Jack was a bright and curious child, always eager to learn new things and explore the mysterious world about science. However, he often found himself in disagreement with his mother. His mother was always busy with her work and she didn’t have enough time to learn about his interests and passions.

One day, Jack came home from school feeling particularly excited. He just found a sci-fi book about an adventure on the moon. Upon arriving at home, he couldn’t tear himself away from the book. He read and read until it was dark. Having finished reading it, he couldn’t wait to share it with his mother, only to be told that he should focus on more practical subjects like math and history, which would help him get into a good college and have a successful career.

Jack couldn’t understand why his mother didn’t see the value in what he was doing. He felt that she was holding him back and not allowing him to pursue his true interests. “Why can’t you see how important this is to me?” Jack asked his mother angrily. “I’m never going to be happy if I have to spend my life doing things that I show no interest in just because they are practical or make you proud.”

The once peaceful home was filled with tension and anger. His mother’s voice grew louder as she shouted, “You can’t just do whatever you want! You should be responsible for your future!” Jack, fueled by his own frustration, shot back, “I am tired of you always telling me what to do! I am not a child anymore! You only care about your own feeling! You never thought about my feeling!” They were so caught up in their own anger and hurt that they failed to see how their words and actions were affecting each other.

Jack rushed into his bedroom and locked the door heavily.

When Jack heard his mother’s words, regretful tears rolled down his face.

Surfing is a thrilling sport that requires a great deal of skill, strength, calm and determination. For teenagers, riding the waves can make their blood racing and is an addictive experience. This is the story of one teenager’s unforgettable adventure while surfing. Alex is a 16-year-old boy who grew up in a small coastal town. He is an enthusiastic surfer and spent most of his free time riding the waves. One sunny morning, he headed out to the beach to catch some waves.

As he arrived at the beach, the sun was shining, and the waves were perfect. He grabbed his surfboard and paddled (用桨划) out into the water. He spent the next few hours surfing, and as the sun began to set, he decided to catch one more wave before heading back to shore.

Alex spotted a huge wave on the horizon and knew he had to ride it. He paddled as fast as he could, feeling the water beneath him push him forward. As he reached the top of the wave, he stood up on his board and felt the wind rush past him. The wave was huge, and Alex felt a rush of excitement as he rode it towards the shore.

But as he approached the shore, he noticed something unusual. The water was moving violently, and he could hear a strange noise coming from beneath him. Suddenly, the wave crashed down on him, and he was thrown from his board. He hit the water hard and was pulled under by the current.

Alex struggled to reach the surface but found himself trapped in a powerful current. The current was pulling him out to sea, and he could feel himself getting further and further away from the shore. Panic set in, and he began to fear for his life.

But Alex was determined not to give up.

The boat noticed him and headed towards him.

It was exam time at Marc’s school. Every day, their teachers gave them loads of homework and told them the test was very important and that they ought to spare no effort to perform well in it. Everyone followed the teachers’ instructions and made preparations for it, except Marc. He just turned a deaf ear to it. He thought he would rather play football than study.

His mum and dad repeated the importance of revision for exams over and over again. They told him that he should be working hard preparing for the test. But the weather was sunny and he thought he had better things to do.

“Shall we go to the park?” he said to his friend Huck one afternoon. “It’s a nice day. We could play football and kick around.” Huck shook his head. “I’m supposed to review my lessons,” he said. “I’m going home to do some math.”

Marc was amazed. “You’d rather do math than play football?”

“Math is important. Besides, my mum says she will buy me a mountain bike if I do well in the math exam.”

“That’s crazy,” said Marc. Huck shrugged (耸肩) and replied, “Wait until I beat you in the test and you will watch me riding past on my mountain bike!”

“You won’t beat me,” said Marc.

“Oh yes, I will.”

“Oh no, you won’t! That will never happen. Just wait and see!”

For the first time ever, Marc wanted to perform well. He couldn’t bear it if his friend came top and he did badly. So when he got home, he opened his math book. But there was so much to do. All of a sudden, he felt like he’d forgotten everything he had learned that year! He didn’t know where to start. When his sister Lily came in, he was sitting expressionlessly by the desk, just staring out of the window.

“You don’t look happy, Marc. What’s wrong?” she said.

On the day of the exam, Marc went to school with great confidence.

8 . Sue and Johnsy had their art studio in Greenwich Village.In November,an unknown disease struck this village and Johnsy was seriously sick with it. The doctor took Sue aside and claimed, “She has one chance in ten. And that chance is for her to want to live.”

Sue came into Johnsy’s room, only to find Johnsy’s eyes were open, but they weren’t watching her.Instead,she stared out the window and counted backwards: “Ten, nine, eight, seven... ”

“What are you counting, dear?” asked Sue. “They’re falling faster now,” replied Johnsy. “Three days ago there were almost a hundred. But now there are only five left. When the last one falls, I must go, too. Didn’t the doctor tell you? ”

“Oh, I never heard of such nonsense. Now, try to take some broth(肉汤)，and let yourself relax,” quickly replied Sue. But Johnsy’s mind was made up. “I don’t want any broth. I just want to see the last leaf fall.”

“Try to sleep,” said Sue. Then she went to fetch her neighbour Mr Behrman, a failed painter, to be a model for her drawing. In 40 years he had never produced the masterpiece he longed to paint. Sue told him about Johnsy’s longing to slip away like the leaves. Behrman cried with disbelief, “Such a foolish idea! This is not a place in which Miss Johnsy shall lie sick. Someday I will create a masterpiece, and we shall all go away.”

Behrman and Sue looked out of the window at the vine(藤蔓)and noticed that there was just one remaining leaf. Then they looked at each other for a moment without speaking as if thinking of something artistic. What’s more, a cold rain was falling, mixed with snow.

The next morning, Johnsy woke and asked for the curtains to be opened. One leaf remained on the vine, bravely holding on in the wind and rain. ‘‘It will fall today, for sure. And I will die with it.

That day in the afternoon, the doctor came, not for Johnsy, but for Mr Behrman, who was found lying in bed helplessly with pain, his shoes and clothing wet through and icy cold, and some brushes, paints, a lantern and a ladder on the ground.

The following day, Johnsy commanded that the curtain be raised again.

Every time Jim crossed the street on his way to work, he would see a little girl selling flowers on the street. She sat by a large green board with the names of the flowers and their prices on it. Unfortunately, no one paid attention to her, and she rarely sold anything. Jim wanted to help her, and one day he got his chance. His aunt would retire, and he thought a bouquet (花束) would be a great gift.

“Hello, could you please make me a bouquet of roses?” Jim said as he approached the girl.

The girl didn’t raise her head and just stared at the same spot on the ground. “I’m Cassy. Thank you for buying flowers from me,” she said. “Could you please select the flowers by yourself and give them to me? I will tie them together for you. I can’t see. ”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jim said as he picked the flowers and handed them to her. Within several seconds, the girl made a lovely bouquet for Jim.

“Here,” she said, holding the bouquet. “That’ll be $5.”

“Thanks. They’re beautiful,” Jim said and walked away after placing the money in the hat beside Cassy.

The next day, Jim went to work and he decided to have a quick talk with Cassy on the way. However, he didn’t see Cassy where she used to be that morning. He thought she might be late and decided to meet her the next day, but she didn’t show up for the next few days in a row (连续地).

Jim was concerned about Cassy, wondering if something bad had happened to Cassy. Surprisingly, he finally met Cassy again on the street with her flowers.

Jim was so delighted to see Cassy that he ran to her at once.

Jim then drove Cassy to her home, where he met her sick mother, Jade.

This morning I went shopping and in a surrounded area where the shopping trolleys(购物车) are housed, I saw a young man who appeared very troubled. He was thin, dirty and very much alone. I went over to see if he was OK and asked if I could get him something. He said he was OK and that he didn’t want anything.

Oh, my heart went out to this man who appeared to have a mental(精神的)illness and to be homeless. He was so tired and he looked very sad. His feet were in worn shoes. He had a small backpack, a cap, a pair of well-worn runners and a can of coke with him.

While shopping I kept an eye on him to see if he’d moved away or was still there. As he hadn’ t moved on, I bought him a sandwich, a couple of bottles of water, some bananas, muesli bars and some cheese and put them in a bag for him.

As I gave the bag to him, I sensed he was astonished at the simple act of kindness. He said, “You didn’t have to do that for me”, to which I answered “I wanted to. ” I spoke to him again as I was returning my trolley and he was clearly mentally unwell but I took the time to listen to him.

He introduced himself as Nathan and I introduced myself to him. I hope Nathan felt a little bit of love and human kindness today in a world where many people like him are ignored(忽视), and given up. I’m sure Nathan never expected to be where he was now when he was growing up.

I won’ t forget Nathan easily. His sad brown eyes, his tiredness and my short connection with him today touched me deeply. I wonder what situations have brought him to his present state. I came to know his past experiences.

He lost everything, including his parents, in a hurricane (飓风).

I happened to know from our talk that the next day was his birthday.