Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.

“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast.

“And you’ll be sorry that you knew me,” George would reply “because I’ll surely be the best lawyer in our town!”

After graduation, George never became a lawyer and Richard was anybody but a millionaire …. Instead, it happened that both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street, while it was hard to make much money from books then, which made the competition between them worse. Eventually, Richard closed down his, dreaming of making a fortune elsewhere. 

Now, with only one bookshop in the town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his former rival(竞争对手)。Perhaps he missed him? 

George was very interested in old dictionaries, and he had recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was quite delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished — the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading: “Bookends Company has bought ten bookstores from its competitors. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in this country.”

 In the early 1900s, Carol Ryrie Brink lived with her grandmother Caddie on a tiny farm in Idaho. The farm was a great place to live. Besides wonderful tall climbing trees, it had cats and chickens and a horse, which she rode all over the countryside and through the streets of town.

   Even so, Carol was sometimes lonely. She would climb to the top of her favorite tree and make up stories to cheer herself up. The favorite part of her day was when Grandmother Caddie would sit with her and tell stories about the adventures (冒险经历) she and her brothers had.

   Carol loved the stories so much that when she grew up, she decided to write a book about them. Thousands of children throughout the world have read and loved Caddie Woodlawn. Carol’s book won a special award (奖项) called the Newbery Medal. Each year only one children’s book is chosen to win this award.

Carol said it was her son and daughter who inspired (激励) her to write for

children. That wasn’t easy when she was busy taking care of a family. Sometimes an idea would come to her while she was washing the supper dishes. She would make a quick note and come back to write it out more fully after her children were asleep.

   Carol wrote 27 books in her life, many of which are about her life in Idaho. Besides the Newbery Medal, she won many more awards. Later when another author Mary Reed wrote a book about Carol Ryrie Brink, she summed up (概括) Carol’s life by saying, “She tried to live in a way that would not harm others, to never waste a day, and to make the most of her life.”

After years of planning and months of expectations, the 2016 Summer Games finally began in Brazil on August 5. Over 10,000 athletes from 207 countries marched across Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium, proud to represent their respective nations at the world’s most famous sporting event.

The road to the Olympics, however, is not easy for any athlete. It has been particularly hard for Yusra Mardini, who is a member of the world’s first “Olympic Refugee (难民)Team.” The 19-year-old always dreamed of swimming for Syria at the Olympic Games. However, in August 2015, after losing her home in the conflict that has involved Syria since 2011, she and her sister decided to flee the country. The sisters along with a few other Syrian nationals made their way to Turkey via Lebanon. They then set sail on a small boat to their final destination — Greece.

Unluckily, thirty minutes after leaving Turkey, the motor on the ship which was meant to hold six passengers but was instead carrying twenty, failed. Yusra, her sister Sarah, and the only two other strong swimmers on board had no choice but to dive into the ocean and use their superior swimming skills to push the boat and its passengers all the way to Lesbos, Greece – A journey that took three hours.

While her dream of representing her country was ruined, Yusra did not give up her desire to compete in the Olympics. In March 2016, she was one of ten athletes selected and funded by the Olympic Committee to form the first-ever “Refugee Team.” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach believes that Yusra and her teammates, who have also had to flee their countries, “We’ll show the world that despite the unimaginable tragedies they have faced, anyone can compete, anyone can contribute to society through their talent, skill, and strength of the human spirit.”

I work in a nursing home and my job is to take care of the elderly.

   This year, a very sweet old lady that I cared for, Alice, had gone through a difficult time. She got dementia and so she had been in the hospital twice. In November I was finally able to get her back to her“home”.

   Alice had thought her daughter was coming to visit her on Christmas day and that they were going to have the whole family together like the old days. When she finally realized that that happy moment was not going to happen, she was very sad. Knowing that her daughter was coming after Christmas was not enough to make her feel happy, I hated the idea of her being alone on the holiday!

   On Christmas Eve, I gave her a surprise by asking if she would like to go to a candlelight service at church that night.

   Instead of taking her to my church, I took her to her old neighborhood church where all her friends were. We got there early and I got her a seat where her friends could see her as they came in. Then soon some of her friends came to the church and they rushed over to greet her and sit with her.

   The candlelight service was beautiful and Alice got a lot of love from her o ld and new friends there.

   The truth of the story is that I am the one who got the best gift: the smile o n Alice’s face.

When Julie Jones and Caroline Atkin were schoolgirls, they promised to be best friends for ever. Years later, Caroline died from a brain tumor at the age of 45, leaving five children. In her last weeks, she asked Julie to raise the children as her own. Julie, a single mother of three with a small income, didn’t hesitate.

   “I held her in my arms and said “You’ll be OK”, but I knew I was losing her.” She says.

   “The hospital rang me and I rushed there, but Caroline had just gone,” she says. “I went to her house. The children arrived home from school in a taxi and I gathered them in my arms and said, “Mommy has gone to Heaven.”

    “Michael, who was 11, left the room；Kieran, ten, sat in great surprise; James, nine, broke down; while Emma, seven, and Chantelle, five, uneasy. I brought them home.”

    Julie, mother of Adam, 20, Peter, 19, and 14-year-old Christian, moved the table from her dining room to turn it into an extra bedroom for the girls.

    She says “I put a tent up in the garden, and the children took turns to camp outside, which we turned into a game. The children were terribly hurt by losing both their parents. But now, despite our lack of space and money, we have become one happy family.” The table in the kitchen is so small that Julie had to cook Christmas dinner in two sittings. Her eldest son has left for university and his bedroom is used by the younger boys.

    Julie had to work 50 hours a week and runs the home on her salary.

    “The children aren’t quiet anymore. The house is filled with screams and shouts and laughter.” she says. “They say ‘Julie, you make us so happy,’ but the truth is that they’re the ones who make me happy. I’m not extraordinary. I’m just a mum.”

 A farmer grew some vegetables in his garden. One day his wife was ill and he had no money. He had to sell some cabbages and carrots in the market. The next morning he took two baskets of vegetables to town. But it was raining hard that afternoon and there were few people in the street. When his vegetables were sold out, it was dark. He bought some medicine and hurried to his village.

 On his way home he saw a person lying on the snow. He placed his baskets on the ground and was going to help the person to get up. At that time he found it was a dead man and there was much blood on his body. He was so afraid that he ran away quickly, without taking the baskets with him.

 The next afternoon the farmer was sent to the police station. Having shown the baskets, an officer asked:“Are these yours?” “Yes, sir.”the farmer answered timidly(胆怯地)。”Have you killed the man?” “No, no, sir.”the farmer said in a hurry.”When did you see the dead man?” ”About seven last evening.” “Did you see who killed the man?” “No, Sir.”The officer brought out a knife and asked,“Have you seen it yet?” ”No, Sir.’The officer became angry and told the policemen to beat him up and send him into prison.

 That evening the officer went on trying .Pointing to the knife, he asked again,”Have you seen it yet?” ”Yes, Sir.”The officer was happy and asked,”When and where?” “I saw it here this afternoon, sir.”

It was the first day of school, I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a little old lady smiling at me.

She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug? ”

I laughed, “Of course!” “Why are you in college at such an age?” I asked curiously.

“I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have children, and then retire(退休) and travel.”

“No seriously.”

“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”

We became instant friends. Over the course of the year, Rose made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she took great delight in the attention given to her from the other students.She was living it up.At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our banquet(宴会) and I’ll never forget what she taught us.

She cleared her throat and began her prepared speech: “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You have got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive(富有成效的) thing, you’ll turn twenty years old. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what they did, but rather for things they did not do. ”

At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral(葬礼) to honor the wonderful woman!

Peng Liyuan, born on November 20,1962,is a famous Chinese contemporary folk singer and performing artist.She is the wife of current Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and as such referred to as the “Chinese First Lady”by the media.As of 2014,she is listed as the 57 th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Peng is the Dean of the People's Liberation Army Art Academy.She gained popularity as a soprano(女高音) singer from her regular appearances on the annual CCTV New Year's Gala,a widely viewed mainland Chinese television program that airs during the Chinese New Year.She has won many honors in singing competitions nationwide.Her most famous singles include People from Our Village,Zhumulangma and On the Plains of Hope.Peng is a civilian member of China's People's Liberation Army and holds the civilian rank equivalent to major general.She was the first in China to obtain a Master's degree in traditional national music when the degree was established in the 1980s.

Peng Liyuan is a native of Yuncheng County,Shandong province.She joined the People's Liberation Army in 1980 when she was 18 and began as an ordinary soldier,but with her vocal talent later performed during frontline tours to improve troop morale(士气) during the Sino-Vietnamese border conflicts.Peng first performed nationally and came to fame during the earliest play of the CCTV New Year's Gala in 1982,when she performed On the Plains of Hope.

She has been married to Xi Jinping for over 25 years;they have a daughter named Xi Mingze born in 1992,nicknamed as Xiao Muzi.For the greater part of their relationship,Peng has had a considerable reputation within China,comparable to that of her politician husband.Since her husband became Chinese President in March 2013,American press refers to her as the First Lady of China.

I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have thatsort of career（职业）.

I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.

 I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.

 One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification（资格证书）if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten.

 Now I’ve got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren’t top of the class at school.

No more fear. The Iron Hammer is here. Lang Ping has become the newly appointed Chinese women’s national volleyball coach.

For the past four years, Chinese womenˈs volleyball has been plagued by frustrating international results, frequent coach reshuffles, numerous injuries and a shortage of talent.

Volleyball was the first sport in which China succeeded on a global scale and was widely followed in the 1980s.

A prolonged slump might finally be coming to an end though, as Lang Ping was appointed head coach of the Chinese womenˈs national team for the second time.

Known as the "Iron Hammer", Lang was the countryˈs best-known volleyball icon and a symbol of the "never-say-die" spirit of the team in its heyday. She has been the favorite for the coaching post since the sports authority unveiled its four candidates on April 15. Her return is expected to bring attention and confidence back to the sport. Sina.com, more than 70 percent of participants said they believe Lang will lead womenˈs volleyball back to the top flight internationally.

Langˈs appeal among Chinese volleyball players is also expected to boost the current national lineup, which has several veterans who are planning to retire. National team player Wei Qiuyue, who was going to retire after the National Games in September, said she is ready to play for the national team for as long as needed now that Lang is the coach.

"Langˈs rich coaching experiences give her quite a bit of familiarity with her opponentsˈ strategy and character," Wei said. "She was also an outstanding athlete, which makes it easier for her to understand the feelings and mentality of the players."