Mike, my cousin, and I are very close and would share any secret with each other. He is a little naught (顽皮的) sometimes although my uncle, Mike’s dad, is very strict with him.

Last summer, I went to Los Angeles to visit him. My uncle chatted with us outside while he was smoking. And then my aunt called him into the house. He left his cigarette (香烟) on one front door step so he could continue smoking it when he came back.

Mike was curious to see what smoking was really like, so he picked up the cigarette to check it out. He held it between two fingers as if he were an experienced smoker and asked me if I had ever smoked before. “No way,” I said in a loud voice. “Never let my dad know about it, or he’ll beat me up,” he said. I couldn’t believe what he did next. Mike put the cigarette into his mouth and began to smoke. The next thing you know, he was coughing his head off. It looked like he was about to throw up, but he still reached his hand out towards me to offer me the cigarette.“Come on,” he said. “It won’t hurt you. I think smoking is really cool.”

I stood there, having no idea whether I should have a try. Then I remembered the advertisement that I had seen on TV a lady was so addicted to cigarettes that she had got really sick. I did not want my cousin to be like that at all.

I decided to do something and walked towards him.

Just then my uncle came back and couldn't find his cigarette.

I hadn’t decided whether to fly home for Thanksgiving yet. I didn’t have the money for the ticket, plus I wasn’t sure I could get enough time off from my job.

All that wondering changed when my mom called. She got right to the point: “Your grandmother isn’t well. Your dad and I decided I should fly out there for Thanksgiving.” Mom was an only child, so that made sense to me. But I was not ready for what I heard next. “We decided you should come along, so I cover your ticket.”

As always, Mom’s plan went off all right. I met her at the airport. Mom was anxious to see her parents, especially her mother, who was really fragile(虚弱). When we finally got to their house, we said hello and then Grandpa helped Grandma lie down again and took us to the living room, telling us we would eat Thanksgiving dinner at noon. He went into the kitchen.

Mom paced(踱步) the floor. I asked her what the matter was. “He can’t cook,” she shook her head. “How’s he supposed to fix a Thanksgiving meal for us?”

I tried to reason with her. “Can’t you smell dinner? Grandma is upstairs resting. Grandpa is the only one who could be cooking.” But we couldn’t see through the kitchen door.

Mom had an idea. “Let’s sneak out(溜出去) the front door and see what’s going on. Then we will know who is really cooking.” Grandpa had trouble hearing, so he didn’t hear us leave. It was a crazy plan. I followed her around the house to the kitchen windows. There we watched Grandpa fill water glasses and make coffee. “When did he learn to make coffee?” Mom asked. Quietly, we ran back around the side of the house and into the living room.

Finally, the kitchen door opened at noon.

“Wow, I can’t believe it! This smells so good,” I said.

4 . Every time Oksana Chusovitina competes in a gymnastics event, she catches the audience’s attention. The Hangzhou Asian Games proved no exception. When the 48-year-old Uzbek gymnast took part in the event on Monday, thousands of audiences cheered for “Qiu Ma”, which translates to “Mother Chusovitina”.

“I’m touched by Chusovitina’s story. She tried to save her son and just never gave up. She is beautiful both as an athlete and as a mother,” said Zhang Anqi, a Hangzhou local who attended the event.

After completing her competition, Chusovitina blew a kiss to the audience and formed a “heart” shape with her hands. “It is the love and support of the people that keep me going and give me the strength to achieve more,” Chusovitina said. “I am not very satisfied with my performance tonight. Actually, I was a little over-excited. I will increase the difficulty in the final,” she added.

Chusovitina has a storied history at the Asian Games, having won eight medals, including two golds in 2002. Her Olympic journey began in 1992, representing the former Soviet Union. She later stood for Uzbekistan. When Chusovitina’s son got a serious illness in 2002, she chose to take German citizenship (国籍) to compete at global events for a higher income and better medical treatment. She took her Uzbek citizenship in 2013 again.

Her heartfelt feeling, “I dare not grow old until you are well,” has moved many. After her son’s recovery, Chusovitina continued her gymnastics journey simply out of love for the sport. Though she announced her retirement after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she decided to return shortly after. “The biggest power is my desire. I want to perform. I love gymnastics, and it brings me great joy. I’m just doing what I love, so why should I stop?” Chusovitina said.

5 . One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap (包装).

On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is.” What an honour! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I told it over and over how much I loved it!

One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it.Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”, and “dying”, which sounded ominous.

Christmas was coming. “Don’t expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room.“If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before.

The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!”

“Thank God!” I heard Mum cry.

From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!

6 . If you have ever lost touch with old school friends, you may find yourself wanting to make contact again. Some teens find that certain school friends are worth keeping contact with and want to keep the friendship going strong.

Hang out at the same places

One way you can get together with old friends from your school is to go to the same places that they go to. If you still go to school together, you probably know where everyone goes on the weekends. If you are able to go there too, you may find that your relationships with your old school friends start up again.

Sports teams

If you are athletic and your former friends are too, joining school sports teams is a great way to catch up with old friends. This doesn’t mean that you should join a sport which you do not like just so you can see your old friends. However, if you like sports, wish to join a team and your former friends are on that team, and then playing the team sports is a great way to get to know them again.

Take part in school clubs

There are often a lot of school clubs in which teens participate. Depending on your interests and your former friends’ interests, you may just find a club at school. Sharing a common interest such as a club activity will help you to have something in common and something to talk about.

7 . Life seems long when we’re looking ahead, and so short when we’re looking back. That’s especially true for a mother. One day you’re holding a two-month-old baby, wondering if he’s ever going to stop crying. And the next day you’re seeing him off at college, wondering if he’s ever going to call you.

Where does the time fly? I want my children to grow up, but I don’t want to let them go. The grown children can be as much fun as little ones. Here are two examples:

When my father-in-law died, I called my younger son Nate to say I’d drive up to Yosemite, and we’d drive out the next day to attend the funeral. It was snowing when I stopped in the park. The next morning, Nate and I left early, only to get stuck behind a bus with a flat tyre, blocking the road. We sat for five hours in a blizzard (暴风雪) waiting for the road to be cleared. Meanwhile, Nate entertained me with jokes. I will never forget it.

A few years later, I flew to New York to visit my elder son Josh. That night, Josh began having pain in his right side. We took a cab to a hospital and he had an operation. Afterwards, I stayed for a week to take care of him. We watched movies and ate take-out meals. I will never forget it.

Being a mother doesn’t end when our children grow up. We still want to protect them, just as we did the day they were born. And grown children will always need a mother. At the same time, we’ll always need our grown-up children to make us laugh and keep us young and fill that place in our heart that only they can fill.

Edward is a middle­aged man. Although he was not born in a rich family, he was raised well by his father and mother. His father owned a clothes shop, and used to work for more than 12 hours a day, so that his family could lead a comfortable life.

However, Edward’s father could not earn sufficient money to provide a decent life for his family. Edward was an average student at school, and used to score around 70 percent marks. Edward’s dream was to become a lawyer. Since his marks weren’t very high, he could not get the desired course that he wanted to study. Instead, he joined a bachelor’s degree course, completed the course successfully, and got a job in a company.

While his life was going on with no dramatic change, his father continued to work in his clothes shop, so that he did not have to depend on Edward. After getting a permanent job, Edward’s parents wanted him to marry. He got married to a girl from his native town, and at the same time was also promoted in his job. After a few years, his wife gave birth to beautiful twin boys.

Later Edward began to earn a handsome salary, and started to live luxuriously. He bought a new house and a new car. Some of the luxuries were really unnecessary. Although his company provided him with a car, Edward went and purchased a new car.

After a luxurious lifestyle that spanned for almost 6 to 7 years, Edward was suffering from financial crisis and was not able to pay for the children’s education and other basic necessities.

His father fell sick, and as a result, could not continue his work in the clothes shop. He requested Edward to provide some money for his treatment and other household expenses.

Edward shook his head.

Just at this moment, his sons walked to Edward.