Many kids are crazy about space. Last month, a space office told the public that they were ________ “a planet protection officer”. Some people laughed at the funny job title, but a 9-year-old boy took the information ________. He wrote a letter to the office, saying that he wanted the job.

“Dear sirs, my name is Sam Lee. I think I am the ________ person for the job,” he wrote.

What are Sam’s ________? “For me,” he wrote, “My sister says I act like an alien.” Sam also said he had watched almost all the ________ movies he could find. His last sentence may touch people’s hearts: “I am young, so I can learn to think like an alien.”

Sam soon got a ________ from Bill Black, director of the office. “We have received your letter. It is great that you are interested in the job. This job is to ________ the earth from germs (细菌) on things brought back from other planets.” Bill ended the letter with some warm words, ________ Sam to study hard and do well in school. “We hope to ________ you at the office one day,” he wrote.

“Among kids, there are ________ space scientists,” Bill told a newspaper. “We think of this letter as a chance that may forever change a kid’s life.”

Has your mother or grandmother ever made embroidered(刺绣的) clothes for you? In the past, Chinese people often embroidered on hats, shoes and dresses to show the beauty of nature or the best wishes to others. Some girls would even embroider on a sachet(香囊) as a gift for their lovers.

Shu embroidery comes from Sichuan. It is said that Shu embroidery is the oldest kind of embroidery in China. People began to make it during the Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD). They sold it to other countries such as ancient Rome.

Shu embroidery takes time. It might take as long as a whole day to finish just 10cm. Embroidery workers need to divide each silk thread (丝线) into more than 10 or even 30 smaller threads. Each smaller thread is thinner than a human hair.

Meng Dezhi, who used to work at the Chengdu Shu Embroidery Factory, has been making Shu embroidery for 40 years. She loves this form of art and wants more people to try it, so she gives lessons in universities. She said, “Although the work is hard, Shu embroidery stands for thousands of years of Sichuan culture. It is a symbol of Chinese culture as well.”

The 6-year-old girl, Ruby, lived in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was supposed to go to school close to her home. But all the students in that school were white. Ruby was black. School leaders didn’t want to accept her so they made Ruby take a hard exam and hoped she would fail. But Ruby was so smart that she passed the test easily and was finally allowed to go to the school.

Ruby was excited about her new school. But when she and her mom arrived on her first day, she saw a crowd of angry people shouting very cruel things at the gate. They did not want a black child to attend the school. “I had no idea what was happening,” remembered Ruby. She thought the crowd was celebrating something.

Each day, Ruby went to school with four police officers who worked for the national government to protect her. The sight of this small girl with her big bodyguards moved the artist Norman Rockwell. He created a painting of Ruby. He called it “The Problem We All Live With”. It became a very famous painting.

Ruby grew up to be a civil rights activist. She worked to protect the rights given to all citizens by the government. She even went to the White House to meet President Barrack Obama.

“We should never judge a person by the color of their skin,” Ruby said. “That’s the lesson I learned in the first grade.”