【推荐1】At noon that day, I drove back to my house after the performance. Just as I entered the living room, I heard a gentle sound coming from the bedroom upstairs—it was the sound of my favorite violin.

“Thief!”

I dashed upstairs. Sure enough, as expected, a boy of about 12 years old was petting（抚摸）my violin. The boy had messy hair and a thin face, his oversized coat seemingly filled with something. At first glance, I found a new pair of shoes missing. It seemed that he was surely a thief.

Then, I saw his eyes full of fear and despair（绝望）. My anger was immediately replaced by a smile. I asked. “Are you Mr. Ram’s nephew, Michael? I’m his housekeeper. Two days ago, I heard his nephew living in the countryside will come. It must be you. You’re really like him!”

Hearing my words, the boy was first surprised but then quickly said, “Has my uncle gone out? I think I’d better first go out for a walk and visit him again in a while.”

I asked the boy who was preparing to put down the violin, “Do you like to play the violin so much?”

“Yes, but I'm so poor that I can’t afford it,” the boy replied.

“Then I give this violin to you.” The boy looked at me questioningly, but he picked up the violin. Going out to the living room, he suddenly saw on the wall my huge color photo I performed in the Sydney Opera House. He trembled for a moment and ran out without looking back.

I was sure that the boy had understood what happened because no one would decorate the living room with the housekeeper’s photo.

A few years later, at a music competition of senior high school students in Melbourne, I was invited to judge the final. Finally, a violin player called Merritt won the first prize with his strength!

After the award, Merritt ran to me holding a violin box, excited, asked, “Mr. Brian, do you still know me? You have given me a violin which I have been treasuring until today! Today, I can give back this violin to you without regret…” It turned out that he was “Mr. Ram’s nephew Michael!”

Tears welled up in my eyes.

【推荐2】When I was at school, I had a classmate whose name was Ted. Ted and I were in the same class. He sat next to me. He had serious problems in communicating with others. We always had to guess what he was saying. Besides, most of my classmates did not like to play with him because his hands and shirts were always dirty, I told him several times a day to wash his hands. I tried to let him know the importance of being clean. But he just could not hear. I really disliked him. But I didn’t know how to change him.

One day, our teacher Miss He walked to Ted. She said nothing. She took Ted to the washroom. Miss He washed his hands slowly and told Ted that he should keep himself clean. She did that every day for one week. Finally, Ted understand what Miss He wanted him to do.

Miss He’s love give me a good example. When I am doing my job, I always teach my students by showing them the right ways to do things. I always remember to give them more time to learn and to grow up. I’d like to say thanks to Miss He because I learn a lot from her.

【推荐3】It was 5 o’clock in the morning. Wang Yong, a deliveryman (送货员) in Wuhan, woke up early. Suddenly, he realized that it was already February 13.     1    

What had he been busy with during those days?

The story started on the eve of the Chinese New Year. Wang was going to sleep.     2     Many COVID-19 patients (病人) had been allowed to enter this hospital. The nurse had worked non-stop for a few days.     3     No taxi driver wanted to drive to the hospital. And because of traffic control, no bus or subway services were available.

After a moment’s hesitation (犹豫), Wang decided to do his bit (尽自己一份力量).

The man bought himself some masks (口罩), got into his own car and then drove straight to the hospital. The nurse seemed surprised.     4    

That day, Wang drove 30 doctors and nurses home.     5     Wang put together a team of volunteers. They helped nurses and doctors to go to work, return home and order food.

In this battle (搏斗) against COVID-19, there are not only doctors and nurses fighting the good fight. Many ordinary (普通的) people are also fighting. They are heroes, too.

【推荐2】

【推荐3】Many countries are trying to stop food waste. Let’s have a look at what they did.

	China started a national activity called “Clear Your Dish” in 2013. Now restaurants advise customers only to order food they need. If they can’t finish it, they should take it away.
	In 2016, France made a public rule to stop stores and restaurants from throwing away unsold food. If it’s still safe to eat, they should give the food away to those in need; if not, it goes to farmers for use as animal feed or plant growing.
	In 2016, people started to pay for food waste in South Korea. They should weigh the food before throwing it as litter. One kilo of food waste costs 1.5 thousand Korean Won(87 yuan).
	In 2019, the US said it was better for food companies to use the words “best if used by” for date-printing. This helps shoppers better understand that if they keep the food well, they don’t need to throw food too early.