1 . American love pets. Many pet owners treat these friends as part of the family. Sometimes they spice their pets’ life with entertaining videos and amusing toys. If they have an eye for fashion, pet owners can dress their pets in fashionable clothes. For special occasions, they can use perfume to make their dogs smell well.

Leading a dog’s life in America isn’t such a bad thing. Many grocery stores sell various pet foods to owners eager to please their pets. In Houston, Texas dogs can have their dinner delivered to their homes. Well-to-do dogs can attend doggy daycare center, which is usually expensive, while their owners work. Pets can even accompany their owners on vacation. Fancy hotels are beginning to accommodate both man the beast.

Beneath all these things, there lies a basic American belief: pets have a right to be treated well. At least 75 animal welfare organizations exist in America. They provide care and adoption service for homeless and abused (被虐待的) animals. Vet (兽医) can give animals an incredible level of medical care for an incredible price. People can even bury their pets in a respectable cemetery.

The average American enjoys having pets around for a good reason. Researchers have discovered that interaction with animals lowers a person’s blood pressure. Dogs can offer protection from burglars and unwelcome visitors. Cats can help rid the home of unwanted pests. Pets even encourage social relationships: they give their owners an appearance of friendliness, and they provide a good topic of conversation.

Pets are basic to American culture as hot dogs or apple pies. To Americans, pets are not just property, but part of the family. After all, pets are “people”, too.

2 . Ten years ago, when I was in junior school, Mrs. Amatuli was my language teacher. One day at lunch time, I was getting ready to eat my cold fish sandwich as usual and suddenly Mrs. Amatuli asked me if she could buy the sandwich from me. She explained that I could use the money to buy a hot lunch from the cafeteria. I was very pleased. I never bought my lunch from the cafeteria. It was too expensive for my family, and I always carried my lunch and took the bag back home to use again the next day.

Seeing that other students went to the cafeteria after class, I felt my heart was filled with admiration. You can imagine how pleased I was when I had the opportunity to buy a hot lunch. Kids always complained about the cafeteria food but I really wished to buy it. When we finished lunch that day, Mrs. Amatuli took me aside and explained why she had bought my sandwich. She said she was a Catholic and Catholics didn’t eat red meat on Fridays — they ate fish on Fridays. From then on, every Friday she bought my fish sandwich and with the money I could get in line with other kids for a hot lunch.

One year later, I knew from a classmate that Mrs. Amatuli was not a Catholic and her family was not rich. She bought my cold sandwich because she knew that a poor girl would be excited at the simple act of having a hot lunch. She wanted to help me! I will never forget her sympathy and generosity. I will be grateful to my dear teacher, Mrs. Amatuli, forever.

3 . After entering high school, you may find there are many clubs at your school. You may think you’re too busy to join one. But as a former high school student,I can tell you joining a school club can greatly benefit you.

Your old friends may have left you after entering high school.   And it means you need to meet new people. Joining a club allows you to talk with others and find those who have similar interests as you. Based on my experience, I have met some of my best friends from club activities,which opened up many new doors for me.

Another really nice thing about joining a club is that it looks really good on your applications (申请书). Trying new things is something that looks really good on any application. Outgoing is considered a very good quality which shows that you are determined and willing to put yourself out there and best of all try new things. What’s more, it can help you develop skills that can serve you during future college interviews.

Besides, joining a club can make students use their free time wisely. Most teens go to schools, then go back home and spend the rest of the day in front of a screen. Teens are also very likely to fall into the wrong crowd, which could lead to some bad results. Clubs are good places to spend time with good people to fall back on.

The most important reason why you should join a club is the long­term benefits it brings. The classroom isn’t the only learning environment in a school. The skills you learn in clubs are necessary ones that can be used in everyday life, which I think is the final goal of joining a club. Things such as meeting and speaking to new people,making the most of time,and being organized are those you will meet every single day of your life, but you can learn all of them in clubs.

So if you haven’t joined a school club yet,you know what you should do now.

4 . Yesterday after work, the boss told me I was fired. When I walked along a riverbed sadly, I suddenly realized it was New Year’s Day, a day to start afresh.

I passed by a man holding his son, one or two years old. The baby’s face was in pure joy, and his innocent eyes were full of wonder. The simple sweetness of the baby made me moved.

Walking on, I saw a young couple repairing their bicycle. They smiled at me and said, “Happy New Year!” I smiled and wished them the same. It was a simple thing, but for a moment it brought me a sudden joy.

I kept walking, enjoying the cheerful singing of birds. With people around laughing out loud, an old woman immersed herself in her sewing. She didn’t seem either happy or sad. A feeling of timeless peace flowed through me and all fear of what the future might bring disappeared. I thanked her in my heart, and moved on.

As I reached home, I was filled with great thanks and hope for life, which took me a long time to find. Actually, happiness could be simple and easy. Now I knew whatever the New Year would bring, there would be joy and enough love to help me through the hard times we all had to face.

“Happy New Year!” I said to myself.

5 . California has a new program called the Digital Textbook Initiative. “Starting this fall with high school math and science, we will be the first state in the nation to provide schools with a state-approved list of digital textbooks.” That was Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in June, talking about his effort to get schools to use materials available free online. He listed reasons why he thinks digital textbooks make sense.

California approves traditional textbooks in six-year cycles. Digital one can offer the latest information. They lighten the load of school bags. They save paper and tees, and make learning more fun and interactive. And above all, he said, they help schools with their finances.

The state has had to make severe cuts in school spending because of deep financial problems. More than six million students attend California public schools.

Earlier this year, California invited content developers to offer digital math and science materials for high schools. These had to meet at least 90% of the state’s learning requirements. Specially trained teachers examined 16 textbooks and approved ten of them.

Six of the ten were published by the CK12 Foundation, a nonprofit group that had been developing digital science and math books for about two years. The foundation paid teachers and other education professionals to write and edit them. The money came from a group financed by the Khosla Family.

California cannot require schools to use the digital textbooks. Individual school districts will have to decide for themselves. Susan Martimo, a California Department of Education official, says she does not expect widespread use right away. Her best guess is that some schools with a lot of technology will be the first to use them, but only in addition to their traditional books.

School administrators point out that the texts may be free online, but students need a way to access them. Not everyone has a computer or electronic reader. Schools could print out copies, but that would not help the environment. Also, there is the cost to train teachers to use digital textbooks effectively.

9 . I parked outside the grocery store that weekend, still tired after another stressful week of work. I’m an accountant, and it was the middle of busy season, which meant tight deadlines and crazy hours. A long weekend was coming up, and a friend suggested that I relax at a nearby woman recover center. I moved through the passageway with my shopping cart, hurrying to beat out a few others who were heading for the already long checkout line. It took me more than an hour to finish the shopping.

When I got back to my car, groceries in hand, I found a note on my car. In beautiful handwriting and blue ink, the writer explained that her car had scraped(刮擦) my Honda Civic when she pulled into the space next to mine. “I’m sorry!” she wrote, and added her insurance policy(保险单) number and cell phone number. At the bottom, she signed her name, Elyse.

What an honest person！I was quite surprised. Few people act like that nowadays. Most people would have just driven away. A few weeks later I got the estimate for the repair: $1,500! There’s no way she’ll pay this much, I thought. I picked up that note with the beautiful blue script and dialed the number, ready for an argument.

“Hello?” Elyse answered cheerily. “Hi, you left a note on my car?” I began. But even when she heard how much the bill was going to be, Elyse still sounded just like she had in her note, so friendly—and calm. How was it possible for her to be like that? I wondered. Believe it or not, I got the money for the repair.

When the busy period at work finally passed, I decided to go to the recover center that my friend had suggested. I had my doubts if it would help, but it couldn’t hurt, right?

Checking in at the front desk, I looked through the guest book, looking for a blank spot to write my name. Finally, I reached the last page. There, at the top, in the same perfect handwriting that she had used in her note to me, was Elyse’s name.