Whether it is Worthwhile to Protect the Mogao Caves

Johnny and his two younger sisters were very poor. They lived in a very old block of flats in the crowded part of the city. They had no father. Their mother went to work from morning till late evening, as a cleaning lady in many rich houses. Therefore, Johnny had to stay at home and look after his sisters.

Sometimes on a sunny day,he would take them to the nearby park. He had to be very careful when they crossed roads. Not having any pocket money, they could not buy chips or drinks. They had to be satisfied with sandwiches as a treat that Johnny made.

One day, after they had finished their sandwiches, Johnny’s youngest sister Mary looked at other well-dressed children nearby, who seemed to be on a picnic with their parents, eating all kinds of chips, cakes and many other goodies. Mary’s mouth was watering, and very much more, when their parents brought each of the five children huge ice-cream cones from the ice cream trundle cart (移动贩卖车) nearby. “I wish we had some money to buy cones,” she said eagerly. Johnny looked at her with sadness in his eyes. “You know we don’t have money for these expensive things,” he said. “Mom works hard for what we have.”

There was silence after that. As the children sat with sad faces, the ice cream man went past them with his trundle cart. They were sitting on a bench on a little grassy hill, which sloped (倾斜) gently down the path. The trundle cart had a hard time not running away downhill, as the ice cream man held on tightly to the handles, trying to break the speed. It so happened that suddenly a little boy of two ran in front of the cart following a flying balloon.

He did not see the cart coming downhill, but Johnny did.

Hearing the screams of the child, the anxious parents came running over.

Michael, a 58-year-old man, lives in one of the most magical places in the world, Honolulu, Hawaii, which is known as an ideal vacation spot for most Americans. He gets to call this place home. But he has difficulty finding a regular place to live in. Being a homeless man, he usually sleeps on the streets and beaches of Honolulu.

Michael has an interest in baseball, so he often takes advantage of the wonderful weather to play baseball. That’s how he earns him the nickname “Baseball Michael”. Many of his friends know where to find him — in the former Heald College parking garage (停车场). There, he practices his skills, in the hope of making it big one day.

Several days ago, when Michael was hitting some baseballs, he lost one in a narrow gap between the parking garage and a drug store next door. He kept on playing. After losing a total of six balls, he decided to go down to get them. The gap was so narrow that he wasn’t sure whether he could squeeze in (挤进去). But realizing those baseballs were his only possessions, he finally made up his mind to have a try.

Michael made his way down the gap, but things turned tricky. He saw it was narrow at the bottom but he thought he was thin enough to enter it. Moments later, he let out an “uh oh”. Beyond his expectation, the space was too small for him to fit. However, he kept going with his eyes on his baseballs. He whispered, “Don’t give up. They are all I have.”

As Michael went down a little lower and lower, he realized that there was no way to return. He had to wait for somebody to rescue him. As he didn’t bring his mobile phone along, he had to shout as loudly as he could. However, there was no one answering him. Half an hour later, he felt extremely thirsty. He was very tired and afraid that he could no longer hold on. Just when he was about to give up, he heard the sound of footsteps was approaching.