Oliver was a small and introvert (内向的) boy who kept to himself. He was quiet and preferred indoor activities. Sitting in the corner of the class, he was very much a loner.

At the beginning of the semester, Oliver had a new classmate, Alan, who had just returned to England. Alan was assigned a seat next to Oliver. To his surprise, within weeks, he became good friends with Alan even though they were poles apart in personality. Alan was popular, outspoken and artistic. “Alan is all that I want to be,” Oliver thought to himself. He began listening to the music Alan listened to and having similar haircut. He even quit his drama club and started playing the online games that Alan played. He seemed to have been out of his loneliness.

It was not long before Oliver was introduced to Alan’s “cool” friends. He told himself that he would try all means to be part of the group. He would follow them to the football games and join the art club after school so he could spend more time hanging out with them. Oliver followed them around laughing when they told jokes, agreeing when they had opinions—most enthusiastically at the ones he disagreed with. He did not dare to differ in opinions as he would not want them to think badly of him. This continued for several months. At last, Oliver felt relieved that he had finally fitted in.

One day, Oliver overheard Alan and his cool friends talking. “Oliver is such a loser,” one boy commented in a playful tone. “He just follows you around trying to be you. He copies you; he does not have a personality of his own!” another boy exclaimed. Alan laughed, to make matters worse, he added, “That fellow wears me out. I wish he would leave me alone. He thinks we are best friends. A thorough fool!”

Oliver stood still to the ground and could not believe his ears.

Oliver decided to change himself after hearing his mother’s words.

There was a boy who was sent to a boarding school. He used to be the brightest student in his class. He was at the top in every competition. But things changed after that. His grades started dropping. He hated being in a group. He was lonely all the time. He felt worthless and that no one loved him.

His parents began to worry. But even they did not know what was wrong. So his dad decided to visit the school and talk with him.

They sat on the bank of the lake near the school. The father started asking him casual questions about his classes, teachers and sports. Then he asked, “Do you know, son, why I am here today?” The boy said, “To check my grades?”

“No, no, ” his dad replied. “I am here to tell you that you are the most important person for me. I want to see you happy. I don’t care about grades. I care about you. I care about your happiness. YOU ARE MY LIFE.”

Now the boy had everything he wanted.

Jenny was the only child in her family. She had a quarrel (吵架) with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a stand (货摊) for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she gave a sigh and had to leave.

The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”

“Oh, yes, but I don’t have money on me.” she replied.

“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man, “Come in.”

The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently.

“What is it?” asked the man kindly.

“Nothing. Actually, I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!”

Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you remember the times she cooked for you? Have you expressed your gratitude to her?”

Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock: she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful. Why haven’t I thanked my mum for what she has done for me?”

On the way home. Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.

Nearing the doorway, Jenny took a deep breath.

At that time, her mother came back and touched her hair gently, which called her mind back.

It was time to go home. “Remember to work on your class speeches for homework,” Miss Walker called, as everyone started talking and packing their school bags. Jenny felt sick. She hated having to read aloud in class. She was sure everyone got really bored listening to her. Once, when Jenny was reading out her holiday diary, Lee was even looking at his watch, a silver and blue one which seemed just magical.

Jenny watched Lee walk ahead of her as they left school. He seemed so clever, and he had a certain sort of shining confidence. He was just one of those people who were good at everything. Jenny sighed. As she turned the corner, she saw Lee’s watch lying right in the middle of the path.

Jenny knew she should just pick it up and return it to him, but she didn’t want to run after him. Jenny bent down quickly, picked up the watch and ran home. On arriving home, Jenny put it on almost without thinking. She was surprised it fitted so well. She walked to the mirror and started practicing her speech. Words just flooded out of her. “I’m going to talk about swimming. I have been lucky. I’ve won lots of competitions. But when I’m in a race, I’m not really thinking about winning. I’m just loving the feeling of being in the water...”Jenny laughed with excitement. She walked across the room. She suddenly seemed to have a certain sort of confidence. Turning back to the mirror, Jenny saw a flash of light from the watch in the glass. The flashes of silver seemed almost magical. So maybe Lee’s watch really DID have something magic.

The next day, as the lesson began, Miss Walker asked who was going to be brave and go first. No-body moved. Jenny slowly raised her arm. Before Miss Walker could say anything, there was a shout from behind. “She’s stolen my watch!” Lee said angrily, “It went missing at school yesterday.”

Paragraph 1: Everybody was fixing their eyes on Jenny, waiting for an explanation.

Paragraph2: At that moment, Miss Walker smiled and asked the class to listen to Jenny’s speech first.

There are many things in senior middle school that I still remember clearly. I studied three years in a country school, which is faraway. However, it has a good environment and strict but kind teachers, so I loved the school and all my teachers very much.

One Friday, just as we began to read books in reading class at our desks, our teacher, Mrs. Hill, said that she needed to be out of the classroom for a few minutes. She asked the class to read in silence while she was gone. And she said that those who didn’t read books in silence would have to be punished when she returned. It was well-known that Mrs. Hill was strict. So we had to be on our best behaviour.

But that Friday, Mrs. Hill hadn’t been gone for ten seconds before some students in the classroom started to talk. From one corner of the room I heard Josh ask Nick, “Can I trade my candies for your toy?” At the other end of the room I heard Samantha tell Kayla, “Let’s sit together on the bus for the museum field trip tomorrow.” And so it went all around me, until about half of the students communicated with each other.

After a while, I, too, forgot about Mrs. Hill’s instructions. I turned back and asked my friend Liza, “Can I borrow your storybook and keep it for a day?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Mrs. Hill walked into the classroom. The whole class returned to silence immediately. And we were full of fear.

Mrs. Hill slowly looked around the classroom and said, “If you were talking while I was gone, then please stand up.” The guilt (内疚) suddenly weighed heavily on me. “I shouldn’t have talked while she was not in the classroom. And now I should be honest and admit my mistake bravely. This is what my parents have always told me.” I thought. Then, I summoned up (鼓起) my courage to stand up, worried about the punishment that waited for me. Then I looked around.

To my surprise, no one followed me and I was the only one in the classroom standing.

With Mrs. Hill’s encouragement, another student stood up.

The little bird perched (栖息) itself on the tree branch outside Vanessa’s bedroom window. It sang an energetic song as the first pale yellow rays of sunshine emerged from the horizon.

“Oh, what is that noise?” Vanessa complained to herself, pulling her bed sheet over her head in an attempt to block the sound from outside. It was no use, and she knew it because the loud birdsong signalled the coming of the day. A few moments later, Vanessa’s mom knocked on her door, and then came in with a smile. “Time to get up, Sleepyhead,” she whispered. “The early bird catches the worm, you know.”

“Ugh, what does that even mean?” asked Vanessa, with a pillow covering her face. “It’s just an expression, honey,” her mom replied. She gave Vanessa a kiss on the cheek and urged her to get out of bed. Vanessa rolled over and slept for a few more minutes.

Vanessa walked slowly downstairs, had breakfast slowly and missed her bus. When she finally got to school, she had to get a late pass. She missed the first part of math class, so she didn’t understand the lesson and had to get extra help. Her teacher gave her extra homework to make sure she knew it. This day was no fun.

The next morning, Vanessa was woken up by the same birdsong. Instead of ignoring it, Vanessa walked over to the window and opened the curtains. Soft light filled the room. “Well, hello there, little fellow,” she said when she saw the pretty bird outside, still singing happily. Suddenly, the bird flew down to land on the fresh grass. As she watched, the bird picked up a worm for breakfast. Vanessa seemed to instantly understand what her mother meant when she said “the early bird catches the worm”.

She raced through breakfast and caught the bus.

At lunchtime, Vanessa finished her lunch early and had time to go to the library.

Years ago, not long after graduating from school and starting my career in Denver, I set off on an exciting alone trip to reunite with an old friend. As I packed my car, little did I know that this adventure would uncover the remarkable bonds that can form between strangers, all driven by the simple exchange of “thank you.”

My journey began with an exciting flight to Albuquerque, a lively city in New Mexico. My ultimate destination was Oklahoma City, where I looked forward to visiting a dear friend. The trip was relatively smooth, treating me to beautiful sights along the way. While waiting in line to pay for gas, I struck up a friendly chat with an older couple who were also refueling their vehicle.

Continuing my journey with joy in my heart, dark smoke suddenly rising from my car’s back. Panic grasped me as I hurriedly pulled over to the side of the road, unsure of our next steps.   In an incredible turning point of fate, the same friendly couple from the gas station pulled up behind my car. With warm smiles and open hearts, they generously offered to drive me to my friend’s place in Oklahoma City. During the ride, we engaged in lively conversations, sharing stories and laughter as the miles passed by. Upon reaching our destination, the husband even handed me his business card as a gesture of goodwill and kindness.

Appreciative of their help, I later expressed my gratitude through a heartfelt thank-you note.   In response, they sent me a precious Christmas gift along with a touching note as well. As the years passed, life threw another similar story on my way. On a significant day, I drove to a nearby town for an important meeting.

Unfortunately, in my hurry, I accidentally left my car’s lights on all day long. As nightfall approached, I returned to my car, only to find that the battery had completely died. Thankfully, I noticed the Friendly Ford dealership conveniently located next door. Filled with hope, I entered the showroom, where I encountered two helpful salesmen.

I jokingly inquired, “How friendly is Friendly Ford?”

These events highlight the power of “Thank you.”