come out and died. To remember him, people didn't set fires on the day of his death. And they only ate cold food.

Actually, there are some popular dishes during the Cold Food Festival. One of the most popular foods is cold rice dumplings made from wrapping sticky (黏的) rice in leaves. These dumplings stand for family togetherness. People can also eat other traditional foods during the festival, such as cold noodles, duck eggs, and cold green vegetables.

 In a word, the Cold Food Festival is important and meaningful in Chinese tradition. It carries the Chinese people's feelings of missing. You can go out with friends and enjoy the outdoor activities as well, such as kite flying, dragon boat racing, and tug-of-war competitions.

 It is a time to remember the past, cclcbrate the present, and look forward to the future. It holds a special place in the hearts of the Chinese people.