【推荐2】While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had an experience which happened only two feet away from me.

Trying to locate my friend among the passengers coming through the jet way, I noticed a man walking toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.

First he kissed his three children one by one and said, “It’s nice to see you. I missed you so much!” Then he hugged his wife, “I’ve saved the best for last!” giving her the longest, most passionate (狂热的) kiss I ever remember seeing. They stared at each other’s eyes, smiling at one another, while holding both hands. For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds(新婚夫妇), but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn’t possibly be.

Full of admiration, I asked, “Wow! How long have you two been married?” “Being together for fourteen years total, married twelve of those.” He replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife’s face. “Well, then, how long have you been away?” I asked. “Two whole days!” “Two days?” I was astonished. By the intensity (热烈) of the greeting, I had thought he’d been gone for at least several weeks —   if not months. I knew my expression betrayed me, so I turned away my eyes and said quietly, “I hope my marriage is still that passionate after so long!”

The man suddenly stopped smiling and looked me straight in the eye. With forcefulness he told me something that left me a different person. “Don’t hope, friend. Decide!” Then he smiled again, shook my hand and said, “God bless!”

With that, he and his family turned and walked away together.

I was still watching that man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked, “What are you looking at?” Without hesitation, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, “My future!”

【推荐1】Delia was a young pianist. Her husband, Joe, was a young artist.

Each of them was taking lessons: Joe with a famous art teacher, and Delia with a great pianist from Germany. Their teachers were the very best, so lessons were expensive, more than they could really afford, but... when you love your art, nothing is too much.

But soon the money began to run out, and they couldn’t afford the lessons any more.

Then one day Delia came back home and told Joe that she had met a man whose daughter, Sally, wanted to learn the piano, and he was going to pay her $50 an hour.

‘‘Delia,” Joe said, “I’ll be much happier if you keep up your lessons.” Delia said it didn’t matter. “When I’ve had some money, I’ll continue.” But Joe also decided to stop his lessons, to draw pictures and sell them.

A few days later, Joe came home and proudly took $200 from his pocket. “I met a man from Vermont,” he said, “who bought one of my pictures. And he wants to buy more!”

______. They didn’t have to worry any more about money.

Then one day, Joe came home and saw that Delia’s hand was wrapped in a bandage (绷带). He asked her what had happened. “Oh,” said Delia. “My student, Sally, asked me to make some coffee for her. I dropped the coffee and burned my hand. Sally went straight to the drugstore and got this bandage for me.”

“Delia, what have you been doing the last two weeks?” Joe asked. She tried not to tell him, but the tears came “Oh Joe, I couldn’t get any students, so I worked as a waitress in a restaurant. Today, I burned my hand with hot water. So I can’t work any more. But we’ll still have money from the man in Vermont, won’t we?”

Joe looked at her. “There’s no man in Vermont,” he said. “I’ve been working in a drugstore, and today someone came in to buy bandages for a woman who’d burned her hand. So when I saw you, well, I guessed.”

They both laughed.

(Adapted from A story by O. Henry)

【推荐3】Tip to Qingdao

On July 18th，2016，Scott and his parents went to Qingdao，Shandong for the summer vacation. Scott was excited about the trip.

It was about 11：00 am when they arrived in Qingdao by bus on the first day. They found a hotel and had a short rest in their room first. At about 3：00 pm they got to the beach. It was really hot and sunny. There were many people on the beach. Some talked to each other，some played ball games，and others swam in the sea. Scott and his parents soon joined them. Scott's parents spent much time playing beach volleyball. Scott enjoyed swimming in the sea. About two hours later，they went back to the hotel. They all felt very relaxed.

On the second day，it rained all the day. Scott watched TV with his father in the hotel room. His mother went shopping by herself.

On July 20th，they went to Laoshan Mountain by bus in the morning. They climbed the mountain and took lots of photos. They took the bus back to the hotel at five in the afternoon. They were tired but very happy.

On the morning of July 21st，they left the hotel and took the bus home.