My friends and I finished lunch at a hotel when it started to rain heavily. When it became lighter, I decided to get my car at my office three streets away.

My friends said that I shouldn’t go, mainly because I would give birth to a new baby and was seven months pregnant then. I told them that I’d be very careful. One of them wanted to come with me but I asked her to stay with another friend who needed help with her baby.

I walked out of the hotel and started making my way to the car. At the crossing, a black car stopped and a man came out with an umbrella. Before I knew what was happening, he walked right towards me. To my surprise he stopped in front of me and said he’d go with me together. I said there was no need for him to do so, but he still offered to help. During our walk, he kept telling me to walk slower, as the ground was wet. When we got to my car, I thanked him and he went away. I did not get his name. Even I can’t remember what he looks like. Did he stop for me? I’ll never know.

So how did I pay it as a return? I was at home when I noticed two Indian workers walking in the heavy rain. Maybe they were on their way to the working place near my home.            . They were surprised by my action. They were very thankful to me, wondering why a stranger was offering such kindness. I was so relaxed and happy that day.

 A reader wrote in to say that she was feeling lonely at break because her best friend wasn't around. Here's our advice to her—and to all kids whofeel left outsometimes.

   It'd hard when a best friend isn't around—maybe because she moved to a different school or a different class. You may feel lonely at break or lunch time. You want to have new friends. but how do you make them? Maybe is seems like everybody else already has their friends. But remember, there's always room for more friends.

   Start by looking around your classroom—think about which kids you'd like to play with at break. Look for chances to say hi to them, smile, and be friendly. Offer to share something or express your appreciation(欣赏) to them. Invite someone to play with you or say "Do you want to sit here?" in the lunch room. When you're at break, walk over to kids you want to play with, act friendly, and say "Hi, can I play, too?" or just join in.

   If you have trouble doing this or if you're feeling shy, ask your teacher to help you make new friends. Teachers are usually pretty good at matching up friends. The best way to make friends is to be a friend. Be kind, be friendly, share, say nice things, offer to help—and pretty soon, you'll have one, or two, or even more new friends.

   You might still miss that special best friend. But when you see each other, you can share something you didn't have before she left: You can introduce her to your new friends!

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A first－grade student whose best friend is fighting against cancer thought that hours of playing and telling jokes was not enough—he wanted to show his buddy just how he understood the hard time he was going through.

Seven－year－old Vincent Butterfield decided the only way was to cut off his hair in support of his best friend Zac who lost his hair through chemotherapy (化疗)．

Zac Gossage is receiving treatment (治疗) but still goes to Union Central Elementary School in Missouri every day, because thatˈs where he gets to play on the swing with Vincent. Vincent found out that Zac might lose his hair because of the chemotherapy treatment. So one day, he showed up in the first grade class wearing a cap. He said to his teacher Mrs. Koester, “I have a surprise for Zac.” And he pulled off his cap and other kids saw that he already had all his hair cut off.

“I did it just to make Zac feel heˈs not the only one without any hair，”said Vincent.Vincent has also been raising money for his best friend after learning how expensive his chemotherapy treatments are. He asked his mother to make more than 20 scarves and gloves. He and his mother sold them at the price of 10 dollars each, raising over $200 for Zac. The encouragement from Vincent seems to be working. Though Zac is receiving treatments, he has hardly missed any days of school. He knows that Vincent is out on the playground, waiting for him at the break.

When asked what friendship was, Vincent looked at his friend Zac, thought for a moment and responded, “Itˈs a beautiful thing.”

Clearly, wisdom doesnˈt always come with age.

  Mr. Brown is a driver. He has two cute dogs. The black dog is big and the white dog is small. He likes them a lot. Mr. Brown has a good friend, Mr. Jones. He is a driver, too. They work in the same hospital. One Sunday morning, they would like to go fishing on a farm. Mr. Jones comes to Mr. Brown's home. He finds there are two holes（洞）in the door（门），a big hole and a small one. He says to Mr. Brown, "My friend, why are there two holes in your door?" "I want the two dogs to come in and go out. " Mr. Brown says. " But why are there two holes?"asks Mr. Jones. " How can the big dog gothroughthe small hole?" Mr. Brown says.

The day she won the lottery (彩票) was the greatest day of her life. As she took the check for one million dollars, Jenny, started making plans. A new house, a new car, a vacation in the sun. And of course, she could stop working--- give her life a big change.

   Eight years later, Jenny was out of money. The money was all gone. So were her friends. The new life was over, but how could she go back to her old one?

   Winners of sudden wealth often give up their jobs, and they don’t know what to do with the time. They may find that close friends are far away and that it’s difficult to make new ones. The new house often only leads to more loneliness. What seemed to be wonderful luck turns out to be the opposite. It seems that winning a lot of money doesn’t mean happiness. Just ask Jenny. She has got a new job and new friends now, but she would probably say, “Money isn’t everything…”

  Like many people, I have no clear idea about heroes. Maybe sometimes we all wonder if we need a hero and what a hero really is.

   Although there are a lot of differences in cultures, heroes around the world have much in common. They all give us courage and make us want to learn from them.

   A hero has a special story to tell and people are interested in it. But a hero is not just the person with great fame (声誉).

   A hero has to experience life with new and further meaning. So if you want to live like a hero, you have to know what or whom you serve. If you serve only your own fame, you may be just famous persons instead of heroes.

   A hero considers more than common people. He is able to make people moved and create new chances.

   Without Gandhi, India might still be part of Britain, Without Martin Luther King. Americans might take different buses, eat in different restaurants, go for walks in different parks, and shop in different stores because of the different colors of their skin.

   There might be changes in society without a hero, but the speed of change would be quite slow. Thanks to heroes in history, they make the society develop so fast.

When I was a child, my parents often took me to an old house in a thick forest. No other children ever stayed there. I didn’t even have the choice of playing with a brother or sister.

I could never understand what the attraction of the house was, even for my parents, who enjoyed nothing better than to sit in silence with a good book. The woman in the house, my father’s distant cousin, was a terrible cook and her food was inedible.

One day, when I was wandering around the garden behind the house, I noticed a wooden house which had clearly been abandoned(被遗弃的). As I walked towards it, I heard a noise, like an animal moving hurriedly away. Then I saw a man with a long beard standing at the door. I was greatly surprised.

“Please don’t tell them you saw me,”he said.“They never use this place, and I have nowhere else to live.” “Don’t worry,”I said.“I won’t tell anyone. But are you all right out here? I mean—do you have enough to eat?”The old man shook his head.

The same evening, I took a small plastic bag into the dining room and, while no one was looking, emptied some of the food into it. Later, I got out of the back door secretly and gave the food to the old man, whose name I had discovered was Alan.

I had never seen anything else as lovely as the smile of satisfaction on Alan’s face when he ate the food. From then on, my visits to the old house had a purpose, and I enjoyed every minute of the rest of my stay.

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch(牧马场). The last time I was there he told me his story. When he was young, his family was too poor to have a house to live in.As a  result , when he was in high school, all the students were asked to write a paper about what they wanted to be and do when they grew up. That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of owning  a horse ranch. He also drew a picture to show a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a beautiful farm. The next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F. Roberts asked, “Why did I receive an F?” He teacher said, “This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money.” Then the teacher added, “If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.”

The boy went home and thought about it for a long and hard time. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, “ Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.”Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He told his teacher “you could keep the F and I still keep my dream”.He tells me this story because I am sitting in his 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of the 200-acre horse ranch. “I still have that school paper now.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two years ago that teacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’dreams. Luckily, you had enough gumptionnot to give up on yours. ”

Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.

Most people want to be happy, but few know how to find happiness. Money and success alone do not bring lasting happiness. Aristotle, a thinker, said, “ Happiness depends upon ourselves.” In other words, we make our own happiness. Here are a few suggestions to help you be happier.

The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend so much thinking about the future----for example, getting into college or getting a good job---that we fail to enjoy the present .You should enjoy life’s simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to you favourite music, or spending time with close friends. People who have several close friends often live happier and healthier lives.

Another secret to living a happy life is to be active. Many people go dancing or play sports . People can forget about their problems and only think about their activities.

Finally ,many people find happiness in helping others . Studies show that people feel good when they spend their time helping others. If you want to feel happier, do good things for someone.

 Most people want to be happy, but few know how to find happiness. Money and success alone do not bring lasting happiness. Aristotle, a Greek thinker, said, "Happiness depends upon ourselves." In other words, we make our own happiness. Here are a few suggestions to help you be happier.

   The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend too much dine thinking about the future-for example, getting into college or getting a good job—that we fail to enjoy the present. You should enjoy life's simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends. People who have several close friends often live happier and healthier lives.

   Another secret to living a happy life is to be active. Many people go dancing or play sports. People can forget about their problems and only think about the activities.

   Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. Studies show that people feel good when they spend their time helping others. If you want to feel happier, do good things for someone. You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to buy food for an elderly person, or simply help out around the house by washing the dishes.