Do you keep a diary? What do you usually write about? The followings are about pets’ diaries.

Cat’s diary

Last week, when I was in bed, Boy came into the living room. He put down some buckets (水桶) on the floor. Then he held up a net, and looked at the fish tank.

“What did he want?” I thought.

He took Fish out of the tank and put him into a bucket with some water in it. Then he started cleaning the tank.

My mouth watered. I went up secretly to get a closer look.

I walked past the bucket and tipped (弄翻) it over. Fish dropped onto the floor. It was my chance!

But Boy saw what happened. He quickly picked me up and took me out of the living room.

How mean!

Fish’s diary

Something terrible happened yesterday. It began when Boy came into the living room.

Usually, he would feed me and then leave, but he didn’t yesterday. He stayed and looked at me for a long time. There was a net in his hand.

“What did he want?” I thought.

Suddenly, “Whoooshh!” Everything was spinning (旋转) round and round. I couldn’t breathe.

Then “Plop!” Everything was red. Where was I?

I looked up and saw Cat looking closely at me! He tipped over the bucket and I flew out of it. I closed my eyes and waited for the worst. I imagined Cat chewing me up.

Luckily, there was a wonder. Boy picked me up in the net and put me back into the nice, clean tank.

My nightmare was over. I was safe and sound.

【推荐2】Homesick is a compound(复合) word made up of home and sick. You know what each word means on its own, of course. But think about what the words mean when they are used together. Homesick means sick for home.

Now think for a minute about it. If you change the word home in the definition(释义) to the word “sea”, would the definition fit seasick? Does seasick mean sick for sea? It means something quite different. Seasick means sick by the movement on the sea. When you are homesick, the only place you want to be is at home. When you are seasick, the last place you want to be is at sea.

Have you ever heard of a person being heartsick? Heartsick doesn’t mean that something is wrong with a person’s heart. People are heartsick when they are hurt deep inside and when they feel as if their hearts are broken.

But, on the other hand, we have such compound words as handshake and handbag. Perhaps you may write definitions for them and knowing something like this must be helpful in your English study.

【推荐3】On my bedroom wall was hanging a photo taken on the last day of middle school. It was a photo of a letter written on the notice board. It said, “Dear teacher, we would like to know if we could ask for a leave from today. Because we have completed our middle school. We need your permission (许可).” At the bottom of the letter was our head teacher’s signature (签名), followed by “Rejected.”

On that day, we got together in the classroom, and tried to find a special way to say goodbye. In the end, the monitor said, “Why not write a letter on the notice board? Then we won’t feel so sad when we leave school.” What a great idea! We all cheered for it.

Starting at 8 a.m., teachers came one by one to give us a lesson. At the end of each lesson, the monitor stood up and asked the teachers to sign their names. After that, we rushed to the platform (讲台) and hugged the teachers with a big smile. The last lesson was given by our head teacher. She had signed her name for us many times before. Every time she signed so fast, we couldn’t recognize it. But this time, she wrote down every stroke (笔画) carefully, with her hands shaking lightly. Finally, she read the letter again, but added a word after her signature: “Rejected.” Our eyes were red. She really didn’t want to get separated (分开) from us.

Watching this, I felt the touch of something warm and couldn’t help taking the photo of the letter. My thoughts went back to the school days. In daily life, our head teacher looked after us like a mother. In return, she was given a rich harvest (收获) of happiness. I turned around, and left. But I know this may be the most valuable memory in my life.

【推荐2】The US writer, J.D. Salinger (1919-2010), was one of the most influential(有影响力的) writers of the last century. His writing is popular with all age groups, but young people are especially big fans of his.

The reason he has such a following is undoubtedly because of his novel, The Catcher in the Rye(《麦田里的守望者》), which was published in 1951. The hero of this story is named Holden Caulfield. Holden is a troublemaker at school and has difficulty fitting in with others, whether they are adults or people of his own age. However, Holden has a heart of gold. Many readers have been moved by the protective attitude he has toward young children, especially his little sister Phoebe. Millions of people all over the world have taken the troubled 17-year-old Holden into their hearts.

Salinger didn’t actually write that much in his life. Besides The Catcher in the Rye, he published only a few other shorter works, and then, after 1965, nothing at all. The reason for this seems to be that he hated publicity(关注). He had become famous with the success of this novels and didn’t care for the fame(名望). He refused to give interviews and did not allow anyone to write his biography(自传). He came to hate publicity so much that he stopped publishing his writing.

But Salinger still kept on writing. It’s said that he wrote eight other novels. Fans of his work hope that one day they will be able to read these “lost” Salinger books.

【推荐1】Silent and calm, 25-year-old Linda looks out of the window. She may be smiling now, but it’s been a long, hard road to happiness. Today, she is an author of a best seller and also a famous artist. Her story is about overcoming difficulties and encouraging others to do the same.

Linda did not begin talking until she was two and a half years old. Unluckily, it was found that she had autism (自闭症) and had difficulty in social communication. Linda’s mother taught her the meaning of independence by example and encouraged her to learn how to do things on her own.

Growing up, she was seriously bullied (欺凌). She was called an alien and some kids would even steal her snacks. She tried changing schools, but she never seemed to be welcomed. The bullying continued. She also had trouble with tests. But she didn’t let them stop her. With the help of her parents, Linda received speech and communication treatment.

After a long period of treating, doctors said that Linda would not succeed or finish her studies. But she proved (证明) them wrong. Linda worked hard to build up her confidence and found her ability—creating beautiful paintings. And at 18, Linda went to art college to study painting and was later invited by the local volunteers to join them on community visits where she could share her story.

Now she has gone through the dark times. And she has come to realize that she is not useless. At 25, Linda sells her books and some of her paintings to help herself and her family. By sharing her experience, Linda is not only influencing others, but also changing their lives.

【推荐2】At least once a week after school I go to my school’s library to help tutor students in math. I check in at the main desk, and I pick up my badge: “Math Tutor”. It is quite an old badge, which some tutor made by hand years ago. I sit down at a desk, and I take out my own work. Some days are quite slow, and I might as well get a little homework done while I’m waiting for someone to help.

Sometimes, there is more than one person who requires help, and I just sit at the head of a table and supervise people doing their homework. I answer any questions that come up along the way. But I mostly work on my own assignments, and they ask me for help whenever they need it. I walk them through a problem, and they finish the rest of it themselves.

However, other times, there is just one person that comes to me, and they are in need of more than just homework help. Perhaps they have missed a couple days of school, or they simply don’t get the concepts that the teacher is teaching, and need extra help. I sit down with them, and talk to them about their problem. As I slowly go over each problem, I love watching the expressions on their faces change from frustration and confusion to understanding and satisfaction.

I love being a volunteer tutor because of the wonderful, warm feeling I get when I know that I was able to help someone understand or learn something new. I hope to continue doing it for the rest of high school.

【推荐3】I spent my last vacation trekking in Nepal, a small country in the Himalaya Mountains of Asia. On a trekking vacation, you walk for long distances (距离) through the mountains. There are very few roads in Nepal, so trekking is the best way to travel. It’s best if you hire a guide. The guides know the best paths to take and they also help trekkers with their bags. Our guide even cooked food for us. Every day, we trekked for about four hours before lunch, and about two hours in the afternoon.

At the end of the day’s trek, we sat around a campfire and talked about the things we saw. Then we went to sleep in large tents. Every morning, our guide brought breakfast to our tents. It was great. At the end of the trip, I didn’t want to go home!