"Tammy! Come here, please! Mother needs your help in the kitchen." Her father called out to her.
Tammy was in her room, getting ready to do her homework. "Yes, Daddy!" she replied. "I'll be right there."
She hurried out of her bedroom and down the hallway. She was only nine years old. Her elder sister, Ella, had just moved away to go to a performing arts high school in another city. Her brother, Harry, was in middle school and always got home late. With Ella leaving home, Tammy was expected to do a lot more than she had ever done before, especially now, because her mother was ill.
Her father was in the kitchen. "Tammy, I know you usually do your homework right now, but with things being different, we all have to change a little bit. I'll help you and Harry with your homework later on, OK?"
Her father had an apron（圍裙） on over his clothes, and he looked kind of funny. He was doing the dishes and he always splashed（濺出） water all over when he did that. After helping her father with the dishes, Tammy helped set the table.
After supper, her father helped her and Harry with their homework, and then they played a board game so that their mother could lie down for a while.
The next morning, Tammy got up early on her own because she wanted to help her mother with breakfast. She made orange juice and even put bread in the toaster and got out the butter so that her mother could sleep for a few more minutes.
When her mother got up half an hour later, she was very surprised and moved to see the breakfast on the dining table. She gave Tammy a big hug.
"Thank you, Tammy. You really are mother's little helper now, aren't you?"
【小題1】Why did Tammy's sister move out of their home?

When I was a foreign teacher in China，every day I taught English to my students and they taught me about China．One day the topic turned to saying “I love you”．I was shocked to learn that not one of my students had said this to their mothers，nor had their mothers said it to them．“Does your mom love you?” “Of course，”they answered．
“How do you know it?” was my logical question．They responded that their moms cooked and always told them what they were doing wrong to show their caring．I was strummed. So mom's cooking and criticizing read out as “I love you”. “Then how do you say ‘I love you’ to her?” They agreed that getting good grades, followed by good jobs would be how they showed their love.
I come from a culture where most people are expressive enough，so I repeated these queries in classes over time．Gradually，I began to get different responses．Some of them had exchanged those sentiments with their moms．
One of my favorite stories of change came from a girl．When she came home from university，her mother met her at the door and hugged（擁抱）her．This had never happened before，but her mom said，“Now that you have gone I have more time to myself.”I noticed that in some places mothers and children hug each other and I decided it was a good idea and that I would begin hugging you．”
In my family we all say “I love you” a lot．While it is true that we often say the words without having great depth of feelings at that moment，and it is almost like a blessing we give each other. Those three little words carry a world of meaning，even when said as a greeting, but most especially if they are the last words we say to or hear from those we love．
【小題1】The foreign teacher _________．

I was cleaning out an old box when an old card caught my eye: Queen City Casket Company（公司）. “What is it?” I wondered. I turned it over. There, in faded ink, was a hand-written address. Immediately my mind traveled many years back.
I was nine years old, walking down the cold and wet streets of Springfield, with a bag of magazines on my shoulder. That day, I came to the company finally, the owner, Mr. Rader, had always taken me there to ask his workers if they wanted any magazines.
Shaking off the rain like a wet dog, I went into Mr. Rader’s office. After a quick look he took me over to the fireplace. Noticing the hole in the top of my shoe, he said, “Come with me!” pulling me into his car. We stopped in front of a shoe shop. Inside, a salesman fitted me with the finest pair of shoes I had ever seen. I felt about 10 feet tall when I got up in them. “We’d like a pair of new socks, too.” Mr. Rader said.
Back in his office, Mr. Rader took out a car, wrote something on it and handed it to me. With tearful eyes, I read, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” He said kindly, “Jimmy, I want you to know I love you.” I said good-bye, and for the first time I sensed a piece of hope that things would be better. With people like Mr. Rader in the world, there was hope, kindness and love, and that would always make a difference.
【小題1】The writer went to Queen City Casket Company to         .