2 . It was nearly dark. The sun was dropping down behind the mountain. Little Tom came back home, with tears in his eyes.

“What’s the matter, Tom? How’s your trip?” his mother asked with a big smile.

“I failed. The mountain is so high and full of big or small stones on the way. I still wanted to go ahead, but I was tired and it was so late that I had to come back,” Tom cried.

“It doesn’t matter. You are only 14 years old after all. You will have another chance,” his mother said.

“But standing at the top of the mountain is my dream!” Tom said.

His father came over and asked, “Did you see the green trees on your way to the mountain?”

“Sure, and there were a lot of beautiful flowers on both sides of the road,” Tom replied.

“Did you hear the birds singing?” his father asked.

“There were many kinds of birds singing in the trees, and the sound was very sweet,” Tom said.

“Did you feel the beauty of nature?” his father asked.

“Yes, the blue sky, the white clouds, the green trees and the colourful flowers made a nice picture,” Tom answered.

“That’s enough!” his father smiled and said. “Please remember, son, for often, completing your goal (目标) is not the most important thing. You didn’t reach the top of the mountain, but you got a lot on the way.”

“It is true that not every dream will come true, and that not every job will end up with a success. The most beautiful views are on the way.

4 . My name is Jimmy. One Thursday afternoon, when I was in senior one, a new boy came into my classroom. He was short and thin. He walked up to the teacher and told her, very seriously, that he was new. His name was Christian. He sat down, took a look at me, and then looked away. I didn’t think he was very nice and I was sure he wasn’t the type I would like to become friends with.

During that year, I didn’t talk to him much, but he smiled at me when our eyes met, always shyly. He never ate lunch with anybody, and he never talked to anybody but me.

But one day I joined those unkind kids who were making fun of him. We made fun of him though I thought it was wrong.

“Haven’t you got any friends?” a kid asked Christian, who had walked past us alone, head down.

“No, he hasn’t got any friends. He’s too stupid and shy,” I said. Then Christian looked up at me with the saddest dog eyes I had ever seen. I felt very sorry at that moment.

That night, I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t get Christian’s face out of my mind. In the weeks that followed, he never met my eyes in class and never smiled at me. It was really hard for me to decide to write him a note asking him to forgive (原谅) me. But I thought I should.

The next day in class, I wrote him a note telling him how sorry I felt. About five minutes later, I turned and saw tears in his eyes. “You will never realize what your apology (道歉) has meant to me, Jimmy.” he said to me. “I hope we can become friends.”

We had lunch together that noon and we had the best talk I had ever had. Over the years at high school, we were close friends.

When I think back, I realize that, if I had not apologized, I would never have known what a lovely person Christian was.

Apologies can really change your life, so never miss the chance to tell somebody you are sorry.