The girl English when she was 5 years old.

    Do you have a problem that seems impossible to solve? Wu Yu, a smart English teacher in Guizhou, thinks the best way to help is to get suggestions from others.

    Wu Yu teaches grade 8 in Guiyang Yunyan No. 2 Middle School. She asked the students to write down their troubles in English. The students were each given a problem at random (任意的). Then each student had to give a suggestion to the problem they were given.

    Students found the idea interesting and useful. Liu Dashuang, 14, said, "It helps me with problems. And when I help others successfully, I feel happy."

    Let's see the problems the students had and the suggestions they gave:

    Zhang Chengwei, 14, boy: "My best friend thinks I don't want to be his friend any more. I don't know why!"

    Suggestions from Liu Manli, 14, girl "Talk with your friend. Tell him that you will always be his best friend."

    Wei Zixing, 14, boy: "My friend is more handsome and popular than me. I want to be the same as him!"

    Suggestions from Li Lala, 14, girl: "If you're not good-looking, then work on other things. Study hard and be the top student, or tell jokes and be really funny."

    Gong Ling, 14, girl" "I'm not very good at Chinese. I do my homework twice, but I still fail. Am I born to be a poor Chinese learner?"

    Suggestions from He Yinjuanzi, 14, girl: "Doing homework is not the only way to improve your Chinese. Try reading your favourite Chinese novels and you can learn more useful words."

My mother's loving hands

    Night after night, she came to help me sleep, even long after my childhood years.

    I don't remember1it first started making me a little angry-my mum's hands pushing my hair that way. But it really made me uncomfortable, for they2rough(粗糙的)against my young skin. Finally, one night, I3her, "Don't do that anymore. Your hands are too rough！”She didn't say anything, 4she never did it again.

    Years later, I missed my mother's5and her goodnight kiss on my face. I'm not a little girl any more. My mum is6her mid-seventies, and her rough hands are still doing things for my family and me.

    Now my own children have7. It was late on Thanksgiving Eve. As I slept in my bedroom, a familiar hand ran across my8to push the hair from my head. Then a kiss, ever so softly, touched my brow(额头).

    Taking my mum's hand, I told her how9I was for that night I shouted at her. But my mum didn't know what I was talking about. She had forgotten it long ago.

    That night, I10with a new appreciation(感激)for my mother's caring hands. And the guilt(内疚)that I had carried around for so long was nowhere to be found.

    Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends. They believe that their family members don't know them as well as their friends do. In large families, it is quite often for brothers or sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas.

    It is important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends. Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking to each other on the phone. The communication is very important in children's growth, because friends can discuss some things that are difficult to say to their family members.

    However, parents often try to choose their children's friends for them. Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends.

    Have you ever thought of the following questions?

    Who chooses your friends? Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you? Have you got a good friend your parents don't like? Your answers are welcome.

    An eighty-year-old couple were having trouble with their memories. One day, they decided to see a doctor. The doctor told them that there was nothing serious, but he suggested that they should start writing things down to help them remember things. The couple thanked the doctor and left.

    Later that night while watching TV, the old man got up from his chair and his wife asked, "Where are you going?" "To the kitchen." "Will you get me an ice cream?" asked the wife. "Sure." Then his wife asked him to write it down. "No, I can remember that," replied the husband. "Well, I also want some strawberries and cream on top. You'd better write it down, or you will forget that," said the wife. "No, I can remember that," the husband got a little unhappy and went into the kitchen.

    After about 20 minutes, the husband returned with a plate of fish. The wife laughed, "Haha! Your bad memory! I wanted some bread with cream."

    There is a nice family living in Valladolid, a beautiful city in Spain.father, Jose Garcia, is a tall and friendly man. He(work) in a famous company. He married Teresa, a(beauty) woman, dark eyes and light hair. She is a (teach) of a primary school. Jose and Teresa have three(child): Susan, Rebecca and Juan. The(old), Susan, is 24 years old. She's a doctor and busy with her work every day. She(usual) goes to work at 8 a.m. and comes home after 7p.m. Rebecca, a beautiful girl with big dark eyes, is 19 years old and(study)Chinese in the Canary Islands. Juan, a naughty 11-year-oldboy, dreams ofa great football player. They are a happy family.