My friend Mr. Smith is a famous doctor and has a hospital. So he has enough money to travel all over the world. And he's been to a lot of places of interest. He likes to play with children and has a lot of little friends. They often ask him to tell them all kinds of funny things he saw. It makes them happy and his room is always full of children when he's free.

    It was my little son's seventh birthday yesterday. The boy wanted to ask his old friend Mr. Smith to the party. He called Mr. Smith himself and told him about it. The doctor accepted his invitation happily.

    Mr. Smith came on time, with a nice present in his hand. After dinner the children sat around the traveler and asked him to tell them some funny stories. Mr. Smith agreed and his stories made them laugh again and again. At last he told them the funniest story. He said, “Once I reached a city on a foggy day. The fog was the thickest in the world…”

    “Please wait a moment, Mr. Smith,” said my son, “It's said that the fog in London is the thickest in the world.”

    “You're right, my clever boy.” said the funny doctor.” The city had much fog that day…” “What's it, then?” the boy couldn't wait to ask again.

    “The fog was so thick that I couldn't see it at all.” the funny doctor said with a smile.

    A man took a pair of shoes to a shoe repair shop and said to the shoemaker, "I'd like you to repair these shoes for me, please."

    "Certainly, sir, "the shoemaker said.

    "When will they be ready?" the man asked.

    "I'm a bit busy, but they'll be ready for you on Thursday." he said. "That's fine, "the man said, and left the shop.

    The next morning he received a letter, offering him a job in another country. Within 24 hours he was on an airplane to his new job.

    Twenty years passed and he returned to his home town. He remembered his shoes. "They were a good pair of shoes," he thought. "I wonder if the shoemaker is still there and still has them. I'll go and see. "He was pleased to see that the shoemaker was still in the same shop, although he was an old man by now.

    "Good morning, "he said to him." Twenty years ago, I brought in a pair of shoes to be repaired. Do you think you've still got them?"

    "Name?" the old shoemaker asked.

    "Smith, "the man said.

    "I'll go and see. They may be out back. "

    The shoemaker went out to the back of his shop and a few minutes later returned, carrying the pair of shoes.

    "Here we are, "he said." One pair of brown shoes to be repaired. I'm a bit busy now, but they'll probably be ready on Thursday."

    It seems like it was only yesterday - getting out of school on a hot summer day. My friends and I would race each other to the street comer. We always wanted to be the first in line to see "Uncle Lee".

    "Uncle Lee" arrived every day after school on his motorcycle. He happily sold us cold ice creams from the freezer on the side of his motorcycle. It wasn't much, but it made me and my friends so happy.

    Recently, filled with these memories, I decided to take a trip back to my old school. I wanted to see if I could still buy an ice cream from old "Uncle Lee" Sadly, when I got there, I could not find him anywhere.

    So I stopped by my old headmasters office. We had a nice chat and I told him all about my successful business. Then I asked him about "Uncle Lee". "Oh, that's right," he said to me, "you boys were always so fond of Uncle Lee'. I'm sorry to tell you, but he had to retire (退休)."

    "Why is that?" I asked.

    I'm not really sure," my headmaster went on, "I think the government wouldn't renew his license."

    Without doubt, I was feeling quite sad when I left my old school. I decided to walk down those old streets for a while and reviewed the memories of my youth (青春).Then, just as I was thinking about going home, I saw him. It was "Uncle Lee"! He was, of course, much older, but I would never forget that face.

    So I ran over to see him. He still remembered my name I couldn't believe it! We talked for a while, but it was getting late, so I had to go.

    Later that night, I began to wonder more about why the government would make that old man stop doing the job that he loved. Then I thought about my own children. "They'll never have the chance to know an 'Uncle Lee'", I thought.

    It is true that Hong Kong is changing every day. I only hope that we will not lose the things which make us truly special.

    Mr Scott talked about colours all the time. "What a honey—yellow morning it is!" he said to his wife. His wife planted fruit and vegetables in their garden, but Mr Scott was more interested in the leafy plants, the bushes, and even the grass that grew in the garden. "So many kinds of green," he said to her after watering all the plants. "I counted at least twenty shades of green!"

    "Well done, dear," Mrs Scott said. " Now would you please count twenty dollars and go to the supermarket for some ingredients(配料)? I want to make lunch! "

    With a smile on his face, Mr Scott left at once. He enjoyed trips to the supermarket because of all the colourful cans and boxes in it. Fruit and vegetables, too, shone in their bright skins. There was never just one colour: carrots were orange, but also had bits of yellow and brown in them. Bananas were yellow and black; apples hid oranges and purples inside their reds. Mr Scott would walk through the supermarket and enjoy all the colours around him.

    "I wish there was a store full of colours that I could spend all my time in," he sighed.

    He bought everything on his wife's list and came home. When he walked into the house, Mrs Scott noticed the sad look on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked him. "It looks life you had fun at the store. I can see that you picked out the best things."

    "I did have fun in the store. So much that I wish I could have spent more time there. It's so full of colours!" Mr Scott said.

"I see," Mrs Scott said. "Well, cheer up, because I'm going to cook a nice lunch for us!"

    The next day Mr Scott was on his usual morning walk through the neighbourhood, saying hello to everyone, enjoying the colours of the trees and flowers. It was another day of colours!

    "Good morning, Mr Brown," he called out to one of his neighbours. He liked Mr Brown very much, because, well, you guessed it: his name was a colour!

    "Mr Scott! Just the person I wanted to see!" Mr Brown replied. "My wife and I are moving out of this town, and I need someone to take over my shop. You are the perfect person for the job because it's a paint shop! I need someone who knows its colours. Would you be interested?"

    Mr Scott was mad with excitement. "I will take it over right away!"

    Mr Brown was relieved when he left town, because he knew his paint shop was in good hands. Sure enough, Mr Scott kept the paint shop open for twenty more years and got to talk about colours all day, every day.