Great news! Ms Mumford just told me I had been chosen as one of the school students to visit the University of Cape Town in South Africa this summer! She said the program was designed for some of the brighter teenagers to experience a difference in a different culture. 【小题1】

【小题2】 They said it was dangerous for me, a girl, to travel alone. 【小题3】 I kept telling them I had been on a plane on my own before. They needn’t worry about me because this trip would be almost the same at that time when I had visited you in Texas. 【小题4】 Will you help me, Auntie Em? 【小题5】

After school on Friday, when Nick got home, he saw Grandpa’s car! Nick smiled and walked quickly up the front sidewalk. He reached the door and said hello to Grandpa. Then Mom called from the kitchen. “Put away your schoolbag first.” Nick’s smile disappeared（消失）. “Oh, no,” he said, “I forgot to bring my schoolbag home.” Mom was angry. “Nick, you forgot your schoolbag again! You need to be more careful!”

Grandpa turned to Nick and winked（眨眼）, “I’m afraid you inherited（遗传）your forgetfulness from me, Nick. Your grandma used to call me ‘Forgetful Jones’”. Grandpa’s words made Nick feel a little better. But he still felt mad at himself.

After dinner, Grandpa suggested going for a walk. As they walked around the corner, Grandpa said, “I’ll tell you a little secret, Nick. We’re the same. We like to do things, make things and have fun! That’s why we sometimes forget things.” “But Grandpa, how did you stop forgetting? How can I stop forgetting?” Nick asked. “Well,” said Grandpa, “I know a few tricks. I use them to help me remember important things. For example, it’s important to turn off my car lights when I park the car. So every time I get in the car, I put my notebook in my lap（大腿）.”

“I saw it!” said Nick. “I always wondered why you did that!” “Now you know my secret,” said Grandpa, “It’s a simple little trick, but it works. Why don’t we put our heads together and come up with a schoolbag—remembering trick?”

What a shiny scooter(踏板车)! Sophie couldn’t keep her eyes off it. Her dad noticed.

“Sophie, you have a scooter already, a really nice one!” “I know, but this one is so shiny and new,” Sophie said. “It is great, but it’s not cheap. We have to go,” said her dad.

They left the store. Sophie knew her old scooter was nice, and it still worked. She just couldn’t stop thinking of that new scooter!

A few weeks later, Sophie and her dad were back in the store.

The scooter was just there, with a big sale sign on it! The girl ran right over to it. Her dad looked at the price.

“I know you’ve been thinking about this scooter a lot, Sophie. The sale price is pretty good, though it’s still a lot of money. I can’t just buy this for you. But what if I pay for part of it, then lend you the money for the rest, and you promise (答应) to pay me back?” her dad asked.

“Really?” Sophie said excitedly. “I promise I will pay you back!”

As they were walking towards the cashier desk (收银台), her dad asked Sophie if she knew what it meant to borrow money.

“Yes, it means that I have to give it back to you,” Sophie answered.

Her dad responded, “You’re right, but you can give it back to me a little at a time. Now you get five dollars a week for your allowance (零用钱). You could pay it back to me once a week until you pay off your part of the scooter. It will take several months.” “Thank you, Dad! I will pay you back with my allowance until I return all the money.”