Scout could clearly remember the night she had to leave her home in Poland. It was the beginning of World War II and her family had to escape as soon as possible. She quickly packed a suitcase with a few pieces of clothing, her diary, and her most prized treasure, a silk scarf. Scout and her best friend, Betty, had persuaded their parents to buy them matching scarves, which they took as a symbol of their friendship. Scout didn’t know she was going to America and would not be returning.

Scout kept that special silk scarf for many years. One day she decided to give it to her granddaughter, Eliza, to wear to her first job interview for good luck. Scout was afraid that Eliza would lose the scarf, but the granddaughter promised, “Don’t worry, Grandma. Nothing’s going to happen to your scarf. You’ll see that it’s going to bring both of us luck.” And with that, Eliza kissed her grandmother and left for the interview.

Leaving the interview, Eliza felt confident that she had got the job so she decided to celebrate by going to a restaurant. Sitting at her table, Eliza felt an elderly woman staring at her for a long time.

“I’m sorry. Do I know you?” Eliza asked.

“I’m sorry, dear, but you remind me of my best friend,” the old woman replied. “She looked like you and used to wear a scarf just like yours.” Eliza listened carefully, with her eyes and mouth wide open. She had heard stories of her grandmother’s best friend and knew the meaning of the scarf. Could this woman be Betty, her grandmother’s childhood friend?

Then the old woman introduced herself, “My name is

The old woman agreed.

Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks.

One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it a secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali’s running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.

Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city.When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.

The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided(碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.

Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.

Filled with delight, Ali walked home quickly.

Although Emily’s singing was very pleasant to hear, lacking of courage, she never dared to sing in front of strangers.

One summer, the neighborhood where she lived would hold a singing competition. Her best friend, Lucy, came to invite her to participate in the competition, but Emily said. “I’m afraid to take part in it.” Her mother said, “It’s okay, just do it bravely.” Emily followed her mama’s advice and decided to give herself a try. The day came. Emily and Lucy went to the competition site. But she was too frightened to walk onto the stage. She had been waiting until others finished singing. She shakily forced herself to stand on the stage. She started to sing, but her voice was so low. What’s worse, she was so nervous that she forgot the lyrics after singing a few words. Being laughed at by others, embarrassed and shy, she ran away from the stage.

Some naughty boys ran after her and said, “Emily, coward (胆小鬼)! Emily, coward!” Emily didn’t argue with them. What she wanted was to go back home as quickly as she could. Finally, she rushed into the house, hugged her mom and cried sadly.

“Well, my poor girl. Don’t cry. Tell me what happened to you,” asked her mom. Emily looked up at her mother and told her what she had experienced.

Listening to her, her mom cupped her face and said, “It doesn’t matter, girl. As long as you practice singing more in front of strangers, you will become braver little by little. So, my girl, don’t be beaten by a failure. You can go out to practice singing every day. No matter who is listening to you, go on singing and never stop. I believe there will be a harvest for you.”

Emily followed her mom’s advice and walked into the park where many people were singing and dancing.

The second year, the neighborhood held the singing competition again.

Last weekend, I went to Mark’s new house near a forest for a little get-together. After lunch when I was chatting with him and his wife Cody, he asked me, “Hey, Thora, have you ever been to a secret spot?” Before I could even finish saying no, Cody and Mark were already at the door with their jackets on. And the next moment we were heading out into the forest with a camera, a fishing net and a plastic bucket (桶).

We walked through the forest along a path by a small river. Breathing the fresh air, we three talked and laughed all the way.

“Hey! What are you guys doing ?” someone suddenly shouted from behind. Mark and Cody’s eyes immediately widened, and without a word they started running. I had no choice but to follow them, getting my shoes wet and dirty with mud. We probably ran for about 10 minutes before Mark and Cody slowed down. I stopped to catch my breath and asked, “Who was that?”

Mark replied, “The most annoying neighbor ever. There’s no telling what could happen if he caught up with us. He is always making fun of us. I dislike him.” We kept walking on for a few more minutes. Then a beautiful lake appeared before our eyes. “Wow! Amazing!” I shouted and could hardly hold back my excitement. The lake was large and the water was deep and blue, looking so peaceful with tall trees around it.

Looking around, we saw a boat floating by the shore.

“Help! Help! Help!” I was so frightened and cried for help.

I was not satisfied with and even angry with my father in the first year of college, because he didn’t care about my feelings at all.

One day I had a serious quarrel with him. I was fed up with his direction and correction. How could he interfere with my life and my study plans? How could he understand the importance of my university activities? The only thing that he cared about was my academic performance! He didn’t understand my world and I didn’t understand his, either.

I stormed out and sighed all the way to school. Suddenly I realized that I didn’t have the assignment that was due (应交出的): a thought card. This class was taught by Mrs Smith. The thought card was the admission ticket to her Tuesday class. She would return them to us with her comment.

My first thought card read, “All that glitters (发光) is not gold.” She commented, “What does this quote mean to you? Is it significant?” Obviously, she was taking it seriously. I surely didn’t want to reveal myself to her.

The week progressed. Mrs Smith’s class was quite brilliant. She challenged us to think and come up with our own responses. But I had no handling strategies to deal with it.

The second Tuesday came. I wrote on my card, “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.” The next day the card came back, “You seem to need a listener. Is this important to your life?” I couldn’t remember a teacher caring personally about me since primary school.

With all these memories filling my mind, I raced to class. Just outside the door, I took a card and wrote, “I have the most terrible dad of the world!” Then I dashed in. Looking up at me, Mrs Smith reached out for the card, and I took my seat. The moment I sat down, I felt terrible. I didn’t mean to let that out.

That night I had difficulty sleeping, for I was afraid that she might reveal (透露) that to my father.

“I will bear your words in mind,” I said, saying goodbye to Mrs Smith and heading for my home.