It was a Sunday morning. Lori was busy writing in her book. Marilyn was drinking coffee and I was reading a newspaper. Suddenly, Lori looked up and asked, "Why are there more pictures of Lisa than there are of1?" Lisa is our older daughter.
I stared back, not understanding the2. Lori left the room. I looked at Marilyn, "Are there more pictures of Lisa than of Lori?"
"I've never3them. I don't know," replied Marilyn.
"But4would Lori ask such a question?" I asked. After a few minutes of thought, Marilyn said, "When Lisa was born, you were taking photos. You almost went5with a camera. When Lori was born, videos became6. You used a video camera to record nearly everything in our life. There must be hundreds of videos of Lori in the computer that Lori has7seen or doesn't remember."
Late that night, when we were alone, I turned on the computer and found the8about Lori.
"What are you going to do?" Marilyn asked.
"Her birthday is coming," I said, "Let's make an album for her as a gift. I don't know if the album will answer her question, but at least she'll know that we9enough to find her an answer."
Over the next few days, we secretly10all the videos. We watched and selected until we were11. Marilyn had them made into photos. When the photos were returned, we placed them into an album.
When we looked at the album, all the sweet memories came12. We hoped it showed how13she was to us.
On June 7, when passing Lori's room to leave for work. I opened the door and slipped the album inside. Attached to it was a birthday card with a note14why her mother and I had put the album together.
It was about eight o'clock when my office telephone rang. I picked up the receiver. A tiny voice spoke, "I love you, Daddy," she said and disconnected. I knew our15had been received.
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Two little boys had two little toys Each had a wooden horse. Joyfully, they played each summer's day. Soldiers both, of course. Then Jack broke off his horse's head Sad for his toy, then cried with joy As his young friend Joe said: Did you think I would leave you crying When there's room on my horse for two? Climb up here, Jack, and don't be crying I can go just as fast with two When we grow up we'll both be soldiers And our horses will not be toys And I wonder if we'll remember When we were two little boys. |
Long years past, war came so . Bravely they marched away. Guns roared loud and in the mad crowd Wounded and dying lie Up goes a shout, a horse rushes out Out from the crowd, to where Joe lay Then came a voice he knew: Did you think I would leave you dying When there's room on my horse for two？ Climb up here, Joe, we'll soon be flying I can go just as fast with two. Now we are both real soldiers And our horses are not toys And I remember When we were two little boys. |
It's a cold, grey Sunday afternoon in March. The British are all working in their gardens. They're digging, cutting leaves and planting new seeds（种子）. By summer, their gardens will be full of bright colors.
The British love their gardens. A British newspaper recently asked people for their opinions about them. Around 70% of the people felt it was important to spend time in the garden, and over 50% of these described gardening as the most enjoyable thing they ever did.
Only one in ten houses in Britain do not have a garden. People who live in houses without gardens often rent（租用） land from the government.
At first, only very rich people had gardens. You can still see the gardens around houses with a long history, such as Chatsworth House or Castle Howard. In the early twentieth century, however, gardening became a hobby. People bought different kinds of seeds and plants for their gardens. Although roses, sunflowers and tomatoes are often grown in British gardens, they originally（起初） grew wild in other countries.
Every year, there are competitions for the largest vegetables, but don't expect to win：Britain's biggest carrot is almost six metres long.
Technology is everywhere. We see it any place we go and, in fact, almost all of us carry some piece of technology with us every time we leave the house. What I always forget, though, is just how useful and powerful technology can be when we want to help others.
There is not a single room in my house that does not have some electronic devices （设备）lying around in it. Whenever I am at home, I am almost always using at least one electronic device. If you walked into my living room on any given day, you would find that, first, I have the television on. At the same time, I usually have my laptop resting on my knee, or I will be using my mobile phone. Even when I'm not at home I am always using my phone, and at work or in cafés, I sit down and connect to the local wireless network on my laptop.
I must say that I waste a lot of time on the computer and the time I spend on it could be much better spent if I were to take up a little online volunteering.
The technology we carry about everywhere can have a great power to do good for the world and to help others and recently I discovered just how much online volunteering there is to do in the world. From using your language skills to do translations, to developing and managing projects and helping with IT work, there is so much that so many people can do to help people in their own countries and across the world. The United Nations, in fact, has a huge page with "Volunteers Recruited" on its website.
This work can support the poor and help charities who cannot pay for staff members. Many organizations only require you to work an hour a week﹣some even less. And the support provided by online volunteers can really help make a difference to those in need.
When our son Bradley was ten, the new bicycle he had received earlier that year was stolen. Owning a bicycle was a big deal to our children when they were little. They spent hours and hours, day after day, on their bicycles, riding up and down the footpath, and at the front of the house. We also rode together as a family a lot. Bicycling was a great way to get the kids out of the house and into the fresh air without spending any money.
Bradley had discovered that his bicycle had been stolen from our backyard in Campbell town, South Australia, when he and his sister went outside for a morning ride. He couldn't believe that someone would do this.
He got a large piece of cardboard, painted a sign begging for the bicycle to be returned, and tied the sign to the letterbox. The following morning, when I went out to collect the mail, I found a white envelope with the magical words," Buy yourself a new bicycle". There was a $100 banknote inside.
We were very touched that someone had the heart to do this. We've never been able to thank the person but we suspect（猜想）that it may have been one of our wonderful neighbors. Bradley painted a big" !" on the sign and we left it outside for a couple of weeks afterwards, hoping the kind stranger would drive down our street.
A delighted Bradley was able to buy a new bicycle. As the years went on, the bicycles became bigger and more expensive but remained just as important for those family bicycle rides. Now Bradley is 25. Sometimes I miss the days when receiving a bicycle was the best thing in the world to them.
All these years later we are still thankful for the stranger's kindness. We were a young family with three little children and it meant a lot to us. We still talk about it and, even now, wonder who the kind stranger was.
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Canada influence our season throw away |
Have you ever heard of "National Smile Month"? It started on the 14th of （五月） in the UK. During this month, people are made to think about the importance of brushing their teeth, （吃） less sweet foods and going to see the （牙医） from time to time.
The British are （出名的）for their bad teeth. Even a dictionary has the expression "British Smile", meaning "Any smile with bad teeth".（然而）, in America, the " Hollywood Smile" gets its name because American movie （明星） are so proud to show off their beautiful teeth.
But what about smiling in the UK? Do the British smile a lot, or do they look（悲伤的）all the time? It's said that the British don't often show their feelings. But actually it all （取决于） on the situation. For example, Britain doesn't （允许） smiling in passport photos. But if you are at a party, you'll find everyone smiling （开心地） and loudly.
So, the British smile as much as anyone else.
Have you ever heard of friendships among animals？ At a zoo in Germany, an unusual friendship developed a cat and a bear.
No one is quite sure how the friendship first began. One day, some （worker） in the zoo noticed a black cat was in the bear's cage（笼子）, and the two animals were playing together peacefully. They were surprised well the small cat seemed to get along with the large bear. The bear keeper allowed the cat to stay with the bear. And later the pair and their unusual friendship （become） a hot topic at the zoo.
After several years, a new cage （build） for the bear. However, the cat was still in the same cage, so it walked around （angry） and cried to be with the bear. The bear keeper finally took pity on the cat let it stay with the bear. The cat and the bear got （close） than before. They often sat together and shared meals in sun.
Sometimes it may be natural for animals （have） their own ideas about who would make a good friend. These may surprise humans, who usually expect animals to form relationships with others of the same species.
A traveler in South Africa once set out on a long journey. When crossing a wide plain(平原), far from home, he saw a lion at a distance. The lion saw him at the same time, and followed him slowly.
When the traveler walked fast, the lion walked fast! When he stopped, the lion stopped! The man realized that the lion meant to follow him until the dark, and then attack(攻击) him.
He was not able to run away from the lion because the lion ran faster than him. So he thought of a plan to fool it.
He came to a large rock. He hid behind the rock, where the lion could not see him. Then taking a stick which he could find there, he put his coat and his hat on it, in order to make them look like a man. He then placed the stick with the coat and the hat standing in the ground above the rock. He then left quietly.
The lion stopped and watched the coat and the hat, at a distance. At nightfall, it jumped onto the coat and the hat to try to kill the man.
But the traveler was already far away. Before long, he reached his own home.
首句可选择使用：I still remember …
