Do you know the girl over there? She wears a hat with flowers on it. Her name is Xinzi. She is a nice Japanese girl, my new friend. She is in our class, studying Chinese.
I like Xinzi. I don’t know Japanese, and Xinzi doesn’t know much Chinese. We know some English. We are the same age. And we have the same interests. We like to sing Chinese, Japanese and English songs. I help her to ride a bike and fly a kite. She helps me to swim and jump. We like playing football, but we can’t play at school because the playground is small. Xinzi and the other girls in our class will go to the swimming pool on Monday, and I want to go with them.
【小题1】What does the girl know?

When I was a boy, I was a football fan. I played football with some other boys in the backyard all the time. My mom was worried that I would get ill in the hot summer.
One day my brother gave me a new football. I came into the yard and played it excitedly. But suddenly, the ball flew through the window and nearly hit my dad. Dad said nothing. He took my football and cut it in half.
I didn’t cry because I knew how terrible my mistake was. I didn’t expect (期待) to get another football. But to my surprise, Dad bought me another one the next month and told me to be more careful. I was really thankful for my father’s forgiveness (宽恕). He showed me that even when I made a mistake, he still loved me and gave me another chance.
Parents always give us their unconditional (无条件的) love and forgiveness. We should always give our love and forgiveness to them, too.
【小题1】 The writer played football in the backyard all the time because ________.