1 . Once there was a dandelion (蒲公英) living alone by the road. It felt bored and sad all day as no one ever stopped to take a look at or talk to it.

One day, a mother was walking on the road with her baby. The baby was crying hard and loudly. No matter what the mother did, she couldn’t get the baby to stop crying. Then the mother looked down, and she found the lonely dandelion. It looked so lovely in the sun with its white seeds widely open, and more beautiful than other plants around.

The mother squatted down, (蹲下) picking the dandelion softly. Then she brought it up to her baby so that he could see it clearly. When the baby saw the flowers of the dandelion, he quickly stopped crying and looked at them with interest.

His mom put the dandelion near her mouth and blew the flowers up and down. The dandelion seeds then flew in the air, spreading far away with the wind. The mother gave the dandelion to her son. He didn’t know what the plant was, but he knew it was fun to play with, which made him giggle (咯咯笑) so happily.

Now the dandelion knew its value and didn’t feel sad. It lived a beautiful life just by being itself. It wasn’t as beautiful as other flowers, but it brought the child a simple kind of happiness that money can’t buy.

The dandelion’s story tells us that everyone is special and great. We can help others in one way or another. We’re far greater than we think we are.

7 . Little Oliver was Mason and Rebecca’s miracle child. Rebecca suffered three miscarriages (流产) before Oliver was born. When they were still in extreme _________, Rebecca accidentally found the little boy never reacted to any sound. After examination it was confirmed that Oliver was born _________.

Facing such a blow, Mason and Rebecca never felt _________. A few weeks later, Oliver got his first hearing aid. Despite several _________, Oliver could at last hear! Rebecca and Mason were delighted.

Three years passed, and it was time to send Oliver to _________. But the first day Oliver returned home _________. “I don-don’t want to go to school... I have no friends...”

One day, Rebecca and Mason were called to the school, where Oliver’s teacher, Sophia told them Oliver never _________ with his classmates. He was afraid that his classmates would _________ him over his deafness. Though Sophia talked to him again, he was _________ to communicate.

Rebecca and Mason told her their son was __________ for friendship inside’ Sophia decided they had to do something to help Oliver out of his __________. They made a plan and put it into action on his sixth birthday. Oliver __________ his classroom and found it decorated with balloons. He was surprised and sat in his chair,__________ what was happening. Suddenly, all his classmates marched inside. They all wore colorful birthday caps and smiled at him. Oliver’s eyes rose with tears as he watched them sing a happy birthday song in __________. They had learned sign language to surprise the birthday boy and make him feel __________. Oliver was touched. It felt like heaven to be surrounded by friends.

8 . Traveling itself is an experience hard to be described in words.     1     Especially the solo (独自) traveling experience is so transforming that it lives with you forever. Here I am sharing some lessons.

    2     Thinking how I would manage my entire day among strangers on campus, I pretended to be sick. Then I had the same feeling when I was planning to travel alone. Exploring a city on my own was a big fear for me but I successfully managed it all and now, I seek out new opportunities and experiences. I love to push myself.    3    

Having grown up and lived all my life in a single place, I had a small set of friends since my school days which continued till my college days.    4     I met a few very interesting people with whom I could feel an instant connect and got some new friends for life.

I totally agree that traveling with family and friends is fun and enjoying. But traveling alone is satisfying too. It’s among those few things that you do for yourself and nobody else.    5     During my solo travels I have explored my inner self and have expanded my boundaries which people around me have acknowledged at times.