I was standing in line behind a woman in her 60s. When it was her turn to pay, the shop owner greeted her and asked how she was doing.

The woman looked down, shook her head and said, "Not so _________, my husband just lost his job. I don't know how I can get through the holidays."

Then she gave the shop owner the food stamps（食品券）for poor families.

My heart hurt. I wanted to help but didn't know _________. Should I offer to pay for her food, or ask for her husband's resume（简历）?

As I walked towards my car, I met the woman again. I remembered something in my _________. It wasn't any money or an offer of a job, but _________ it would help.

"Excuse me," I said. "I heard what you said to the shop owner. It sounds like you're going through a really _________ time right now. I'm so sorry. I'd like to give you something.”

I handed her the small card from my wallet.

When the woman read the two _________ on the card, she began to cry. Through her tears, she said, "You have no idea how much this _________ to me."

To tell the truth, her reply was a little _________. Having never done anything like this before, I didn't know what could happen. All I could say was, "Would it be OK to give you a hug?"

After that, I walked into my car and began to _________ too.

The words on the card?

"You Matter."

A few weeks earlier, a friend gave me a similar（相似的）card as encouragement for my work. When I read it, I really felt ____________. So I ordered my own box of You Matter cards and started sharing then.

I’m David Brown, a student from Grade 8. I’m sitting in the classroom to write you this letter because I really have something to say about the school lunchtime.

Well, I know that school is for learning. It is important to have good reading and math skills. But I think school is also important for another reason. It helps people to learn to get along with others.

It may seem that lunchtime is not important. As you see, lots of us spend most lunchtimes just talking with our friends. But this activity is more important than it looks. I’m learning how to get along with others. I’m learning how to solve problems.

I’m finding out new things from others. I am learning how to say sorry. These are all important skills to learn. My problem is that the time for lunch keeps getting shorter. I know this is happening so we can spend more time in learning. But please do not forget that we are also learning at lunchtime. We are learning people skills. It is important that we have enough time to spend with our friends.

I really hope that you can make our lunchtime longer. A little more time spent with friends each day would benefit everybody.

Yours,

David Brown

Work is helpful to health. Scientists find that the hard-working people live longer than those who have no jobs. Studies show that the jobless are in poorer health than job-holders. Career（ 职业的） women are healthier than housewives.

Why is work good for health? It is because work keeps people busy, away from loneliness. Researches show that people feel unhappy, worried and lonely when they have nothing to do. Instead, the happiest people are those who are busy. Many high achievers who love their careers feel them happiest when they are working hard. They work as a bridge between dream and reality, so they have energy every day. By work, people get to know each other. By taking part in all kinds of activities, they find friendship and warmth. This is helpful to health. The loss（丧失）of work means the loss of everything. It affects man's spirit and it will cause more illnesses.

Besides, work gives one a sense of hope and a sense of achievement. Work makes one feel his value and status（形象） in society. When a writer finishes his writing or a doctor successfully operates on a patient or a teacher sees his students grow, they are happy beyond（ 超越） words.

From the above, we can come to a conclusion； the more you work, the happier and healthier you will be.

Sometimes I really doubt (怀疑) whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are busy trying to make money in order to pay for my brother’s education and mine. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. For them, “I love you” is too difficult to say. Even sending flowers to each other on some special days is hardly ever seen.

One day, my mother was sewing a quit (被子). I silently sat beside her and looked at her. “Mum, may I ask you a question?” I said. “What?” she replied, still doing her work. “Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice. My mother stopped her work and looked at me in surprise. She didn’t answer my question at once. Then, she bowed her head and continued to do her work.

I was afraid that I had hurt her feelings, I felt so embarrassed that I didn’t know what to do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words: Look at this thread (线). Sometimes it appears, but most of the time, it hides in the quit. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quit, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there.

I couldn’t understand her until the next spring: At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, my father said gently, “To tell you the truth, I just like walking with your mum.

I like this kind of life. Reading his eyes, I know he loves my mother deeply.

Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience I understand that love is just a thread in the quit of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.