【推荐1】Stefany Bibb has been a teacher at the John F. Kennedy High School for over twenty years. She is also the person who started the school’s Kindness Club.

Members of the Kindness Club are made up of students in every grade. The aim is to help students and spread kindness. Students who’re in the Kindness Club frequently hold the door open politely for others, welcome other students and teachers every morning, and focus on being respectful and helpful.

“I like to make people smile, because it lights up my world and I know it makes them feel warm inside, too,” said Aniyah Cox, a tenth-grader who’s a member of the Kindness Club.

Recently, Bibb led students from the Kindness Club to paint stones with messages of generosity. They also spent time at school making a special garden for these stones outside the teaching building.

The Kindness Rock Garden is decorated with colorful pinwheels (风车) that blow in the wind. On the lawn (草坪), there are painted stones of many sizes and shapes, many of them with encouraging messages or creative designs.

Students can even keep the stones with them for up to one week before returning them to the garden, and if a student wants to keep them for more time, they get to paint another stone to replace the one they took.

“You can also pass your rock down to your friends, so you can make their day,” Aniyah said.

The garden is just another way the Kindness Club can help with putting smiles on other people’s faces. And Bibb hopes the kindness can be passed on to their home life as well.

“Nothing they have done is because of me,” Bibb said. “They’re naturally kind. What we have achieved is thanks to their kindness. How amazing they are! I’m just like, here, do what you do.”

【推荐3】Carnival: One Day in Rio

Last year I went to the Rio de Janeiro Carnival, and it blew my mind. It had been my dream to attend the famous carnival for many years, so I was excited. However, the moment I arrived, I was a little bit nervous because there were so many people on the streets. They say that five or six million people come to Rio during carnival time and about two million of them are on the streets on any given day. Luckily, I had a local guide, my sister’s friend Ronnie. He said he would take care of me and show me all the highlights. He did not let me down.

Well, the carnival is most definitely all about the samba. It’s a style of music and dance which has its roots in Africa. Lots of Africans were used as slave labor by the Portuguese when Brazil was being colonized, so this mixed culture of African, Latin and European styles is really strong here. Samba music is usually fast and exciting with a lot of drums and harmonic vocals. It’s the kind of music that you can’t help dancing to, and I was learning that as I followed Ronnie through the crowd, my hips and shoulders were swinging almost involuntarily.

Ronnie had got us tickets for the samba parade, the icon of Brazilian culture, inside the Sambadrome where the top samba schools compete for the championship title, but we still had a long way to go through the street parties. He said most people enjoy the carnival by making their own parties in the street. About the samba parade, twelve main teams compete for the championship, and if they win, their performance will be talked about for years to come. So, you must be wondering how it was. Well, I’m afraid I can’t tell you. Ronnie and I never made into the Sambadrome. We spent the day moving from one street party to another. There were more snacks, more drinks and lots of dancing. Do I regret missing the main parade? Not at all. I experienced the carnival like the locals, and it was truly amazing.

【推荐1】Night fell. A policeman was patrolling(巡逻) in his block when he noticed a man leaning against the doorway of a restaurant. “It’s all right here, officer, I’m waiting for a friend. 20 years ago tonight, I dined here with Jimmy Wells, my best buddy. I was to leave for the West the next day. We agreed to meet here again 20 years later.” said the man, striking a match to light his cigar. “Hope your friend comes around.” said the policeman, passing on along his beat.

20 minutes later a tall man in a long overcoat went directly to the waiting man. “Is that you, Bob?” he asked doubtfully. “Is that you, Jimmy Wells?” cried the man. “Oh!” exclaimed the new arrival. “It’s Bob! How has the West treated you, old sport?” “It’s given me everything. You’ve changed lots — so tall by two or three inches.” “I grew a bit.” “Doing well here?” “Moderately. Come on, let s go to my place and have a good talk. ”

The two hit the road, arm in arm, with one boasting his career in the West. At the corner stood a drug store, brilliant with electric lights. When they came into this glare, each of them stared at the others’ face.

The man from the West stopped and released his arm, “You’re not Jimy Wells. 20 years is not long enough to change a man’s nose from a Roman to a pug.”

“It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one,” said the tall man. “You’ve been under arrest for ten minutes, ‘Silky’ Bob. Chicago thinks you may have dropped over our way and wires us she wants to have a chat with you. Before going to the station, here’s a note to you from Patrol man Wells.”

The man unfolded the note, reading:

“Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match, I saw it was the face wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn’t do it myself, so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job. JIMMY.”