Tovel was a middle school student. He didn’t concentrate in class, so he couldn’t do well in any subject. He was also a weak basketball player, leaving no impression on others. But he loved attention. Knowing that classmates would listen if he had news to share, he went around the class making u stories about other students.

“Tom’s parents are too busy to take care of him, so he doesn’t like the weekends,” Tovel whispered. The students around Toval listened carefully and sighed.

“He has to cook by himself at weekends. And sometimes, he steals vegetables from his neighbor’s garden!” said Tovel. The classmates shook their heads, for they all knew that middle school students must not steal things from others.

“And he even cheated in some weekly exams, expecting good grades and the teachers’ praise,” added Tovel. “No. He couldn’t do that! He was cheating himself and ruining his future,” cried the classmates. They all showed sympathy for Tom, and hoped that he could be honest.

For quite a few days, the classmates were all talking about Tom and his fake news. Some students even chatted with him, showing their sympathy and expressing their expectation, which made Tom annoyed and confused.

Knowing that the stories about Tom had spread quickly and made Tom in trouble, Tovel felt bad about what he had done. Tovel wanted to change the situation and beg Tom’s forgiveness, but he didn’t know what to do. “I am willing to do everything if all will be well again," he thought.

It’s a rare thing, in this day and age, to move into a new neighborhood and find yourself welcomed by the local inhabitants. However, there are some places out there where the neighbors are as sincerely friendly and welcoming.

Lily and Jack Green met in 2011. It was very nearly “love at first sight” and they married in 2013 and moved to Auburndale three years later. The Greens had found themselves welcomed into the neighborhood with truly open arms. The happy residents had come over with plates of cookies, dishes, and the like. In short, the neighborhood they’d moved to was the type of place where you’d be happy to raise a family.

Lily was pregnant before the move and within three months, they gave birth to Sam. Unfortunately, something was wrong. A week or so of tests showed that little Sam had been born completely deaf. The Greens were completely shocked and they knew that raising Sam was going to take some serious work and commitment.

The neighborhood was still excited to welcome little Sam into their life, of course, but they were mindful of what a struggle the situation was for her parents. “You see Sam and it’s discouraging not to be able to say, ‘Oh, I love your pretty pink pants.’ We wanted to take that away. We didn’t want them to have that extra struggle if there was anything we could do about it.” one of the neighbors explained. So the neighbors wanted to do something to make things easier for the family. As Sam was only a week old at the time, they took some time to make a decision.

On a hot September afternoon, Peter and his friend Isabel were on their way to the library. When they passed by Tubman park, Isabel suggested cutting through it to get to the library. As they entered the park, the sight of the swings (秋千) and the merry-go-round brought back a flood of memories of their childhood spent there. But now everything looked so old, sad, and dirty. Litter lay on the ground next to an overflowing trash bin. There were still young schoolchildren playing there but they had to avoid the trash that littered the playground. A little boy told them that the city took the other trash cans away and the remaining one never got emptied often.

As they headed toward the library, the two high school students wrinkled their forehead. In the library, they encountered Mrs. Evans, their kind-hearted fifth-grade teacher, retired yet still passionate. Mrs. Evans listened as Isabel and Peter eagerly explained what they’d seen. Finally, she recommended them to go to the City Hall to voice their concerns.

The next day, Isabel and Peter went into the building of the City Hall but were met with an impatient officer. They were informed that the city couldn’t help with their problem due to a tight budget. Discouraged, they left and turned to Mrs. Evans for help.

Under her guidance, they decided to ask Go Green, a non-profit organization whose goal is to protect the environment, for help. “This group is good at raising money for projects just like yours, ” said Mrs. Evans. She promised to arrange them to present their ideas to Go Green. Hearing this, their face lit up.

Two main tasks remained ahead: researching ways to clean up the park and preparing a convincing presentation. As Isabel was good at researching while Peter always had a talent for speaking, they cooperated quite well. Isabel learned from a science magazine that a new type of trash bin can squeeze the trash down without being emptied often, which saves time, money, and energy. Based on this, Peter practiced his presentation over and over again.

A week later, Peter stood nervously at the back of the hall where Go Green was meeting.

After the meeting, Isabel excitedly told Peter the good news.

Losing a parent is one of the most painful parts of life. No matter how old we are when they leave us, it can be a heartbroken experience. Our memories are all that is left of them and happy reminders of their love turn into our most valuable treasures. That's how Mara Soriano feels about the teddy bear that she tragically lost in her recent move to a new apartment.

Diagnosed with cancer, Mara Soriano's mother, Marilyn, gave her daughter the bear as a gift in 2017. After her mother's death last June, the gift became even more special. "That bear was basically the last reminder of my mom. It was her voice that accompanied me," she said in an interview.

The plush (长毛制的) toy didn't cost a lot, but it contained a recording of her mother's voice telling her that she loved her and was proud of her. The bear, called Mama Bear, was in the backpack that contained electronics like an iPad and a Nintendo Switch. When the bag was stolen last week during the move, the 28 -year-old was heartbroken-- not for the gadgets(小装置), but for Mama Bear.

Mara posted a photo of her and her Mama Bear on Instagram, explaining the importance of the bear. Millions of users were touched by the story. More and more people were talking about the bear, but there was no good news for Mara. So again and again she posted online about the item and the story behind it, hoping it could catch more viewers' attention in a big way.

Actor Ryan Reynolds was moved by Mara's story and then posted an appeal(请求)for Mama Bear's safe return. "I think we all need this bear to come home," he wrote. Along with the message, he also offered a reward for the people who found the bear.

Paragraph 1: Luckily, the Internet did its thing.

Paragraph 2: The email was from the woman who sent the bear back.

The Bicycle

When I was nine I needed to earn some money, so I asked Mr. Miceli, the newspaper publisher in my Chicago neighbourhood, about an after-school paper route. He agreed only if I   had a bicycle.

My dad bought me a used bike, but right after that he fell ill and couldn’t teach me to ride. Mr. Miceli, however, merely asked to see the bike. So I walked to his garage, showed it to him and got the job.

At first, I filled my delivery bag with rolled papers over the handlebars and walked my bike down the sidewalks. But pushing a bike with a load of papers was awkward; after a few days I borrowed Mom’s two-wheeled shopping cart.

It took me longer to make my deliveries by cart, but I didn’t mind. I sent each paper to its proper destination. In rain or snow, I put Dad’s old raincoat over the cart to keep the papers dry. I got to meet everyone in the neighborhood — working-class people of Italian, German or Polish origins who were invariably kind to me.

When Dad returned from the hospital, he was too weak to resume his original job. Now we needed every penny we could raise to pay bills, so we sold the bike. Mr. Miceli must have known I wasn’t using a bike, but he said nothing about it to me.

On the Thursday evening before Christmas, 1951, I rang my first customer’s doorbell. Even though the lights were on, nobody answered, so I went on to the next house. No answer, nor did anyone respond at the next family on my route, or the one after.

I was very worried; I had to pay for my papers every Friday. And while it was almost Christmas, I never thought that everyone would be out shopping. So I was very happy when, going up the walkway to Mr. Gordon’s house, I heard music and voices. I rang the bell.

The door flew open, and Mr. Gordon dragged me inside.

After walking the bicycle home, I opened those envelopes.