TALK TO ME

Mom was having a surgery on her throat. She had lost her voice four years before. Mom loved writing and was a popular newspaper columnist among the online circles.

“We really believe you’ll get your voice back. The surgery will work. Right, Mom?” I stared into Mom’s eyes, eager for a positive answer. Expressionless, Mom lifted her eyes from her laptop and pulled out one of the post—its that were stuck to the plastic case of the LCD display. It said “Yes”. I pursed my lips.

Her eyes fell back to her laptop. She didn’t smile, and she didn’t even look at me while raising the post—it in front of me as if she didn’t care at all. But I did. I was desperate to hear her speak again. She meant the world to me.

But Mom was not in the least excited about getting her voice back, because it was her third surgery and the last two didn’t work out. She was hopeless.

“Dad will be here soon,” I told Mom. She shrugged.

Just then Dr Smith entered the ward. “Relax, Lisa. There’s a good chance that your mom can speak after the surgery,” he comforted me. And I nodded with a forced smile. After two nurses wheeled Mom away to the operating room, I sat outside as the surgery went on. Resting my elbows on my knees, I buried my head in my hands, praying for the surgery to go well.

Mom had developed throat cancer. When she woke up one morning as a mute, I cried my eyes out though I was tired of her continually lecturing me about my improper behavior. Being unable to hear her voice was heart—breaking. Worse still, she no longer smiled at Dad and me and stopped giving us those morning hugs I always looked forward to. I couldn’t bear seeing her like this, so helpless, so quiet. All those post—its saying “I love you”, “I miss you”… had lost their meanings. Recalling all this, I couldn’t help weeping.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Dad and I held Mom’s hands until she woke up.

There once was a stray dog (流浪狗) named Rufus who was the most amazing dog on Kumquat Street. He could hear a ladybug blowing its nose. He could see a pill bug eating a black licorice candy at midnight. Rufus could even smell a caterpillar that hadn’t washed its feet.

You would think that Rufus, being so amazing, was also happy. But he wasn’t. You see, there was one thing that kept Rufus from being adopted by his favorite human. And that was ...Rufus barked backward. Here’s what he sounded like: “Wob-wow! Wob-wow! Fra-fra-fra! Krab-krab!”

Rufus could stand being laughed at by every squirrel and cat in the neighborhood. What he couldn't stand was that his bark kept him from living with Janie Johnson.

Janie never laughed at Rufus when he barked. More than anything else, Rufus wanted to be her pet. He wanted to play catch in her yard every day and sleep at the foot of her bed each night.

But Janie’s father, Mr. Johnson, wouldn’t hear of it. “What? A dog that barks backward? Wed be the laughingstocks of Kumquat Street! we Johnsons didn't get where we are today by adopting dogs that bark backward. No, Janie. It’s out of the question.”

“I’m sorry,” Janie told Rufus one morning as they sat on her front porch. “I keep telling Daddy how great you are. He just won’t listen.”

“Krab-krab!” said Rufus.

“Yes, sometimes he is bad-tempered,” said Janie “I’ll keep trying, though. Don’t worry.”

But Rufus did worry. That evening he talked it over with his friend Bill Bulldog. “I don’t think Mr Johnson will ever like me,” Rufus said. “As long as I bark backward, he’ll never let me live in his home.”

“Have you tried treatment?” asked Bill.

Rufus said, “I’ve tried everything. Nothing helps. It’s just the way I bark.”

“You’re a great dog Roof. Anyone can see that,” said Bill. “It just takes some humans longer to figure it out, that’s all. Hey, want to go with me to Succotash Street? I’ve heard that their garbage is fantastic.”

Rufus yawned. “No, thanks,” he said. “I’ll take a nap.”

When Rufus woke up, it was late afternoon. As he was lying there, his sharp ears heard Mr. Johnson saying, “It’s almost suppertime. ls Janie still roller-skating? We Johnsons didn’t get where we are today by being late for supper.”

Rufus ran down Kumquat Street to look for Janie.

At the sight of Janie and Rufus, Mr. Johnson ran up.

Ballet (芭蕾) was a way of life in Kelly’s family. Her elder sister Serena was now dancing at a top college. Though Kelly’s mom always wanted her to follow in her sister’s footsteps and Kelly herself was good at ballet, her love for ballet had faded years before and she was eager for a new challenge. One day at school, as Kelly left the dance studio she walked past the gym, fascinated by boxers (拳击手) training inside the boxing ring. She was deeply impressed by how hard they hit and how fast they moved. In fact she had long been attracted to boxing.

She pulled a piece of paper from her backpack. The big title Boxing Club Tryout (选拔) caught her eyes. That was what Kelly really wanted to do. She knew her mom had high expectations for her when it came to ballet. Tired of trying to keep up with her sister, Kelly was ready to create her own way.

The next day, she gathered her courage and told Serena about her new passion. At first Serena didn’t understand and thought she was just joking. But when she saw Kelly was serious, she replied, “You know Mom wants you to be a ballet dancer, right? Besides, boxing is only for boys, and you’re so good at ballet. Lean into your strength, Kelly.”

“But this is where I want to put my strength,” Kelly insisted, “and what exactly does ‘only for boys’ mean, anyway? Boxing is a sport for everyone!”

Gradually, touched by her determination and passion. Serena began to understand and support her. Kelly could feel it. Her sister was going to respect her decision no matter what. But that was nothing compared to the preparations for the tryout, where she was required to show her footwork and punching (击打) abilities with other candidates. Kelly wasn’t naturally good at boxing, but she had made up her mind to stick to her choice.

Paragraph 1: Then Kelly began her training for the tryout, keeping it a secret from her mom.

Paragraph 2: The following Monday, results of the boxing tryout came out.