I opened the door and was welcomed as usual by Shredder. He ran towards me, jumped up and put a paw on my shoulder. “Okay, boy,” I said, rubbing his ears the way he liked. He moved his tail happily. I usually played with him all day. But with so many things on my schedule these days—meetings, dinners, many houses to clean—I didn’t have time. I told Shredder to lie down.” I have to get to work now,” I said. I headed downstairs to clean the bedroom. All of a sudden, pain shot through my head. It was unlike anything I’d ever felt—10 times worse. Things dropped out of my hands, and I fell to the ground. I knew someone who had died from a brain aneurysm (脑部动脉瘤).

I had to get help before it was too late. I should call 911, but the nearest phone was in the kitchen. I tried to stand up, but couldn’t. I knew I had to get upstairs. It felt like my head was going to explode. I managed to move to the kitchen. But later I couldn’t move anymore. I was helpless. Through the sharp pain, I looked up. Shredder stared back at me from the top step. Did he think I was playing?” Come here,” I whispered, trying to make my voice sound playful. He stared with doubt.” Come on. boy,” I said. Shredder ran down the steps and stood next to me. His tail stopped moving. “Help me, Shredder,” I said, holding his collar (颈圈) with my left hand. He climbed a step and then stopped. “Up!” I said. He looked back at me as if to say, “Is this right?” “Go,” I whispered. He started to drag me. My left arm went frozen. I had to look at Shredder’s collar to make sure I kept my hold.

David was a 14-year-old boy who was very honest and diligent. Recently, he had entered a new school and still had no friends yet. On Monday morning, he was nearly late for school. The night before, his family attended a wedding and reached home late, which contributed to his being late.

All the morning, David could not pay attention to anything and wanted the bell to ring so that he could buy something to eat. After a few hours, when the bell rang, David quickly opened his schoolbag to find his money, but just then he remembered that he had left for school in a hurry in the morning and forgotten to take money. He looked under his books, hoping to find some money but there was nothing.

Not knowing what to do, he walked out of the classroom and sat on a bench in front of the canteen (食堂). He saw a few of his classmates there, among whom was Bill. He was one of the richest kids in his class, but he was a very arrogant boy who thought everyone else was a loser. But as David was new, he didn’t know much about Bill.

When he went towards Bill and asked if he could borrow some money for his lunch, Bill laughed a lot and said,“I knew you were a loser, maybe a beggar?” Bill laughed out so loud that other kids also heard it and made fun of the situation. David didn’t answer Bill, and slowly walked back towards an empty bench.

When he reached the bench, he noticed something lying near it. It was a wallet. He picked it up and recognized it was Bill’s, as he remembered Bill ever showed it to his friends and told them that his uncle had bought it for him as a birthday gift. There was quite a lot of money inside for a kid.

At first, David wanted to keep it a secret and punish Bill.     1     .

Then Bill said: “Why are you giving it back?”     2    .

I was surprised when I got a short message from my father wishing me a happy birthday.

I had expected to hear from my mother, my grandmother and other relatives (亲戚) but never from my father. Lying in bed, memories of my father came into my mind.

When I was a little boy, I regarded my father as a hero able to do anything. However, things slowly began to change. The more I learned, the more I doubted what he said. The gap between us grew and, at last, I didn’t even like communicating (交流) with him.

My father, in my mind, had no interest in talking with me. Dinner was the only time we were together. He had no time to watch TV with me. He would tell me to ask my mother if I needed something. He didn’t ever answer my calls when I phoned from school. I got used to the changes. I thought that perhaps my father no longer loved me, so I hardly communicated with him and even was unwilling to contact him.

As time passed by, however, I began to wonder whether my behavior was right. And I began to be more and more upset. I had no idea how to get along well with him. One day, my mother told me that each time I called, my father was always listening beside her. Suddenly, I hated myself for my cold behavior toward him.

I tried thousands of times to apologize to my father. In the end, however, I was always too embarrassed (尴尬的) about what I had done.

But that Saturday, I was so touched by his short message and decided to send a reply “ Thank you, my dear father.”     1    

Two days later, I decided to go home.     2    

7 . It was Sunday in Montreal, Canada. There were three kids talking and laughing happily as they took turns riding a scooter (滑板车) on a quiet street. 11-year-old Dale had just jumped off the scooter as his neighbors Zoe, aged 7, claimed her turn, and Julie, 9, looked on. Ten minutes later, Zoe sat down on the scooter to catch her breath. That was when a bearded man with a head of messy hair appeared. Without saying a word, the man picked Zoe up off the scooter and calmly stepped away.

The guy held Zoe gently like a baby and just walked down the street. In fact, the calm way the man behaved led Dale to believe that he must be a relative of Zoe’s. But something wasn’t right. “I could see Zoe’s face,” Dale said. “She was afraid.”

As the man walked on, Zoe’s fear transformed into weeps (哭泣), and then she cried for help. She began kicking and moving, trying to get free of the man’s control. “What are you doing?” Julie shouted. But the man, undisturbed, just walked on until he reached an alley (小巷) and disappeared.

Dale was frightened, yet he never thought about the danger to himself. The only thing he wanted to do was to get Zoe back. But what was a 4-foot-tall kid going to do to stop a grown man? “I wanted to help but I couldn’t do it myself,” he thought to himself. “Tell Zoe’s parents, Julie!” He shouted as he started running towards the alley.

Zoe’s parents were relaxing on the sofa in their living room when their front door burst open.

“A bad grown man just took Zoe away!” yelled Julie.     1     .

At that very moment, Zoe’s parents arrived.     2     .