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My father is tall and has short, gray(灰白的) hair. He wears glasses with heavy, black frames（框架）. But I just see a picture of him from 1968. What a surprise! In the picture, he’s 15 years old. He’s short and he has glasses with small, round frames. He has long, yellow hair and it’s really straight. He’s wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt with the word “Love”. I’m 15 years old now. I’m medium height and I have short hair. My hair isn’t yellow, it’s blue. My dad thinks it’s strange(奇怪的), but my friends think it’s great. I wear glasses, but my glasses have bright red frames. They’re so cool! I have an earring(耳环) in one ear, too. Dad really can’t understand(明白) that, I never wear blue jeans. I like big, baggy(松的) pants and long T-shirts. Most of my T-shirts have pictures of my favorite rock bands(摇滚乐队) on them.

One day an American went to a small town in South America for his holidays. Few people went there because it was far away from the cities. He fell ill and wanted very much to see a doctor.

The American wanted to find out how he could find a fine doctor there. A man told him. "That"s very easy. If there is a patient that a doctor can"t cure(治愈), the doctor has to put a balloon over his clinic (诊所)."

The American thought, "The fewer balloons are, the better the doctor is." He began to look for the best doctor along the street. First he found a clinic. There were 20 balloons. After a few minutes he found another one--30 balloons. He thought neither(两者都不) doctor was fine.

At last he found the third clinic. Only 5 balloons were there. He was very happy and went in. "Wait a minute," said the doctor.” I’m too busy, you know. I have to put some balloons." The American looked at the new clinic and asked,” When did you open yours?" The doctor answered, "It was only yesterday l" The American was very much surprised and said to himself, "Where can I find the best doctor?"

Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are busy trying to make money in order to pay for my brother’s education and mine. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. For them, “I love you” is too difficult to say. Even sending flowers to each other on some special days is hardly ever seen.

   One day, my mother was repairing a quilt. I silently sat beside her and looked at her. “Mom, may I ask you a question?” I said. “What?” she replied, still doing her work. “Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice. My mother stopped her work and looked at me in surprise. She didn’t answer my question at once. Then, she bowed her head and continued to do her work.

   I was afraid that I had hurt her feelings. I felt so embarrassed that I didn’t know what to do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:

   “Look at this thread (线). Sometimes it appears, but most of the time, it hides in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong anddurable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there.”

   I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. The doctor had said my father would recover in two months. But after two months he still couldn’t walk by himself. All of us were worried about him. “Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day. “Susan, don’t worry about me.” he said gently. “To tell you the truth, I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life.” Reading his eyes, I know he loves my mother deeply.

   Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.

  SUNDAY SPORTS SKILLS CLINIC

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People know the dangers of fires. It’s good for a family to learn how to keep safe in a fire. Here are some suggestions.

Put a smoke alarm (报警器) in the house. Smoke from a fire causes the alarm to go off and the sound tells everyone to leave the house at once.

Make escape (逃脱) plans. If there is a fire, everyone follows the plan to get out. Check all the windows to make sure they can open them at once.

Buy fire extinguisher (灭火器) in the house. Everyone in the family should know how to use them.

Practise for a fire. It helps to teach children about fire safety. Everyone in the family should know how to follow the fire rules:

Don’t open a hot door! The fire can grow more quickly if you do so.

Stay close to the floor! Smoke can be more dangerous. The best air is near the floor because smoke rises.

What will you do if your hair or clothes start to burn? First, stop! Don’t run! The fire burns faster because of more air. Drop! Fall on the floor. Then roll (打滚)! Turning over and over will make the fire go out. Put a blanket (毯子) around you to keep the air away from the fire.

2016 marked the 15th anniversary the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

What are YOU waiting for? Register and be part of our Volunteer Team today!