Grandpa and I always sat together to watch the sun go down behind the old store across Star Street. I mustn’t cross that street unless (除非) I was with my family, ________ it was a quite busy street. But on that day, everything changed.

“Thirsty (渴的)?” Grandpa asked.

“Yes,” I answered ________.

“Would you like to run to the old store there and get yourself a bottle of Coke (可乐)?” I ________ believe my ears. Did I hear right? Was he talking to me? My family wasn’t rich (富裕的). Coke was too ________ for us.

“Okay,” I answered shyly and I was thinking about ________ to cross the street. I never did that before and I ________ about it a little. But I was a brave little boy.

Grandpa looked ________ side of the street and found there were not so many people. When he was sure it was safe for me, he told me to cross. I ________ thought I could cross the street by myself before, but I made it. Now I was on the other side of the street. Then I went into the store and ________. I found the Coke machine and put in my money. Clunk! Out the bottle came. Coke in hand, I proudly went out of the store. Grandpa was waiting patiently (耐心地). He smiled!

I got back to the other side and shared the Coke with my grandpa. It was the most (最) delicious ________ in my life. I was very happy. But I was happy about more than the Coke. I began to grow up a little—thanks to my grandpa, and thanks to myself.

Tony and Robert are neighbors. Their family sometimes have parties together. One day, Robert asked Tony for some help, saying that he needed 50,000 yuan.

At first, Tony turned him down. But after Robert begged (恳求) him some times, he gave the money to Robert.

However, Tony forgot to ask for a receipt (收据) for the money. Robert said he would pay Tony back within six months. However, he didn’t pay Tony back on time.

When Tony went to ask him about the money, he said that he never got any money from Tony. This made Tony very angry. He went to his lawyer and said, “My neighbor owes me 50, 000 yuan and he won’t pay back the money. What should I do?” “Do you have a receipt to show he owes you money?” the lawyer asked. “No,” Tony said. “OK. Now send him a message to ask him for the 5,000,000 yuan he owes you,” the lawyer said. “But I only gave 50,000 to him,” Tony said. “That’s what he will say when he replies (回复) and then you’ll have your proof (证据)!”

Are you interested in our Chinese characters (字)? Chinese characters have a long history and they usually have some special meanings (意思) for Chinese people.

We pronounce (发音) each character by using “pinyin”. But the same “pinyin” can represent(代表) different Chinese characters. For example, “fu” can be the “pinyin” for good luck in Chinese. And it can also be the “pinyin” for other Chinese characters with the same pronunciation (发音).

Here are the top lucky ones.

● 福 “fu” means (意思是) good luck.

During Chinese New Year, we can see Chinese character 福 “fu” in every family. People often put it upside down on the front door of a house. The upside down 福 “fu” in Chinese sounds the same as “good luck comes”.

● 禄 “lu” means pay.

In feudal (封建的) China, if you work for the imperial government(朝廷), the imperial government needs to pay you “feng lu”.

● 寿 “shou” means being long-lived.

Chinese character “shou” also means life, age or birthday. As we all know, Chinese people usually have “shou” noodles or “shou” peaches for their birthdays.

● 喜 “xi” is happiness.

The doubled character囍 “xi” means double happiness. We can see it everywhere at Chinese weddings (婚礼).

● 财 “cai” is money.

During Spring Festival, Chinese people usually say “Gong xi fa ‘cai’!”, which means wishing you to have a lot of money. There is also a Chinese old saying “money can make a ghost (鬼) turn a millstone”. It is to say money can really do a lot of things. But, still—money can’t buy everything.