Winnie sat outside the Headmistress's office waiting to be called in. She wished she had not been caught down by the river at lunchtime. But it was too late now.

That morning, Winnie happened to be in the playground with a group of girls from the ninth grade. She liked hanging out with the older girls. She felt more important when she was with them. She especially admired Vicky. Vicky was always breaking the school rules, but somehow managed to get away with it.

Vicky told the group of girls she pinched a packet of cigarettes* from her dad's pocket. She invited them to follow her to the river at lunchtime for a smoke. They sat under the bridge and Vicky passed round the packet of cigarettes. Winnie had never smoked before. It tasted awful. The other girls started making fun of her. Then Vicky told Winnie to steal a packet of cigarettes from her dad and bring it to school for them to smoke. Winnie knew this was wrong but wanted so much to be part of the group. So she said they could count on her to bring a packet the next day.

Then, suddenly, before they could hide their cigarettes, Mr. Jackson, her class teacher was standing next to them. He was furious. Vicky threw the packet of cigarettes into Winnie and said, "She gave them to us. She stole them from her dad." But Mr. Jackson had seen and heard everything. He told them to go straight back to school and wait for him outside the Headmistress's office.

Now, sitting outside the Headmistress's office, Winnie knew she would be punished but in her heart she also knew the punishment was a stitch in time. She would never try another cigarette and would never again get mixed up with students like Vicky. Winnie was beginning to have second thoughts about Vicky. Because of Vicky, she was in trouble, too.

The door opened and Vicky came out. She was crying. Winnie had never seen Vicky cry before. She looked so different, so weak, so unimportant. In a flash Winnie realized Vicky was not a very nice person after all.

【推荐2】I’m a worker and work in downtown. I live on a small island (岛), ①so I take a boat from the island to the city center on weekdays. The boat leaves at 6: 20 and gets to the city at 7: 00. Then I have a short walk to my office. Sometimes when the weather is bad, I can’t get to my office on time by boat.                    

—Tina Brown

I’m a teacher. I take the train to work every day. The train is quick and cheap and there are hardly (几乎没有) any delays (耽误的时间). I’m never late. The trains run every half an hour. The train station is near my home. It takes me only 30 minutes from my home to the school.

—Ms. Jackson

As a kind of traditional Chinese dress, Ma Mian Qun first appeared in the Song Dynasty and became popular during the Ming Dynasty. The two sides of Ma Mian Qun are pleated (起褶的), and there is a smooth part in the middle, known as “Ma Mian”.

Why is it called “Ma Mian”? When it comes to “Ma Mian”, people may connect it with the animal horse. But in ancient times, “Ma Mian” was a kind of structure (结构) that was used to protect the city. The smooth part is similar to such structure.

Ma Mian Qun is colorful, mostly red and blue. Red means good luck and joy. According to Han customs, women would wear red skirts during festival celebrations. In the Qing Dynasty, blue was also common.

Ma Mian Qun has different kinds of patterns with good meanings. For example, fish patterns show people’s good wishes for the future. Peonies (牡丹) are a symbol of wealth and honor.

Recently, Ma Mian Qun has become popular among Hanfu fans. It is mixed with modern clothes. Some people match (与……相配) Ma Mian Qun with T-shirts or blouses perfectly to make the dress fit for everyday wear. Even many foreigners are falling in love with this beautiful traditional costume.

“Eighteenth,” I said. I’ve forgotten the question Mrs. Cooper asked that day, but I will never forget my answer. As soon as the number left my mouth, the whole class started laughing. I felt I was the silliest person in the world. But Mrs. Cooper looked at the whole class seriously and said, “We’re all here to learn.”

Another time, Mrs. Cooper asked us to write a report about what we hoped to be in the future. I wrote, “I want to be a teacher like Mrs. Cooper.” She wrote on my report, “You’ll be a great teacher because you have a strong mind and you try hard.”

After I got married, I began to work as a cleaner. I cleaned seventeen classrooms each day, including Mrs. Cooper’s. I would tell Mrs. Cooper that I wanted to teach, and she would repeat the words she had written on my report earlier.

I started to attended college classes in the morning before work. After seven years of my hard work, my dream finally came true. One day, I wrote a sentence with a mistake on the blackboard and asked a girl to correct it. She didn’t know the answer. As the other children laughed, tears rolled down her face. I gave her a hug (拥抱) and said to the whole class, “We’re all here to learn.”

I am Canadian. I started learning French when I was 10 years old. But my whole experience with the language was in the classroom. All of that changed, however, during my last summer of high school. As a 17-year-old girl, I flew across the country by myself for the first time! I headed for Quebec to live in the province with a French-speaking host family, who didn’t speak any English. And I would learn French at a local school.

On the first day of school, all of us students were given a test to determine （测定）our language level. We were required to speak only French all summer.

I made every effort to communicate in a second language by making new friends, seeing movies and even ordering food from restaurants in French. Though I couldn’t understand most of it at the very beginning, the whole experience was exciting and refreshing.

On weekends, my classmates and I took trips to different places around the province. On one trip, we went whale watching on the St. Lawrence River. Even though it was raining, we could see huge whales swimming around our boat. The most memorable of our trip was a visit Quebec City. I walked along the stone streets, took pictures of the European-style （欧式的）buildings, and learned some stories there.

Finally, my efforts paid off ! At the end of the summer, I was able to communicate pretty well. I couldn’t wait to go back to school and talk with my French teacher. Being fully immersed（沉浸）in a French-speaking environment was a valuable learning experience. And it could be the main reason for my improvement in French.