Steve, a twelve-year-old boy with alcoholic parents, was about to be lost forever, by the U. S. education system. Remarkably, he could read; yet, in spite of his reading skills, Steve had been failing since first grade. Sadly, no one noticed him until Miss White, a smiling, young, beautiful redhead.

Steve was immediately attracted by Miss White at the first sight! Yet, still he failed. He never did his homework, and he was always in trouble with Miss White. In the middle of the first semester, the entire seventh grade was tested for basic skills. Steve hurried through his tests, and continued to dream of other things. His heart was not in school, but in the woods, where he often escaped alone, trying to shut out the sights, sounds and smells of his alcoholic home. No one checked on him to see if he was safe. No one knew he was gone, because no one cared about him. Oddly, Steve never missed a day of school.

One day, Miss White’s impatient voice broke into his daydreams. “Steve!” Alarmed, he turned to look at her. “Pay attention!”

“You all did pretty well,” she told the class, “except for one boy, and it breaks my heart to tell you this, but…” She hesitated, pinning Steve to his seat with a sharp stare, her eyes searching his face. “…. The smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class!”

She just stared at Steve, as the class spun around for a good look. Steve dropped his eyes and carefully examined his fingertips.

After that, Steve still wouldn’t do his homework. Even as the punishments became more severe, he remained stubborn.

“Just try it! ONE WEEK!” He was unmoved.

“Give yourself a chance! Don’t give up on your life!” Nothing swayed him. “Steve! Please! I care about you!”

Wow! Suddenly, Steve got if!!! Someone cared about him? Someone, CARED

ABOUT HIM!

Steve went home from school, thoughtful, that afternoon.

The following Monday, Miss White gave a quiz on the weekend homework as usual.

I’ll never forget that hot and windy day when I passed my driving test. The instructor just told me that I passed and he was talking to me about my test as I was full of smiles. I looked over at my dad and he was staring at(盯着) his phone with a strange look. And then the instructor and I went on with our own business.

“Excuse me sir, but I must take this call …” my father rudely cut in. I was so embarrassed because there were signs all over the DMV (车管局) office that read: CELL PHONES MUST BE TURNED OFF. He opened his phone and said, “Hello?” The look on his face was unforgettable as he turned so white. I knew something was wrong. My first thought was that someone was in the hospital or had died. Although no one had died, little did I know that the phone call was going to change my life forever.

The call was from the North Middleton Fire Department and they told my father that he needed to get to the house as soon as possible. My dad was about to shut his phone when suddenly I heard my old sister on the phone. All I could hear was her crying crazily and shouting “Fire”! I had one thought going through my head at that moment, and it was her son, Tom.

Did my sister get him out of the house in time? He was only six months old and I loved him more than anything in the world. We ran out of the DMV office both in complete shock. My dad was driving anxiously and quickly. At this point I didn’t even know how to prepare myself. The thought of my house burning to the ground didn’t seem to be real. I kept telling my dad it probably wasn’t even that bad and to stop driving like a crazy man.

The drive from the DMV office to my house is only a fifteen-minute drive, but it felt like forever. Finally, we were half a mile away from the house.

All we could see was black smoke filling the sky.

Suddenly, I found my sister sitting in our neighbor’s yard, without Tom beside her.

I'm Li Hua，a Chinese student，studying in Ottawa. I'm writing to

Yours，

Li Hua

6 . Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are causing heartache. Libraries know they need digital wares if they are to remain relevant, but many publishers are too careful about piracy and lost sales to co-operate. Among the big six, only Random House and Harper Collins license e-books with most libraries. The others have either denied requests or are reluctantly experimenting.

Publishers are wise to be nervous. Owners of e-readers are exactly the customers they need: book-lovers with money—neither the devices nor broadband connections come cheap. If these wonderful people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then? Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient. Unlike printed books, which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live, book files can be downloaded at home. Digital library catalogues are often browsed at night from a; comfortable sofa. The files disappear from the device when they are due. Awkwardly for publishers, buying an e-book costs more, than renting one but offers little extra value.

You cannot resell it, lend it to a friend or burn it to stay warm. Owning a book is useful if you want to savor (品尝) it repeatedly, but who reads “Fifty Shades of Grey” twice?

E-lending is not simple, however. There are lots of different and often incompatible e-book formats, devices and licences. Most libraries use a company called Over Drive, a global distributor that secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format. Yet publishers and libraries are worried by Over Drived market dominance, as the company can increasingly dictate fees and conditions.

Library boosters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers, and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work. Many were cheered by a recent Pewsurvey, which found that more than half of Americans with Horary cards say they prefer to buy their e-books. But the report also noted that few people know that e-books are available at most libraries, and that popular titles often involve long waiting lists, which may be what inspires people to buy.

So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in search of the right balance. The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter.

A Note of the Nicest Things

He was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary’s school. All of my students were dear to me, except Mark Eklund. He often talked constantly. I had to remind him again and again that talking without permission was not acceptable.

One morning my patience was growing thin, and then I made a new teacher’s mistake. I looked at him, saying, “If you say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth shut!”

It wasn’t ten seconds later when Chuck, another student, blurted out, “Mark is talking again.” Since I had stated the punishment, I had to act on it. I took a roll of tape out of my drawer. Without saying a word, I proceeded to Mark’s desk, tore off two pieces of tape and made a big X over his mouth. When I walked back to Mark’s desk and removed the tape, his first words were, “Thank you for correcting me, Sister.”

One Friday, I asked the students to list the names of the other students, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to write down the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates. As they left, each one handed me the paper.

That Saturday, I wrote down the name of each student and listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday I gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. “Really?” I heard the whispers. “I never knew that meant anything to anyone!” “I didn’t know others liked me so much!” Then Mark said, “Thank you for teaching me, Sister.”

Years later, after I returned from vacation, my parents met me at the airport. My father cleared his throat as he usually did before saying something important. “The Eklunds called last night,” he began. “Really?” I said. “I haven’t heard from them in years. I wonder how Mark is.” Dad responded quietly. “Mark was killed in Vietnam,” he said. “The funeral is tomorrow, and his parents would like it if you could attend.”

I had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before, so handsome, so mature.

9 . Competition is a common phenomenon in our social life.     1     There is constant competition for academic degrees, jobs, customers, money and so forth. In a sense, competition is one of the motive forces to the development of society.

    2     Therefore, the only way to survive is to be competitive. Growing in a competitive environment is important for a child because future adult life is difficult. Finding a good job, for example, is an extremely competitive activity.

Today, most people obtain knowledge through various ways and a large number of people get good education.     3    The quality of people is rapidly increasing. Competition is more violent than what we thought it should be. The potentially successful job applicant has to be prepared in stronger position by gaining more qualifications and experience. In the sports contests, the strongest will come out as winners. In the business world, to beat your competitors, you must be better than the other employees.     4    

Though the only way our world rewards people is to give honor to the winners, not to the losers, by attempting to compete at different activities, we can still learn to win and lose, gain experience and know our strengths and weaknesses. Competition prepares us for the tough things in life.

Whether in games, in study or in business alike, the aim is to win the game, the degree, the trophy, and the contract.     5    

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Yours,

Li Hua