It was summer just a few weeks before school started. One day I was bored at home. Then I saw a girl playing in front of her house. I ran out and said hello to her.     1     We were so happy that day. In the later days we’d always play around the neighborhood. School started and we’d always sit next to each other on the bus. We became best friends!

One year later, I had to go back to my country—India.     2     I still remember the last night before my trip back to India. We were so sad and cried very much.

After I was back to my country, we still e-mailed each other until I was in Grade 9. Then I suddenly lost contact (联系) with her. I was worried and kept hoping she could reply!     3     When I was in Grade 10, my family went to the US for a visit. I still hoped to see her again. I tried calling her but her phone number had changed. Finally I lost hope and wanted to give up.     4     I couldn’t believe my eyes. I cried with joy! And now we are still in contact and are best friends!

The lesson I learned from this is never to give up and always hope.

【推荐2】Donna Ashlock, a 14-year-old girl from California, was very sick. She had a bad heart. “Donna needs a new heart,” her doctor said, “she must have a new heart, or she will die soon.”

Felipe Carza, 15, was worried about Donna. Felipe was Donna’s friend. He liked Donna very much. He liked her freckles, and he liked her smile. Felipe didn’t want Donna to die.

Felipe talked to his mother about Donna. “I am going to die,” Felipe told his mother, “and I am going to give my heat to Donna.”

Felipe’s mother didn’t pay much attention to Felipe. “Felipe is just kidding,” she thought, “Felipe is not going to die. He’s strong and healthy.”

But Felipe was not healthy. He had terrible headaches sometimes. “my head hurts,” he often told his friends. Felipe never told his parents about his headaches.

One morning Felipe woke up with a sharp pain in his head. He was dizzy (眩晕的), and he couldn’t breathe. His parents rushed Felipe to the hospital. Doctors at the hospital had terrible news for them. “Felipe’ s brain is dead,” the doctors said, “we can’t save him.”

The parents were very sad. But they remembered Felipe’s words. “Felipe wanted to give his heart to Donna,” they told the doctors.

The doctors did several tests. Then they told the parents, “we can give Felipe’s heart to Donna.”

The doctors took out Felipe’s heart and rushed the heart to Donna. Other doctors took out Donna’s heart and put Felipe’s heart in her chest. In a short time the heart began to beat.

The operation was a success. Felipe’s heart was beating in Donna’s chest, but Donna didn’t know it. Her parents and doctors didn’t tell her. They waited until she was stronger; then they told her about Felipe. “I feel very sad,” Donna said, “but I am thankful to Felipe.”

Three months later the operation Donna went back to school. She has to have regular checkups, and she has to take medicine every day. But she is living a normal life.

Felipe’s brother John says, “Every time we see Donna, we think of Felipe. She has Felipe‘s heart in her. That gives us great peace.”

【推荐3】I'm a Chinese girl. My name is Li Ying. I'm twelve. I'm in No. 5 Middle school(第五中学). Chen Hong is my friend. She is thirteen. Mr. Wu is my Chinese teacher and Miss Zhao is my English teacher.

【推荐1】I’m Bob. This term, there are some interesting and fun things in our school. On September 12th, there is a soccer game between our school and No. 3 middle school. Soccer is my favorite sport and I play it very well. This time, I’ll play for our school. I need to wear a T-shirt, a pair of shorts and sports shoes. Oh, my sports shoes are too old. I want to buy a new pair. On October 20th, we have a school trip. We’ll go to the zoo. It’s fun. On November 30th, we have a sports party. Our parents can come to the party, too. At the party, we can have some interesting sports tests and play sports games. We can also watch some great sports shows. Wow, I love this term.

【推荐2】All the people in Ben's family want to have a pet (宠物). Ben wants to have a dog. He says that a dog is a friend of men. But Ben's mother thinks that dogs need a lot of exercise. All the people in the family are very busy, so no one has time to help the dog take exercise.   She wants to have a cat. She says that cats are clever and lovely(可爱的). Ben's father wants to have some fish. He says that fish are clean and beautiful, and that they don't eat a lot. Ben's sister likes birds. She says that birds can sing beautifully. There is a pet shop near their home and there are many pets there.   Tomorrow will be Sunday. Ben and her family are going to buy some pets. What pets will they have? No one Knows.

【推荐3】Having a hobby is a great way to feel happy and meet new people. In fact, there are lots of hobbies that are good for you.

Hobbies are anything you do for fun. You aren’t getting paid to do them; they’re something you like to do with your free time. For a lot of people these days it seems like their only leisure activities are watching television and staying on the Internet. That’s a pity, because hobbies—from rock climbing to collecting something—can be really good.

Hobbies often provide something that you might not get in your everyday life. They allow you to do something that’s just for you, and they can help you forget your daily problems and give you a lot of pleasure. If you can find like-minded people in your area, going outside can also be a great way to meet new people and experience new activities.

If you’re adding a new thing into your life, you have to take time and focus(关注) away from something else. The good news is that most of us have a lot of time we’re not using well, either because we’re spending a lot of time online or watching TV or just wasting time we could be spending on our hobbies.

Of course everyone is different and your personality does play a role in what kinds of hobbies you’ll like. Maybe you really like going out with friends, so you need to take a class or have an interest that you can do with a group. If you travel a lot, something that you can do anywhere is helpful; if you are a homebody, you might love to be surrounded by a cool collection.

The truth is that you may not hit the perfect activity for you right out of the gate, but you can have a lot of fun trying out new things and exploring what’s out there. Do some web searches, visit the library, don’t be afraid to try new things, and soon you’ll have a hobby that provides you with a lot of fun and less stress, too.

【推荐3】It was the first time I met a seal (海豹), the most mysterious (神秘的) animal for me in the world. I jumped into the cold water to take a closer look. Immediately, she swam toward me and tried to threaten me by putting my camera and much of my head into her mouth. I tried not to show any fear. After a few seconds, she let go of my head and swam away.

Then she came back with a live penguin. The penguin was for me. Of course, I didn’t eat the penguin, and I think the seal was very disappointed. The seal thought I was just another seal, I realized. One most important thing in a seal’s life is eating. So perhaps this seal was worried about me. She didn’t want me to go hungry. She brought me some more penguins. She even tried to show me how to eat them. The seal tried to push penguins into my camera because she thought the camera was my mouth!

I understood that she was trying to feed me. But I think that she was really trying to communicate with me. By now, she didn’t seem very dangerous. She stayed by me and tried to feed me for four days. One time, she noticed another seal come up behind me. She made a deep, warning sound and scared the other seal away. She then took that seal’s penguin and gave it to me.

Those four days were the most unbelievable experience I ever had as a wildlife photographer, because I got some amazing pictures. I also learned that animals do not always behave the way we expect. My relationship with this powerful and smart animal will stay with me forever.