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 cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…"He hesitated.

    Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He wished 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, and 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 neighbors 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 sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.

    “There he 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 window that I've been trying to tell you about.”

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

    My daughter had a bullying(欺凌) problem a couple of years ago. She kept receiving rude text messages from kids at school. Dealing with school bullying wasn't easy, but I finally ended it. When you realize things are serious, it is no time to be silent.

    If your kids are also receiving such text messages, take them directly to the headmaster and show him. Describe to him how it is affecting your kids. Tell him you will not tolerate it and that you want him to put an end to it now.

    School bullying is a dangerous and serious issue these days, and any good headmaster will take your charges seriously. He will probably address the issues with the parents. If they are crappy(糟糕的) parents, then they may do nothing to their child. You may have to repeat this process several times, but you need to keep a check on those text messages and don't allow your child to delete them.

    Now it is time to draw your child close and take care of him/her, because he/she needs it. My daughter did not like me being involved either, but you are the only person your kid can depend on to solve this problem, so do it and mean business. Always be polite, but straightforward. The headmaster and parents must know you mean business.

    If repeated meetings with the headmaster (and parents, if he allows it) do not work, then I would consider hiring a lawyer. That will send the message loud and clear. When you are talking about financial loss, most parents will stand up and take notice and act to keep their kids under control!

    I know a lawyer is a big expense and not something you do lightly, but when bad things like school bullying are happening to your children, you must act and act quickly.

同学们用如图所示的装置探究冰熔化时温度的变化规律．