On the morning of our long- awaited graduation day, expectation filled the air as I together with my best friends Sarah, Maria and Grace gathered our bags, waited for the plane and set about our adventure to Barcelona. For months, we had been dreaming about this moment, which marked the end of years of burying ourselves in hard work and staying dedicated. It was three months ago in a history class that we were drawn to its rich history, from the medieval streets of the Gothic Quarter to the groundbreaking historical architecture of Antoni Gaudi.

The happiness of burying ourselves in a new culture, filled with amazing and new cuisine and friendly people, advanced our excitement. However, despite our enthusiasm, we couldn’t ignore the fact that none of us spoke Spanish so fluently. On the day before setting off, we were still hesitant about whether to go or not. While surfing on the Internet for advice, we found that most people travelling to Barcelona considered the locals friendly and warm-hearted ones who are always willing to offer help. A sense of relief and expectation took the place of the worries. We made up our minds to go there.

As we stepped off the plane, bathed in Spanish warm sunshine, our spirits rose high. We kicked off our journey with a wander down Las Ramblas, enjoying the energy and talent of street performers. Down by the street, the traditional buildings and precious cultural sites were a true feast for the eyes.

Yet, the days passing by, unforeseen challenges began to take place. On the last day of the journey, as we were lost in the beauty of the amazing squares and traditional buildings, Sarah put forward that we could play the game of cat and mouse to better explore the architectures. After arranging our roles, we ran towards different directions to hide, while the cat, Sarah, began to count down to find and catch us.

Hiding myself in the corner of a hall, I carefully observed Sarah.

Panic seized our group as we found Sarah's left arm bleeding.

ONE DOLLAR AND EIGHTY-SEVEN CENTS. That was all she had. Della counted it three times. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas. If she was to buy a nice gift for her husband Jim. she would need more money. But how could she earn some? Della stood in front of the mirror in her apartment, She looked at her reflection, brushed her long, brown hair, and made up her mind: she was going to sell her hair. With the money she received for it, she would buy Jim a perfect gift.

Della had her hair cut off and sold it for twenty dollars. She spent the next two hours hunting for Jim’s gift. She found it at last: a simple but beautiful watch chain for his gold watch, which had been passed down to him from his grandfather. Della paid twenty-one dollars for the watch chain, and hurried home with the remaining eighty-seven cents. She looked at her reflection in the mirror carefully again. She felt nervous.

Did she look like a little schoolboy without her beautiful long hair? Would Jim still think she was pretty? She was about to find out.

Tripod’s story started one spring morning as I was finishing a morning surgery at the veterinary clinic (兽医诊所) I owned. I was writing up medical records of the surgery patients when my receptionist (接待员) stuck her head into my office. She told me there was a big cat lying outside with a seriously injured front leg. What’s worse, nobody knew whom it belonged to.

Then I sent two of my pre-vet students to pick up the poor cat while I went back to my record-keeping. But it wasn’t long before I heard the students returning with this newest patient who seemed to be in pretty bad condition.

I carefully checked up the injuries which seemed to be caused by the pressing of a heavy object. With the extremely horrible smell, I knew from years of experience this cat didn’t have an owner. “Well, then,” I sighed, “I’m not sure whether we are able to bring this cat back to life, but let’s give him our best shot anyway. Afterwards, let’s see if we can find a home for him. ”

Just then, when one of the students began touching the cat’s head gently, somewhere deep in the cat’s throat, a weak purr (呼噜声) began. As the student continued to pet the cat, I noticed the cat’s breathing became less laboured (缓慢而困难的).

When I performed the complicated operation, I whispered, “You’re a fighter, aren’t you, boy? You deserve a chance to live.” However, after the surgery, he lost one leg, and still struggled with life and death. Over the next few weeks, Tripod, the cat, went through many ups and downs, but I was sure about his resilience (快速恢复的能力). News about Tripod spread. A number of customers stopped by regularly to check on the progress of his recovery, including Mrs Melson, a pet lover.

The day finally came when I decided Tripod had really recovered.

Though unwilling to part with Tripod, we were happy to see Mrs Melson come for him.

Sometimes difficulties can bring people closer together. The snowstorm was supposed to hit the evening of Monday, Jan. 31. I was working from home, but I had to leave that afternoon and go to my office at First Nations University, so I could sign an emergency financial aid check for a student. I wasn’t worried. I figured I had more than enough time to make it to the office and get back home. I arrived at the office, finished the business successfully and brought the scarves I had prepared for my two daughters to the car. To be safe, I decided to take the country roads back home instead of the highway, which could fast become a skating rink.

However, the snow started earlier than expected-and it was coming down fast! The road soon switched from paved (柏油路) to gravel (碎石路), forcing me to slow down. The windows were fogging up and getting covered with snow. I didn’t have a clue where I was or even which side of the road I was on. What I knew was just that I was among several big farms. I stopped because I was afraid of driving into a farmer’s field. Luckily, I had filled up my car with gas. I kept the car running to stay warm and called 911. The dispatcher (调度员) told me to sit tight and wait things out for the night—nobody was coming to get me until morning, at the earliest.

Getting out to walk in a whiteout with zero visibility, high winds and a temperature around minus 4 degrees—when I didn’t even know where I was—wasn’t an option. It was now about 7 p. m. and dark. Misfortune never came alone. I just realized that my phone has run out of battery. I was at a loss and looked around to find a way to escape from the desperate situation. Suddenly, I saw a tall figure in a yellow raincoat shaking in the dark, carrying a flashlight and other farming tools. I invited him into the car and knew that he was Andy, a farmer living on the other side of the farm with his wife.

The cold wind outside made him look pale and he was trembling.

After driving in the darkness for a long time, we finally stopped before a farmhouse with lights still on.

Mo and Terry were best friends. Whether they were walking to school, doing homework or just hanging out at the weekend, they were hardly out of each other’s sight. But several weeks ago, Terry started to stay away from Mo, which confused Mo.

This day, they had a physics exam, so Mo was waiting outside her class. She hated physics, because it was her worst subject. Terry looked back at her from the front, then looked away quickly. Mo thought she looked guilty. Terry didn’t have a problem with physics.

“Hi, Mo. What’s wrong with Terry? I thought you were friends,” said one of her classmates, as Mo arrived.

“Yes, so did I,” said Mo, “but she hasn’t spoken to me for two weeks. She promised to help me revise for the physics exam, but then she ignored all my calls and texts. And when I rang her house, her mum told me she was busy. She doesn’t remember who her friends are!” said Mo angrily.

The other students were going into the exam room. The exam started. Mo couldn’t answer question number five. She looked up and saw Terry sitting in the next row. Mo was surprised. Terry was holding her phone under the table and she was reading from it. Is that how Terry always got good grades? She felt really angry at Terry but didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t fair! Mo never cheated and she failed lots of exams.

Terry had already put her phone away when Mo looked up again. She looked back at Mo and smiled sadly. Actually, Terry’s family were having a terrible time: her father was in the hospital because of a heart attack. Her father had a big operation today, and Terry was very worried. She couldn’t wait to check her mother’s message on the phone. But Mo knew nothing about it.

The bell rang. “Stop writing and put your pens down,” said Mr. Reed, a caring and easygoing teacher who was popular among students. Oh no, Mo hadn’t answered two of the questions. She was going to fail again!

After the test, Mo wanted to talk to Terry, but she couldn’t find her. She was angry with Terry but she didn’t know what to do about Terry. Then, Mo decided to go to the office.

“Mr. Reed, I have something to tell you.” Mo whispered.

Knowing the truth, Mo felt guilty.

My family had only recently moved into a new neighborhood. All of my neighbors have been very friendly and helpful since we moved in.

However, Mrs Davis, an elderly lady living in the last house on the other side of the road, escaped associating with us, or anyone else. When I asked around the neighborhood why, they warned me not to go after her because they thought she was insane (精神失常的) and preferred staying alone after losing her husband and only daughter in an aircraft crash. After that, she stayed isolated (孤立的) from all the neighbors, refusing all the care and help.

I often saw her on the streets during the evening, but she was always by herself. She appeared weak and I always wanted to help her, but after hearing what my neighbors had said about her, I wasn’t sure whether I should.

One day, when I was on my way to the supermarket, our paths crossed. I was walking past her and overheard her singing a tune. It immediately drew my attention because my parents used to sing the same song with me. I began to sing along with her, and she smiled at me for the first time. But when I smiled back, she quickly hurried her pace and went home.

She seemed very different to me that day. I refused to trust my neighbors’ claims that she had cut herself off from the rest of society because she was insane, so the next day, I knocked on her door. Mrs Davis was home, and instead of letting me in, she just looked at me silently through the window. I noticed her staring at me and was about to walk to the window when she quickly closed the curtains.

The next day, I revisited her house. “Hello, I brought you something,” I called out to her. “It’s the record of the music you were singing yesterday.”

The door opened and Mrs Davis’ eyes widened in surprise at the sight of me standing there.

Several days later in the morning, the doorbell rang at my house.

On the walk home from school, my friend, Cherry, happily said, “Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. I’ve been saving up for the past month and plan to buy my mother the perfume (香水) she’s been wanting for so long.” Her excitement made me realize that I hadn’t prepared anything special yet. But I only had a little money left. I began to regret spending so much on snacks every day. “See you next week!” Cherry’s voice pulled me back to reality. We waved goodbye as she went into a perfume shop.

I continued walking along the road, carefully thinking about what gift I should choose. I planned to buy something like flowers or chocolate, but now it seemed like those were way too simple. Therefore, I pushed open the door to a mall (商场) and tried to find the perfect gift. The bright lights illuminated (照亮) the collection of various goods. I picked up a lipstick (口红) but immediately (立即) put it back after seeing its price. I could never afford that! Then I walked into another shop and saw a lovely cup. This cup, besides being beautiful, would also remind my mother to drink water. It’d be a wonderful gift. I picked it up and turned it over to see the price listed, hoping it was not too expensive. But once again, I couldn’t afford it even with all the money that I had. Feeling sad, I continued to wander around the shops. Time flew by quickly, and before I knew it, the sky began to darken, so I had to go home.

Since there was no time or money for me to pick out a gift, I decided to make a simple card. When I finished, the clock on my bedroom wall struck 11 p.m. I held up the card, examining its hardcover, handwritten letters, and the tiny pictures I’d drawn of my mom and me. It’s probably never going to compare to the expensive gifts that my friends bought for their mothers, I thought sadly.