“Well, we're in our new house. Let's get a new pet to get along with it,” Mrs. Brown said to her husband.” That sounds like a pretty good idea,” he answered. “Do you want to see the ads in the newspaper？” “No. Let's go to the animal shelter. Many pets there need homes. Since tomorrow is Saturday, we can both go,” she said.
    The next morning the Browns met Mr Snow at the animal shelter. “We want to be sure that the pets here go to good homes,” Mr Snow said, “So I need to ask you some questions.”
    After they talked for a while, the Browns decided to get a small dog. It wouldn't need a big house or a big yard. A small dog would bark（吠）and warn them if someone tried to break into their house. After Mr Snow gave the Browns a book on pet care, they chose one and wanted to take her home right away. But the animal doctor hadn't checked her yet. So Mr Snow told them to return on Sunday.
    On Sunday afternoon the Browns went to the animal shelter. The animal doctor said, “Shadow has had all of her shots(预防针). She will be healthy.” The browns thanked the doctor and took Shadow home.

    It was a Christmas night. I was an unlucky nurse who had to work on such a beautiful festival. When I was so tired that I didn't want to work any longer, three people came to my desk — a tired woman and two children.

    "Are you all sick?" I asked.

    "Yes," the woman answered and lowered her head.

    But when they started to tell their problems, things became unclear. One child had a fever, but his temperature was OK. The other child had an earache, but she could not tell me which ear hurt. It seemed that the mother was trying to cough.

    Something was wrong. But I only explained that it might take a while before a doctor could meet them. "Take your time, please," said the mother. I checked their information — no address. Suddenly I knew, they were homeless and the hospital was warm.

    The family stayed together under the Christmas tree, smiling and talking with each other sweetly. Quietly, I went back to the nurses' station and told them what happened in the waiting room. It was just like the God sending us a gift on Christmas Day. The nurses' station suddenly came back to life. All the nurses went into action for "a Christmas emergency(急诊)."

    We took out our meals for our Christmas "sick people". We also put oranges and apples together as presents. We tried to give them a warm place on Christmas night. Later, the little girl kissed me and said, "Thanks for being our angels"

    When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I would make it home for the holidays. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have the three-day holiday posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers. It was Christmas Eve when I arrived home, and a little snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood, there were lights, all colors, and ornaments (饰品) shining against the green of a pine.

    “Where did it come from?” I asked.

    “I asked the Gates boy to cut it,” my mother said. “I wouldn't have had one just for myself, but when in great need…such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon.”

    The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the Tree Top Crystal Star was in its place. A few green branches reached out a little awkwardly(难看) at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with the pleasant smell of Christmas.

    “It's not like the one you used to find,” my mother went on. “Yours were always in good shape. I suppose the Gates boy didn't know where to look for a better one. But I couldn't be fussy because he had tried his best.”

    “Don't worry,” I told her. “It's perfect.”

    It wasn't, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time: all Christmas trees are perfect.

The Angel of the North

    The Angel of the North is a modern sculpture (雕塑) in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, designed by Antony Gormley. Completed in 1998, it is a steel sculpture of an angel, 20 metres tall, with wings measuring 54 metres across. The angel, like much of Gormley's other work, is based on the shape of his own body.

    According to the artist himself, the Angel of the North symbolises (象征着) the change from the industrial to the information age and stands proudly as a beacon (灯塔) of hope for the future of the region.

    It cost £800, 000 to make, with the money coming from the British government. It took four years to make the sculpture. It was made in three parts, the body, which weighed 100 tons, and two wings, which weighed 50 tons each. Angels are usually thought of being white, as they represent light, but Gormley's Angel of the North is a reddish brown colour. This is because the steel has a special paint to protect it from strong wind.

    The parts of the angel were moved from Hartlepool to Gateshead at night in big trucks. It took 5 hours to move everything, even though the journey is very short. The Angel of the North was put on the hill in Birtley on the 15th of February, 1998.

    The sculpture was made in memory of the coal miners who worked hard in the dark earth below the hill to bring wealth to the North East in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is a sign for Gateshead.

    The sculpture has since become one of the most famous landmarks in England as can be seen in television and film. It is the largest sculpture in Britain. Over 150,000 people come to Gateshead to see the sculpture every year.

  The Vietnam(越南) War broke out. The young husband 1the army and died in the war. His wife and son began to have a 2life after that. Even though their life was very hard and sometimes they didn't have enough food to eat, the 3still decided to raise her son by herself.

  Several years later her son immigrated(移民) to America 4finally become an engineer. He often sent letters to his mother with much money. However, with many excuses, the son 5to come back home to visit his mother.

  6his mother died, the son returned. But he didn't cry. His mother left a box behind. During the funeral(葬礼), the son opened the box and 7cried and shouted, "Mom! Mom!"8looked at each other and then looked at the box. It was full of $ 100 bill and a piece of paper.

  It read, "Son, I don't spend too much money. I miss you a lot. Every time I heard a motorcycle 9. I ran out of the door but it wasn't you. I stayed money 10you in case (以防) you get sick."