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.

On the campus of Maplewood High School, Lily, Tom, and Sarah faced their own challenges but got through in the tight-knit community of their school.

Lily, a shy and reserved girl, struggled with her studies. She often felt stressed by the coursework and was too embarrassed to seek help. Meanwhile, Tom a talented athlete, faced difficulties in balancing his academics with his sports commitments. And Sarah, an ambitious musician, lacked the confidence to perform in front of others.

One fateful day, their lives intertwined (交织) in unexpected ways. It started when Lily found herself in need of a tutor (导师) to help her grasp the concepts in math. Feeling hesitant, she reached Sarah, who surprised her by offering to lend a helping hand.

As Sarah and Lily spent hours together studying, they formed a deep bond of friendship. Sarah’s patience and encouragement helped boost Lily’s confidence, and gradually, she began to stand out in her math glass. Grateful for Sarah’s support, Lily wanted to repay he favor in any way she could.

Around the same time, Tom faced a dilemma (窘境). He had an important basketball game coming up, but his grades were slipping down, putting his quality to play in jeopardy (麻烦). Feeling sad, he turned to Lily for help, knowing that she had made significant progress in math. “Let’s meet up after practice and go over the material together,” Lily offered.

Together, Lily and Tom began a journey of academic improvement. With Lily’s guidance, Tom managed to raise his grades and maintain his spot on the basketball team. As they worked side by side, they discovered the power of teamwork and perseverance (坚持).

Meanwhile, Sarah got stuck in her fear of performing in front of an audience.

Her excellent performances impressed the audience.

On a bitterly cold January day, I saw Bobby in my fourth-grade classroom for the first time. He was wearing worn-out shirt and jeans, obviously too small. One of his shoes was missing a lace, flopping (移动) up and down when he walked. He looked so disgusting that nobody would treat him as a normal child.

Bobby’s behavior was strange, too. His normal tone of voice was a yell. He never made eye contact with anyone, and made his comments continuously during class.

Besides, Bobby’s academic skills were non-existent. He couldn’t read or write, not even the letters of the alphabet.

I thought Bobby should belong in a classroom that taught basic social skills. I checked his records and was shocked to learn that his IQ was normal. The school counselor (辅导顾问) told me that Bobby was a lot closer to normal than his mother was. He had been placed in Children’s Welfare Home for the first three years of his life before he was returned to his mother. They had moved to a different town at least once a year. Bobby’s intelligence was normal, so he would remain in my classroom.

I hated it but had to accept his being in my class. I had never taught someone like Bobby before. It was a struggle to even plan lessons for him. I took pride in being a good teacher, and I was disgusted with myself for not liking him and not wanting him in my class. One day, Bobby came into the classroom with his shirt torn and his nose bloodied. He had been jumped on by a group of my students. Bobby sat down and opened his book, pretending nothing had happened. Blood and tears dropped onto the pages. I sent Bobby to the nurse and scolded (训斥，责骂) those students angrily. I yelled that they ought to be ashamed of themselves for not liking him just because he acted strangely. His being different was even more reason to treat him kindly.

That incident changed how I felt about Bobby.

It was amazing to see the change in Bobby that resulted from the new clothes and extra attention.

My first year of senior high school felt awkward. The school was twice as big as my old school, and to make matters worse, my closest friends went to a different high school. I felt very lonely.

One cold and windy Sunday afternoon, I was sitting at home at our dining room table doing homework, with a fire going in our fireplace. As usual, my cat was lying on top of my papers, purring(发出呼噜声)loudly. She was never far from me. I had rescued her when she was a kitten and put my name on her collar in case she got lost again.

Suddenly, I smelled something strange, and then I noticed that smoke was pouring in. It filled the room so quickly that we all ran out into the front yard. By the time we made our way outside, the whole roof was in flames and the fire was spreading quickly.

When the fire was finally out, our house was almost completely burned down. I was in a bad mood and then it struck me...I hadn’t seen my cat. Where was my cat? Much to my horror, I realized that my cat was gone and my heart ached for her. Then all at once it hit me-the new school, the fire, my cat—I broke down in tears and cried and cried.

The next day, I went to school. But I was totally embarrassed by everything. My clothes and shoes were borrowed from my aunt. I had no books or homework, and my backpack was gone. I had my life in that backpack! I didn’t want to grow up if it was going to be this way. I just wanted to curl up and quit school.

It always seems that bad news spreads quickly. Everyone in high school, including the teachers, was aware of my sad situation. What a way to start off at a new school! This was not the kind of attention I was looking for.

The next day at school, people were acting even stranger than usual. They kept asking me to hurry up to the gym. I thought it was strange, but when I went into the gym, I knew why.

There was a big table with all kinds of stuff on it.

A week later, I was planning my new bedroom when the doorbell rang.

Kay Day, an 87-year-old UK woman, loves elephants. But Day, who suffers from dementia(痴呆), rarely leaves her nursing home room and hasn’t seen a real elephant for a really long time. Until now.

Day is so fond of elephants that her room is full of elephant photos and toys. She dreamed of seeing an elephant up close again but never thought it would happen. On Wednesday, August 9, 2023, Day’s dream became a reality after her nursing home took her on a special trip to the Whipsnade Zoo.

The nursing home collected money to be able to realize Day’s dream. “Day doesn’t join in many activities and tends to spend quite a lot of time alone,” said the nursing home manager. “So when we sat and discussed wishes, we found out she would love to see an elephant. When we found the Elephant Experience at Whipsnade and contacted them, we said we should make her dream come true!”

Day was so excited about going to the zoo that she marked off the days on her elephant-themed calendar. Day’s carers telephoned her family and asked them to come along on the trip to support her on that exciting day.

Since the Whipsnade Zoo is a protection zoo that is working to protect wildlife as well as connect people with nature, the staff runs a lot of programs including various animal experiences and “Be a Keeper” days.

Day often told people around her that she would like to pet and feed the elephants herself as she did many years before. And she said that the elephants’ trunks (象鼻) are her favourite part of the huge animals. “It’s such a wonderful feeling to have an elephant take some food out of your hand, put it in his trunk, curl (卷起) it up and put it in his mouth, ” she told the reporter when she was interviewed.

The day for going to the zoo finally came.

The moment arrived when Day was able to meet the elephants up close.