A boy called Jimmy always arrived home hungry every day and his parents couldn’t figure out why. When Jimmy wouldn’t share what was going on, his parents decided to visit the principal (校长), hoping he could offer the answer.

After talking with Jimmy’s classmates, the principal and his parents heard a story. Although Jimmy never talked about it, his classmates told them that he always came to school without food. The principal and his parents were shocked. No wonder Jimmy was always so hungry after school! Was there something happening on the way to school?

To make the situation clear, the principal naked Jimmy’s teacher, Mr. Green, to talk to Jimmy in private. During the conversation with the teacher. Jimmy refused to say anything about the situation, leaving everyone helpless. This left the principal with no evidence to take any action regarding the missing lunch of Jimmy.

Jimmy’s parents were becoming increasingly concerned as their child continued to come home from school without saying a word. Despite their meeting in the school, they thought that they had no other ways to discover the reason why Jimmy was always so hungry. The lack of communication with their child only added to their helplessness. They knew they needed to take action, but they had no idea where to start.

Determined to get to the bottom of the problem. Jimmy’s father derided to take action again. The next day. Jimmy’s father went to school and asked to speak with Jimmy’s teacher, Mr. Green.

When Jimmy’s father reached the school, Mr. Green spoke with him and patiently answered all of his questions. However, despite a deep conversation between them, no conclusion could be reached, which still questioned Jimmy’s parents.

One day, by accident, Jimmy’s father found a thank-you letter from Jimmy’s room.

Jimmy’s parents were touched by his act of kindness.

2 . Styrofoam, or polystyrene, is a light-weight material, about 95 percent air, with very good insulation (隔热) properties, according to Earthsource. org. It is used in products from cups that keep your drinks hot or cold to packaging material that protects items during shipping. With the above good features, Styrofoam still enjoys a bad reputation. It cannot be recycled without releasing dangerous pollution into the air. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency says it is the fifth-largest creator of harmful waste.

But now the common worms which are usually disgusting can come to the rescue, specifically, meal-worms. Scientists from the U. S. and China have discovered that meal-worms can digest plastic. One meal-worm can digest a pill-sized amount of plastic a day. Study co-author Wei-Min Wu says that in 24 hours, the plastic is turned into carbon dioxide.

Since Styrofoam has no nutrition at all, are the worms hurt by eating plastic? Much to the scientists’ surprise, the study found that worms eating Styrofoam were as healthy as worms eating bran (谷糠) . The researchers will study the worm’s eating habits and digesting system, looking to copy the plastic breakdown but on a larger scale. Once the way can be put into practice, it will make a revolutionary difference to the disposal of plastic.

“Solving the issue of plastic pollution is important”, says Wu, a Stanford University environmental engineering instructor. After all, our earth is small and landfill space-is becoming limited with too much garbage waiting to be dealt with, he says.

About 33-million tons of plastic are thrown away in the United States every year. Plastic plates, cups and containers take up 25 percent to 30 percent of space in America’s landfills. One Styrofoam cup takes more than 1 million years to recycle in a landfill, according to Cleveland State University.

I used to be very active in sports and games when I was in primary school. As a result, I was chosen to represent the school in the long jump and relay events at the District Sports Meet. I promised myself I would make every effort so as not to leave the meet empty-handed.

The meeting lasted two days. Our events were scheduled for the second day. The long jump was scheduled for the early afternoon， followed by the 8 x 50m relay later in the afternoon. I thought I was a pretty good jumper, but as the competition began, I realized I was vastly outclassed. 3. 65m was not bad. But there was boy who jumped over 4 meters! We finished our jumps，and I came in fourth place， just missing out on a medal. That was disappointing, but I reminded myself that we still had a chance in the 8 X 50m relay，for which I was assigned to run the last leg.

The race was about to begin. We filed into our assigned spots and prepared for the race. After a tense minute or so, I heard the starter’s gun go off. When the first runners took off, I watched with bated breath (屏住呼吸地) as my team runners kept up with the others. As they got closer, I realized we were at least in second place.

Then came my turn. I took the baton (接力棒) cleanly and began my run. The air rushed past me as I moved closer to the next runner. I was sure the medal which we dreamed of was within easy reach. Then disaster struck! I saw a boy，about 2-or-3-year-old， run across the track into my path out of nowhere. Quite likely, his parent didn’t notice what was happening. I couldn’t get away from him fast enough. I couldn’t avoid hitting him if I continued running for my medal.

I had to make a decision in only seconds.

I cried, realizing I missed out on another medal.

8 . I was walking down the road one day when my cell phone rang. A _________ voice on the other end spoke to me, “Dad, please come back soon. I miss you so much.” I judged that it was a _________ number. A little while later, the call came once again, so I rudely _________, “You’ve dialed the wrong number!” and then _________ up.

During the following days, I got the same _________ now and then. But I didn’t care much about it. Then one day she constantly called me, _________ I didn’t answer. Finally I answered the phone and heard a weak voice, “Dad, please come back. I miss you so much! Dad, I’m in so much pain! Mom said you were too _________ to take care of me. But, dad, please _________ me again, OK?” The innocent (天真无邪的) request was difficult to _________. I made a loud kiss on the __________. Then I heard the weak __________ say, “Thank you Dad, I am so happy, so happy…”

Shortly after this, I became __________ about who had been on the other end of my phone. So I called __________, and a woman answered, “Sorry, sir. I am really sorry to have bothered you. My daughter has __________ from bone cancer since she was born. And her father __________ in an accident a short while ago. I dare not tell her this __________ news. Poor baby! When she couldn’t bear the painful chemotherapy (化疗), she would cry for her dad, who had always __________ her. I __________ couldn’t bear it, so I gave her a random (任意的) number”.

“How is your daughter now?” I couldn’t wait to __________.

“She has __________. You must have kissed her on the phone, because she went with a smile, tightly holding the cell phone”.

Tears blurred (模糊) my eyes.

It was the first week of Lily’s middle school. The bell’s ringing brought her out of her daydreaming. She nervously gathered her books, preparing to reach another classroom for the next new class.

Lily followed the other kids and rushed into the hallway. Others walked in groups, chatted, and laughed, using the break to socialize. Lily, instead, walked alone along the wall of the hallway, with her head down. She was a shy girl, afraid to speak in front of other kids, and didn’t think others would like her.

Lily finally sat in Mr. Johnson’s Language Arts class nervously. “Welcome to Language Arts,” said Mr. Johnson. He told jokes as he talked about English. Lily forgot to daydream and laughed along with the rest of the class. “We’ll have some fun with language,” he said. “Just wait and see.”

Fun was far beyond what Lily desired. She just wanted to be like other kids—running with friends in the hallway, laughing and joking between classes. Reminded of her pimply (长粉刺的) face, she felt hopeless and disappointed.

“Take out a piece of paper,” the teacher continued, when pointing at words on the blackboard. “Write for the next thirty minutes on this topic.” Lily began writing crazily as idea after idea fought for recognition in her head. The final result was a short story about a beautiful beach house. As she wrote, she could smell the salty air, hear the crashing waves and feel the pull of the sand beneath her feet. For just a moment, she forgot where she was. She was lost in the story.

“OK, pass your papers forward,” said the teacher. “Let’s see what we have.” For the rest of the class time, the teacher read each individual work aloud. Lily originally thought it would be awkward. However, she was gradually attracted by the excitement in the teacher’s voice. “He’s actually enjoying this,” she thought. When the class would be soon over, there were still fifteen students’ papers not read, including Lily’s paper. Then, Mr. Johnson announced his decision, asking these students to read their work themselves in front of the class next class.

A week later, the bell rang and the Language Arts class began again.

After Lily finished her reading, the clapping from her classmates continued for a long time.