When I was a girl student in primary school, I got into a big argument (争吵) with a boy in my class. I forgot what the argument was about, but I would never forget the lesson I learned that day.

I thought that I was right and he was wrong—and he thought that I was wrong and he was right. After hearing our argument, the teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson. She brought us to the front of the class and asked him to stand on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of the desk was a large, round ball. I could clearly see that it was black.

She asked the boy what color the ball was. “White,” he answered.

I couldn’t believe he said the ball was white, when it was obviously (明显地) black! Another argument started between us, this time about the color of the ball.

The teacher told us to change places and then asked me what color the ball was. “White,” I answered.

It was a ball with two different colored sides, and from his side it was white. Only from my side it was black.

Sometimes we need to look at problems from the other person’s view in order to truly understand his or her perspective (观点).

A group of students meet in the library each week during lunchtime. They are famous as the members of the Miss Margaret Fan Club. Every Thursday, the twelve members of the Miss Margaret Fan Club make their way to the study centre in the back of the library.

The first Thursday they met. Miss Margaret greeted them with a little talk.

“Welcome to the first meeting of the Writing Club!” she said. “During the school year, we will meet here to work on story writing. At the end of the year, I will put all of your stories together in a book.”

Miss Margaret gave a pencil and two pieces of paper to each student.

“Now, your first homework is to think of a character. Now, try to think about an interesting person. When you think of this person, write down all the details (细节) about him or her in your head.”

Every year there is a Spring Festival in China. Usually it is in January or February. It is the most important festival in China. So before it comes, everyone has to prepare(准备) things. They buy chicken, fruits and many other things. And they often make a special(特别的) kind of food—“dumplings(饺子)”. On the day before the festival, parents buy new clothes for their children.

On the Spring Festival Eve, all the families get together to have a big dinner. This is a happy thing. Some sing and dance, some play games and others make the dinner. When they have dinner, they give each other the best wishes(祝福) for the coming year. They all have a good time.