How can I become a better person? This question has been in my head for long. As students, we spend most of our time studying. I know learning at school, of course, makes us better persons, but I always dream of doing more.

Last year, I got to know a group of autistic (患自闭症的) children. We called them “the Snails”. It was hard to communicate with them at first, because they wouldn’t like to. After a two-week training, I became more skilled. I got closer to them day by day. To my surprise, I found that every one of “the Snails” had his or her own talent. And their colorful pictures on the wall attracted my special attention, though it was difficult to tell what they were trying to express.

Moved by their pictures, I decided to hold a charity sale. We walked on the busy street, selling their creative pictures. We sold 60 pictures that day. People thought their pictures were full of imagination.

Back to the question about how to become a better person, I think I am lucky enough to get my own answer.

【推荐2】It's a story about how one man, James Brown, and his cat Bob found hope on the streets of London.

One day, Bowen met a cat and took it home. He named the cat Bob afterwards. Bowen was poor. He lived by busking. It sometimes paid well, but not always. It was hard for him to keep Bob. But Bob was very cute. He attracted more people to Bowen's performances (表演) on the street. They stopped and listened to Bowen's songs. Bowen earned more money that evening than he would usually earn in an entire day. Bob and Bowen had many wonderful adventures, although there were many hard days to get through as well.

This story is excerpted from a book called A Street Cat Named Bob. It's an autobiography (自传) by James Bowen himself. In the book, Bowen talks about his hard life, including his life with Bob, as well as what things were like before he met the cat. A movie based on the book cameout in 2016.

Reading this book changed how I feel about the homeless. Now I want to help the homeless.

【推荐3】Colin and James were neighbors. Colin was poor, while James was very rich. Colin was very relaxed and happy. He never worried about closing the doors or windows of his house at night. He slept very well. Although he had no money, he was happy.

James was always worried about something. He closed all the doors and windows of his house at night. He did not sleep well. He was always worried that someone might break into his house and steal (偷) his money. He envied (嫉妒) the peaceful Colin.

One day, James gave Colin a box of money. “Look, my dear friend,” he said, “I am very rich, but you are poor. Take this money and buy what you want.”

Colin was very happy and excited. Night came and Colin went to bed as usual. But this time, he could not sleep. He went and closed the doors and windows. He still could not sleep. He kept looking at the box of money and couldn’t sleep the whole night.

As soon as day broke, Colin took the box of money to James. He gave the box back to James. “Dear friend,”   he said to James, “I am poor, but your money took away my peace. Please take your money back. I’m sorry.”

Everyone has their favorite food. Some might love chocolate. Some might love potato chips. Think about your favorite food. Have you ever wondered why your favorite food tastes so delicious? The answer is about your tongue（舌头）and nose. There are some taste buds（味蕾）on your tongue. They give you the sense of taste. How do the taste buds work? In fact, there are many tiny hairs on the taste buds. These tiny hairs send messages to your brain about how something tastes. In this way, you know whether it is sweet, sour, bitter or salty.

A person has about 10,000 taste buds. They keep working all the time when we enjoy our food. The taste buds don’t always stay the same. They are replaced（更新）every two weeks or so.

However, as a person gets older, some of these taste buds don’t get replaced. The old may only have 5,000 working taste buds. That’s why some foods may taste stronger for you than they do for the old.

Besides your tongue, your nose also helps you learn about the taste of food. Sometimes,   strong smells can even confuse（使困惑）your sense of taste. Try holding an onion under your nose while eating an apple. What do you taste?

So next time you enjoy salty pizza and sweet ice cream, thank your tongue and your nose. Without them, you won’t have any sense of taste at all. Without the sense of taste, life will be boring.