When an big earthquake hit Wenchuan on May 12，many houses fell down. After the earthquake，all the newspapers reported many stories about some of the families who were in trouble. 

    One Sunday，when I was reading a newspaper，a special picture touched（触动）me. It gave the clothing sizes of each family member. I thought that this would be a good chance to teach my children to help those who were less lucky than themselves. I said to my seven-year-old twins，Brad and Brett，and three-year-old Meghan. "We have so much，and these poor people now have nothing. We'll share what we have with them.

    I filled a box with foods and clothes. While I was doing this，I encouraged(鼓励) the boys to choose their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys took out his old toys and games and put them together. Then she walked away. A few minutes later she came back with Lucy，her much-loved doll. She put the doll on top of the other toys. "Oh，dear，I said, ―You don't have to give Lucy. You love her so much.Meghan said，―Lucy makes me happy，Mommy. Maybe she'll make another little girl happy，too.

    I looked at Meghan for a long moment. She taught me a lesson. It's easy to give something that we don't want any more，but harder to give what we cherish（珍爱），isn't it?

    One of the best-known American writers of children's books is Alfred Strong, or Doctor Strong, as he is better known to readers everywhere．Now, an art show called "Doctor Strong From Then to Now" is travelling around the United States．The pictures and drawings show the history of Doctor Strong．

    Doctor Strong first became famous almost fifty years ago when his first children's book was published (出版)．Since then, he has written forty—five books that have been sold more than one hundred million copies around the world．

    Doctor Strong's books are known for their easy use of words and colourful, hand drawn pictures．These drawings bring life to his imaginary creatures, The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and hundreds of others．

    The San Diego Museum, in California, organized the art show．It included about three hundred Doctor Strong's early drawings and some of his writings．

Most of Doctor Strong's books, although written in a funny way, have serious messages．For example, in McElligot's Pool, he describes the danger of pollution．He discusses the arms race (军备竞赛) in The Butter Battle Book, written in nineteen eighty four．

    Doctor Strong says he never planned to write stories just for children．He says he writes stories that interest people of all ages．He says he uses easy words so that everyone, even a child, can understand．

    Laurence Kim Peek was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 11, 1951. It was clear from an early age that he was not like other children. A medical scan(扫描) showed that the two halves of his brain were not connected in the usual way. As a result, Laurence developed an amazing memory. He started to read when he was two. He used to read books and put them back on the shelf upside down to show that he had finished them. He remembered everything he had read.

    He memorized quite a lot of information subjects such as History, Geography, Sports, Music and Literature. He also had an unbelievable ability with numbers and dates.

    To read more quickly, he read the left page with his left eye and the right page with his right eye. By reading the two pages at the same time, it took him less than an hour to read a whole book. By the age of 30, he had memorized around 12,000 books.

    However, he did not develop so well in other areas. He could not walk until he was four, and he had problems putting on his clothes and shoes His social skills were poor, and he was extremely sensitive(敏感的) about meeting new people. In 1984, Peek and his father met Hollywood film writer Barry Morrow. Morrow was fascinated by Peek and began to write a new play about Peek's experiences. The result was Rain Man in 1988, a film that won an Oscar for Best Picture. This changed Peek's life. He got used to being the centre of attention. He self-confident (自信的). He appeared on TV and travelled around the country with his father to develop awareness(意识) of his condition. Sadly, Peek died of a heart attack in 2009.

    Kathy could still remember the night she had to leave her home in Hungary. It was the beginning of World War II and her family had to leave their country as soon as possible. She quickly filled a bag with a few pieces of clothing, her diary, and her treasure—a beautiful silk scarf.

    Kathy and her best friend, Monica, had asked their parents to buy them matching scarves. They each would wear the scarves as a symbol of their friendship. Kathy had no idea that she was going to America that night and would not be returning.

    Kathy kept that special silk scarf for many years. One day she decided to give it to her granddaughter, Eliza, to wear to her first job interview for good luck. Kathy was afraid that Eliza would lose the scarf, but the granddaughter promised, "Don't worry, Grandma, nothing's going to happen to your scarf. You'll see. It is going to bring both of us luck today." And with that, Eliza kissed her grandmother and left for the interview.

    That afternoon Eliza left the interview, feeling sure that she had got the job. So she decided to celebrate by going to a restaurant. As she was sitting at her table, she felt someone looking at her. Sitting next to her was an old woman, who could not take her eyes away from her.

    "I'm sorry, do I know you?" Eliza asked.

    "I'm sorry, dear, but you make me think of someone I once knew," the old woman replied. "My best friend looked like you and used to wear a scarf just like the one you're wearing around your neck." Eliza listened carefully, with her eyes and mouth wide open. She had heard stories of her grandmother's best friend and knew the meaning of the scarf. Could this be Monica, her grandmother's childhood friend?

    Eliza introduced herself and waited to hear the name of the other woman.

    "My name's Monica, dear. I lived in Hungary as a child, but my family had to leave when I was fourteen years old. I've been living here in California ever since." said the old woman.

    Eliza could not believe her ears …

    "I can't believe this is happening. " I thought as I saw Jane walk into the restaurant. She hadn't changed at all. She was still tall and beautiful, with wavy blonde hair and bright green eyes. I smiled and thought of how my life had changed since we had last met.

    It all started when I noticed her at a party in a friend's house. I followed her to the dining room and started talking to her about the food. "You seem very interested in food, " she laughed. "Well. I'm a great cook, "I told her. It was a lie, but I had to find an excuse to see her again. "Why don't I cook you dinner sometime? "

    Two days later, Jane came to my house. However, the dinner party was very embarrassing(尴尬的). I ordered food from a nearby restaurant, but I told her that I had cooked it. After dinner, she offered to wash up and found the delivery boxes in the kitchen. She laughed at me and I felt awful. Angry with myself, I decided then and there to learn how to cook.

    I never saw Jane after our terrible dinner date. I started a cookery course and found that I was good at it after all. I went on to train to be a great cook. I worked hard and saved up until I was able to open my own restaurant.

    Now. she had walked into my restaurant. Feeling very happy, I pretended I was a waiter and walked to her table. "Ready to order, madam? "I asked.