My mother was a nurse. She left at 5:45 a.m., so I had to wake myself up, prepare breakfast, and walk to the 7:30 a.m. bus. I hated being left home alone in the ______, but I especially hated having to take the bus. Mom worked the day shift so she could pick me up after school.

One day, as we walked to our car, I saw an old man walking towards us. He ______ broke into a wide smile, but I didn’t know him.

“Leigh! Leigh!” he said, ______ my mother’s name.

“Hello,” she answered. “How are you feeling?”

“Couldn’t be better! Thanks. Now who is this lovely young person?” He asked ______.

“This is my daughter,” Mom replied, looking over to me. “Jenny, can you say hello?”

I looked at him and smiled, unsure of my ______.

“Well, it is very nice to meet you. I hope you know how lucky you are!” he said. I looked at him in ______ because I had no idea what he was talking about and I didn’t feel lucky at all.

“You have the most wonderful, caring and lovely mother.” he said, “When I was in hospital last month she took the best care of me. She made every day better. Every day. In fact, young lady, I shall never ______ her.”

I watched this stranger’s joy in my mom. He kept thanking her and thanking her.

Right then I suddenly ______ what it meant for my mom to be a nurse. She was caring for, serving, and loving those strangers, often during some of the ______ times in their lives.

It wasn’t the last time I saw someone thanking Mom or ______ her on her bedside manner, but it was the first time I understood why I stood alone at the bus stop every morning.

Why do people listen to music? The answer may seem simple: making and hearing music is a pleasure. But music touches our lives in many other ways, too.

My brother doesn’t choose music according to what he wants to hear. Instead, he decides what he wants to feel and picks music depending on it. Upbeat (乐观的), bright-sounding music generally makes people feel happy. But some people enjoy listening to sad music. It can be like talking with a friend who understands your sadness. But for some people, sad music can make them feel even sadder.

Do you ever listen to music while you work? I do, and I find that it sometimes helps me concentrate (全神贯注). According to one expert, music can help you pay attention to boring or repeated tasks. But when you are doing tasks that require more thought, music can make them harder.

My mom, a preschool teacher, uses music to manage her class. When she wants to call a child, instead of shouting the child’s name, she sings it. This creates a more active environment, while still getting the child’s attention.

Music can also bring people closer to each other. This is especially true of music played live (现场直播). Live music often features (以……为特色) a group of people playing different instruments, which makes it a shared experience. Listeners can share the feelings that the song expresses. They also create memories together.

When they hear a certain song, they can be taken back to some points in the past. Therefore music can connect people not only to present people but also to people from their past.

Music is more than just entertainment; it’s a powerful force that influences us in many ways.

① China plans to build 30 airports in the next three years.

② The two French architects are creative.

③ Sharing “Sky Eye” shows China’s opening to the world.

It’s the lunch break at Shanghai Xinhua Middle School. No mobile phones can be heard ring anywhere. The common sight of crowds of children chatting on their phones or sending short messages has disappeared.

A grade ­2 student said, “I couldn’t concentrate（集中精力）during classes. If the cellphone was with me, I always wanted to check if there were messages or missed phone calls. I even played games on the phone sometimes.”

The school leaders say not allowing bringing mobile phones is helpful to keep order in class. They even gave out an open letter to remind parents not to let their children bring mobile phones to school. More than 96 percent of parents say they welcome the school decision. The school is also being flexible（灵活的）in carrying out the plan. Those students who live far from school are allowed to bring mobile phones to contact their parents. But they still have to turn them off in classrooms.

Medical experts have also welcomed the school decision. They say too much dependence on mobile phones can cause many psychological problems in teenage students.

Haze Mabry, who has worked as a school keeper for thirteen years, walks into the school building every day and empties garbage cans, wipes（擦）down bathrooms and mops（用拖把拖）wet messes in the hallways（走廊）.

Last Friday, after he arrived at the school, he found almost 800 students lining the hallways with handmade cards and singing a happy birthday song to him. It was his 80th. As he walked the long hallway, some jumped out of line to hug him. They handed him so many cards that they filled several large boxes. Touched by their sincere expression of affection. Mabry thanked them all. “They’re like my children,” Mabry said.

On a regular day, students at the school sometimes come up to him to say they’re not feeling well or other times to tell him about something that happened at break. He knows most of the kids at the school, but can’t name each one. Some of them make him know them. Like Jenny, who often forgets her backpack in the cafeteria, and Lucy, who just wants a hug.

“He won’t brag（夸耀）on himself, but no matter what he’s doing, he will always stop what he’s doing to take care of a child if that child is having a bad day. If a child comes up to him, he will stop to give that child his attention. He’s the most loved one in this building,” said Lori Gareth, a reading teacher.

Mabry works circles around all the students, cleaning up messes that others don’t want to touch. He doesn’t expect a lot. Mabry said he hadn’t planned to do much for his birthday, so he was happy the students had prepared the surprise celebration.

Over the weekend, he looked through the handmade cards at his house. One card from a student stood out to him. It read: “Mr. Haze, you are my sunshine.”