I had just a very wonderful day. Although all my days are always wonderful to me, the day was completely different. There was a bulletin board saying that they would need to find volleyball players for the girls and I was so happy! I have been loving playing volleyball since my mother taught me how to play. I was so excited that I couldn’t wait to play! Then I read more what was on that bulletin board, which said that there would be an audition (面试) after three weeks! “Three weeks?” I thought about it. I did know how to play volleyball but I was not much of an expert in doing it but I still wanted to try.

After that I was determined to practice volleyball every day. I practiced hard again and again each day and I never got tired of doing the same practice through all the days, and finally, the day came. I was so prepared for this and hurried to the gym to audition. When I had reached the gym, I was surprised to see that 12 or 14 girls were lining up and I guessed I was the last one to arrive. Then our audition began. Some of the girls failed to pass the audition and some passed.

There was only 1 slot left to complete the 6 girls to join the volleyball team and suddenly I felt nervous because the person in front of me was going to take her serve (发球). Then the girl hit the ball and then… the ball didn’t pass over the net. The girl slapped her forehead and left, leaving me standing in the middle of the court.

Then the coach spoke, “Okay, you, serve! ” She handed me the ball and I caught it with my hands. As the ball was in my hands, my hands were suddenly sweating and so was I!

I then suddenly became nervous about this. “Maybe I should be back of,” I told myself.

Then I began. I came to a pause, taking a deep breath.

“Do you mind if I join you?” I asked the two women seated at the table. As a new employee, I felt awkward about approaching them, but there were no other seats in the dining hall. Then I introduced myself and sat down. The two women nodded to me and continued chatting.

While eating my lunch, suddenly I was shocked by one of the women’s words. She said, “My family has decided to give up our dog and let her live on her own. She just can’t fit into our family. And no one wants her.”

Coming from a family whose home could be a petting zoo, I was shocked to think that people could be so heartless. Feeling concerned about the dog, I asked my new co-worker a few questions about the dog. She shared that the dog’s name was Lady. She had trained as a guide dog for the blind, but she failed her final test because she wanted too many hugs after completing her tasks.

I asked the woman to give me some time to contact my mom as we would consider adopting her. Since my mom had a kind heart, I knew she would agree and that Lady would have a home with us. After work, I drove to pick up Lady. An old woman greeted me at the door, leading me to the kitchen. There sat this beautiful but very thin dog, lying in the corner and licking (舔) her right paw. “She did that to herself,” the woman said as she pointed to the injured paw. She continued, “That dog is hopeless!” The woman then took a broom and forced Lady to stand with the broom. There were no goodbyes from this family, just a sense of relief because Lady was no longer their problem.

I sat on the sidewalk with her and introduced myself. For me, it was love at first sight. She had a beautiful face, but the saddest eyes. “Lady,” I said. “I’m taking you to your new home. And I promise you that my family will always love you. Please give us a chance.” I helped Lady get into my car, and our new journey began.

As I pulled into our driveway, my mom was waiting with open arms and delicious dog treats.

One day, my mom did something magic which made Lady start to open her heart.

In my community, there is a little boy who suffered from congenital muscle disease. He always considered himself the most unfortunate person in the world. Although he looked no different from ordinary people, it’s difficult for him to do some delicate movements. He often lost control of his hands and dropped things on the ground. Even after a short run, he would easily get out of breath. Depression and inferiority made him almost always alone. All of these make his mother very worried.

Then one spring, the boy’s mother bought some saplings (树苗) from a nearby market. She intended to plant them in the forecourt. She told her children to plant a sapling each person. The mother said to her three children, “Whose seedling grows best, I will buy him or her a favorite gift.” The boy also wanted to get his mother’s gift. But seeing his brothers and sisters carrying water to water the trees happily, anyhow, an idea hit him: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So watering it once or twice, he never attended to it.

Several days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was surprised to find it grew some fresh leaves instead of withering (枯萎), and compared with the trees of his brother and sister, his appeared greener and more vital. He wondered what on earth had happened. As expected, his mother kept her promise, bought the little boy his favorite gift and said to him, “From the tree you plant, you will become an outstanding botanist (植物学家) when you grow up.”

Since then, the little boy slowly became optimistic. One day, the little boy lay on the bed but couldn’t sleep. Looking at the bright moonlight outside the window, he suddenly recalled what the bi ology teacher once said, plants generally grow at night.

“Why not go to the forecourt and take a look at my tree?” he said to himself.

From that night on, he understood what his mother meant and decided to change himself.

Emily White was born seventeen years ago with so many birth problems in her body. Some of her organs, bones and muscles were out of shape. No one expected her to survive. She did make it but with her strange body figure, everyone could recognize her, even from a distance.

In Emily White’s hometown, there was a yearly outdoor performance in the school auditorium (大礼堂). It had been performed for so many years and actually had become one of the most important events of the Christmas season for many of the town’s people.

Many people tried out each year for it, but so many were turned away. It can only include the most excellent people in the field.

Emily had a beautiful singing voice. Last year she went to Mrs. Owens — her music teacher to ask to join in the performance. Without letting her sing, Mrs. Owens took a look at Amy’s body and said, “Child, you just don’t fit. Everyone would stare at you and that would make you uncomfortable. It would make them uncomfortable, too.”

Without singing a single note, Emily was sent back through the door of the choral room. Hurt and upset, she decided never to try out again. But Mrs. Owens then retired.

This year, there came a new music teacher, Mr. Buttler. He heard about Emily and suggested that she have a try.

Emily didn’t want to be rejected again, so she hesitated a little about it. As Emily struggled, the door was pushed open and Mr. Buttler called, “Emily, you’re next.” Although kind of nervous, Emily did as Mr. Buttler told her to do. Mr. Buttler sat by the piano to keep Emily company. When Emily finished her testing performance, she thanked Mr. Buttler and knew the result would be posted on the door of the choral room the next day.

Emily couldn’t sleep that night. She was suffering from the feelings that she didn’t fit and the great need to be accepted. By the next morning, her stomach was even in pain because of stress.

Paragraph 1: The next day, Emily nervously glanced at the list on the door of the choral room.

Paragraph 2: Finally, the day of performance came.

Saving the Daisies

Taylor aged 14 opened her sleepy eyes and looked out the window below. “NO!” she cried, now fully awake. Buttermilk the cow was in Mama’s daisy (雏菊) garden.

“I must have forgotten to close the gate last night,” Taylor thought as she pulled a sweatshirt over her head. Mama was planning to sell the daisies at the fair next week. But Buttermilk was eating the flowers. Taylor hurried outside and grabbed a rope.

“Why can’t you stay in the field?” she called to Buttermilk as she headed across the yard to the daisy garden. Buttermilk stood biting the tender flowers.

“When I grow up, I’ll be an artist and paint pictures all day,” Taylor thought. “I’ll not own a cow. Too much trouble.” Taylor was fond of painting since the day she had memory. She would like to help with family but she loved seeing birds and flowers alive under her brush more.

Just as Taylor was about to throw the rope onto Buttermilk’s collar, the family dog barked. Buttermilk couldn’t stand it and took off, tearing through the daisies. It finally ran through the open gate and into the field outside. “Thank goodness!” Taylor said as she closed the gate and secured the lock. But as she turned to look at the flower garden, most of the daisies were either eaten or left in pieces.

Mama and Dad came out of the house. “What’s going on?” Mama asked. She looked sadly at her garden. “I forgot to close the gate,” Taylor said. “I’m so sorry. ” “I know you are.” Mama sighed and gave Taylor a hug.

Taylor’s heart was heavy as she went back into the house. Mama had prepared much for the fair but now half of her efforts were in vain. Taylor decided to think of a way to make it up to her mother. The problem tasked Taylor’s mind. Could she plant other flowers in a week? Not enough time. Could she make use of the daisies in pieces? Not enough magic. Taylor found no way out.