Susanne thought Allan’s wish to become a girl was probably from curiosity．

　　It was the second morning after Allan’s 10^th birthday．The hands of the clock pointed to 7∶20, only 40 minutes from school hours, but Allan was still sound asleep．Susanne tiptoed into her son’s room：the red applied on his lips by his sisters was still there; what surprised her most was that her pinkish undershirt which had long been missing and her eldest daughter’s favorite green mini-skirt were also on the boy．Is this only a childish joke?A scene that had happened on her son’s birthday came to her：when asked about his birthday wish, Allan was silent for a moment and then whispered to her ears, “I wish to make a girl, mum．”

　　Susanne went out and rang up to Allan’s teacher asking for a day’s leave．At about 7∶40, Allan ran out of his room, screaming,“Mum, I will be late for school!”Susanne noticed her son had changed into his night-suit with a pattern of little bears．

　　“My dear,”said Susanne difficultly,“you needn’t go to school today．I’d like to have a word with you．”Allan’s shining eyes dimmed suddenly．He walked to his mother and sat down, his head drooped．After a moment of silence, Allan raised his head, eyes filled with tears．“Mum, I really want to make a girl．”Susanne stared at her son, tears rolling down her face too．As for a mother with four daughters but one son, you can imagine her breast of the moment．

　　Susanne was not an open mother．She didn’t think it was too late to set right Allan：he was only 10, after all．All the day Susanne did one thing－advising Allan give up the idea, while the son was silent all the way, instead of crying or quarrelling like other children．As a result, Allan gave in to mother．He even offered to return all that didn’t belong to him：mother’s shirt, her sisters’ skirt and lipstick．

　　In the later days, Allan seemed to come back to normal：playing football with neighboring boys, wearing a boy’s suit, even with a tie…．

　　On the morning of Feb．12, 2008, however, Susanne found another Allan in his room．He had on a white skirt and a red scarf, which was hanging him on the ceiling．

　　On the desk was a note：Mum, I am flying to God, who will change me into a girl．

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阅读理解

　　A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin(顽童)was walking around the shining car．“Is this your car, Paul?” he asked．Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas．” The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you anything?Boy, I wish－．” He hesitated．

　　Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He was going to wish he had a brother like that．But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly．

　　“I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that．” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”　“Oh yes, I'd love that．”

　　After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

　　Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbours that he could ride home in a big car．But Paul was wrong again．“Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked．He ran up to the steps．Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast．He was carrying his little crippled(残疾)brother．He seated him down on the step and pointed to the car．

　　“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs．His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent．And some day I'm going to give you one just like it－then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about．”

　　Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car．The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride．

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　　阅读理解

　　Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas．I stopped at a gas station(加油站) about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend．While I was standing in．line at the cash register(收款台), I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas．

　　I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car．I stopped and wondered what I should do．A car pulled up behind me．It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station．They said they would take me to my friend’s．We chatted on the way into the city, and when I get out of the car, the husband gave me his business card．

　　I wrote him and his wife a thank－you note for helping me．Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them．Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful．

　　Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning, In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery(电池) was dead．Then I noticed that the Friendly ford dealership－a shop selling cars－was right next door．I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom．

　　“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?” I asked and explained my trouble．They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it．They would accept no payment; so when I got home; I wrote them a note to say thanks, I received a letter back from one of the salesmen, No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said．

　　“Thank you”－ two powerful words．They’re easy to say and mean so much．

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