As a student, I was most afraid to answer questions in class, and I found that the students around were just like me. At the beginning of each class, when the teacher asked a question, I always lowered my head because I was afraid that the teacher saw me.
One day, in a foreign language class, Mr. Black gave us a lesson. He wanted us to be active in class. So he asked us some questions, but no one answered. "Let me tell you a story first," he said.
"When I came to the United States to study, the university often invited famous people to make speeches. Before the beginning of every speech, I found an interesting thing. The students around me always took a cardboard folded in half, wrote their names in bold（黑体） with the most eyecatching color, and then placed the cardboard on the seat. So when the speaker needed the answers from the students, he could see and call a listener's name directly. "
"I couldn't understand that. My classmate told me the speakers were all top people, who meant chances（机会）. When your answer was to his surprise, it meant he might give you more chances. In fact, I really saw a few students got great chances because of that. "
After listening to the story, I understood that the chance will not find you itself. You must show yourself all the time so that you can find a chance on the card.
As a student, I was most afraid to answer questions in class, and I found that the students around were just like me. At the beginning of each class, when the teacher asked a question, I always lowered my head because I was afraid that the teacher saw me.
One day, in a foreign language class, Mr. Black gave us a lesson. He wanted us to be active in class. So he asked us some questions, but no one answered. "Let me tell you a story first, " he said.
"When I came to the United States to study, the university often invited famous people to make speeches. Before the beginning of every speech, I found an interesting thing. The students around me always took a cardboard folded in half, wrote their names in bold（黑体） with the most eyecatching color, and then placed the cardboard on the seat. So when the speaker needed the answers from the students, he could see and call a listener's name directly. "
"I couldn't understand that. My classmate told me the speakers were all top people, who meant chances（机会）. When your answer was to his surprise, it meant he might give you more chances. In fact, I really saw a few students got great chances because of that. "
After listening to the story, I understood that the chance will not find you itself. You must show yourself all the time so that you can find a chance on the card.
"Hi! How are you? "The woman smiled as she sat next to me on the airplane. She had to lower herself slowly, trying hard to push her fat body into the seat and fill all the space, leaving no for me.
I felt uncomfortable and moved a little towards the window. She gave her greeting in a friendly voice again.
"Hi, "I replied.
"My name is Laura. I'm from Britain. How about you? "She smiled at me all the time.
"Malaysia." I said coldly.
Laura started a conversation with me. Although her voice was warm and caring, I still replied with unfriendly reactions. But when we were served drinks and meals, she tried hard to make sure that I had room to move in my seat. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable with my' elephant size'!" She said with great sincerity.
I looked at her surprisingly. I never thought she would face the problem and tell me her real thoughts. The face that I disliked before showed a nice smile—lively and calm at the same time. With her words and actions, I couldn't help but feel good with her.
Laura was interesting. During our conversation, Laura made every person on the plane who served us walk away laughing at her jokes. I asked Laura, "Have you ever thought about losing weight? You aren't worried about the illnesses that come with being overweight? "
"Not at all, because I eat healthily and do sports, "she said." This may not be scientific, but I believe in my heart that the people who get illness are the ones who worry all the time. I'm this size because I was born to be big! There is more to life than worrying about weight all day long. "
She drank her wine, "Besides, I get so much happiness every day that I need a bigger body to hold all of it! If I lose weight, I'll lose my happiness. "
Surprised by her unusual reasons, I smiled. I suddenly realized that Laura was the most beautiful woman I had ever met in my life.
One day in ancient Greece, King Hiero asked a crown（王冠）maker to make him a golden crown. At first, he was very happy with it.
"It's a nice crown, isn't it? "he asked his men. Later, however, he began to wonder whether it was a real golden crown or not. "Is it made completely of gold? "he asked himself. He sent it to Archimedes and asked him to find out the truth.
"This problem seems difficult to solve. What should I do? thought Archimedes.
Archimedes was still thinking about this problem as he filled his bath with water. When he got into the bath, some water ran over.
"That's it!" shouted Archimedes.
"I know how to solve the king's problem!"
Archimedes went straight to the palace to see the king. First, he weighed the crown and asked the king for some gold of the same weight.
Next, he put two pots into two big bowls and filled both pots with water. He put the gold into one pot, and some water ran into the bowl. Then he put the crown into the other pot. This time, even more water ran into the bowl.
"Look at this," said Archimedes to King Hiero. "A crown made completely of gold displaces （排出） less water than a crown made of gold and another metal （金属）. This crown displaced , so I'm certain that it's not completely made of gold. "
"The crown maker tricked me, didn't he? What a bad man he is!" shouted King Hiero. He then sent the crown maker to prison （监狱）.
①Archimedes did an experiment.
②The crown maker was sent to prison.
③King Hiero asked a crown maker to make him a golden crown.
④Archimedes was asked to find out whether the crown is completely made of gold.
Do you play a musical instrument? Could you imagine playing one made of ice?
Tim Linhart is an American ice sculptor who has created a small orchestra of ice instruments. The performances have made people fun for more than 20 years.
The name of Linhart's orchestra is Ice Music. The instruments are very fragile. Even the warmth of a musician's breath can cause the sound to change. So the instruments need to be returned between each piece of music. Backup instruments are kept on hand in case one breaks, but some can be "repaired" with just a bit of water.
Most performances by Ice Music take place in a specially created concert hall in Lulea, in northern Sweden. The hall seats up to 200 people, and the temperature inside is about 23 degrees Fahrenheit. Listeners are encouraged to wear thick clothes, a hat, and gloves. Body heat and breathing can melt the instruments, so Linhart designed the hall as two ice houses connected with a stage in the middle. A hole above each side of the listeners allows heat to escape.
Because the concert hall can't last through the warm season, it must be rebuilt every winter. Ice Music concerts have taken place in other places like Canada, Finland. Linhart has recently built an 80-foot-high hall in the Italian Alps. When winter ends, Linhart tries to freeze some of the instruments in his "freeze house" for the next year's performances. Others that are too worn are allowed to melt in the sun.
When I was a little boy, I remember one cold winter morning a smiling man came close to me with an ax on his shoulder. "My pretty boy, " he said, "has your father got a grindstone? "
"Yes, sir, " I said.
"You are a fine little fellow!" he said. "Will you let me grind my ax on it?"
Pleased with the praise of "fine little fellow", I answered, "Oh, yes, sir. It is down in the shop. "
"And will you, my man," he said, patting me on the head, "get me a little hot water? "How could I refuse? I ran and soon brought a kettle.
"How old are you? And what's your name?" he continued, without waiting for a reply. "I'm sure you are one of the finest boys that I have ever seen. Will you just turn the ax on the grindstone a few minutes for me?" Pleased with the flattery, and like a little fool, I went to work. In the end, bitterly I regretted that day!
It was a new ax, which is hard to sharpen, and I worked and pulled till I was almost tired to death. The school-bell rang, and I could not get away. My hands were blistered, and the ax was not half done yet! Finally, it was sharpened. However, the man turned to me with," Now, you little rascal, you've played truant. Run to school, or you'll regret it!"
"Oh, no"! I thought. It was hard enough to turn a grindstone this cold day, but now to be called a naughty boy is too much. It sank deep into my mind, and often have I thought of it since.
When I see a salesman over-polite to his customers, begging them to have a little whisky and throwing his goods on the counter, I think, "That man has an ax to grind. "
I have always known reading was very important because the first memories I have remembered as a child deal with books. There was not one night that I don't remember Mom reading me a storybook by my bedside. I was very inspired by the way the words sound.
I always wanted to know what my mom was reading. Hearing Mom say, "I can't believe what's in the newspaper this morning. " made me want to take it out of her hands and read it. I wanted to be like my mom and know all the things she knew. So I carried around a book, and each night, just to be like her, I would pretend to be reading.
This is how everyone learned to read. We would start with sentences, then paragraphs, and then stories. It seemed an unending journey, but even as a six-year-old girl I realized that knowing how to read could open many doors. When Mom said, "The C-A-N-D-Y is hidden on the top shelf, " I knew where the candy was. My progress in reading raised my curiosity, and I wanted to know everything. I often found myself telling my mom to drive more slowly so that I could read all the road signs we passed.
Most of my reading through primary, middle, and high school was factual reading. I read for knowledge, and to make A's on my tests. Sometimes, I would read a novel, but I didn't enjoy this type of reading. I like facts, things that are certain.
Yet, now that I'm growing and the world I once knew as being so simple is becoming more complex, I find myself needing a way to escape. By opening a novel, I can enter a wonderful world where I can leave behind my worries. I don't have to write down what happened or what skills the author was using.
Reading is an important part of my life. It meets my desire to keep learning. And I've found that the possibilities that lie within books are limitless.
Have you ever wanted to achieve something really amazing in life?Well, Greg Mortenson wanted to climb a mountain, but he ended up helping thousands of people to have a better life.
Greg's story began with failure. In 1993, he set out to climb K2, the world's second highest mountain. But Greg never made it to the top. After five days, he stumbled（踉跄）into the village of Korphe in northern Pakistan, injured（受伤）and hungry. The kind villagers there looked after him for several days.
Greg saw that the villagers were very poor and hungry, and some of them were ill. Also, the village school didn't have a roof（屋顶）and the children wrote on the ground with sticks. Greg knew he wanted to do something to help. "I'll build you a school, "he told the villagers. "I promise. "
Greg went back home to the USA to raise money for the school. He even lived in the car to save money! Finally he went back to Korphe and built the school. But this was just the beginning of something bigger! Since then, Greg's organization has built around 80 schools and runs many others in Pakistan and other countries, too.
Greg hasn't finished yet. He does many other things to help people in poor countries. He has got many prizes, but it's the smiles of the children he has helped that makes him happy!
Greg has just written a best﹣selling book about his story called Three Cups of Tea. It's an interesting and exciting book which tells us what ordinary（普通的）people can do with courage and determination（决心）!
Just the other day, I was in a bookstore and found a book named How to make friends with foreigners. As a Canadian living in China for a year, I was curious to see what kind of advice a Chinese writer was giving on this matter.
One piece of advice really caught my attention and, I must say, made me feel quite angry. In the writer's opinion，foreigners are an "Opportunity（机会）"to improve your spoken English; whenever you see a foreigner, American or English, you should practice speaking English with him or her. If the foreigner doesn't want to answer your questions, then he or she is an impolite person who you needn't spend time with anyway. I think this advice is not only incorrect, but also may harm the relationship between Chinese and foreigners in China.
Like most other "Lao Wai" living in China , I know how lonely one can sometimes fee1 living in a culture different from our own familiar（熟悉的） ways. However，I simply accept as part of being here. So far my time in China has been rewarding. I have improved my Chinese language skills, learned about one of the fastest developing countries in the world today and made some very close Chinese friends.
However, I have also met many Chinese people who consider me only as an "Opportunity"to improve their spoken English. I have had people following me from town to my flat to trouble me to teach them English. I have had complete strangers throwing articles or speeches in my face, insisting that I help them with the English translation. I have had people asking me non-stop questions for half an hour at the weekly English Corner...
Friendship for a lot of foreigners is about spending time with someone whose company（陪伴） they really enjoy. So ifthere is any advice to give on making and keeping friendships with foreigners, I would say that it is this: Treat foreigners as people, not opportunities. Expect to make friendships step by step, over a period of time, not in a hurry. If your only reason for becoming friends with a foreigner is to improve your English, then you will probably find that you don't have a foreign friend for long.
One day years ago, I finally managed to ask my parents to buy me a new football shirt for the school match. I was very excited and wore it to the training before the match, but I wished I hadn't done that！ My new shirt was torn（破损的）after the training and only a tailor（裁缝）could help.
As I walked home worriedly, I saw a shop sign:All kinds of Repairs and Services! I went inside at once. I looked around the shop and saw broken toys, broken chairs...I wondered if I was in the wrong place. Just at that moment, a man with white hair came up to me and said cheerfully, "Welcome! This is a repair shop and I can repair everything!"
"But. . , what I need is a tailor to do with my football shirt. "
"You've come to the right place. I've been waiting a long, long time to repair a football shirt. "
"Really?" I held the shirt in my hands.
To my surprise, he took the shirt from me, put on glasses and sat down on the sofa with my shirt in his hands. "I guess you are a striker（前锋），"he smiled warmly. How could he know? The man gave me a wink and said calmly, "See that picture on the wall? That was me 30 years ago. "
I couldn't believe my eyes! He was Orhan, the famous footballer who was on the city team years ago! I told him I was playing for the school team and I had been his fan for years. I told him everything, my dream, my practice and even my dad's words. "Dad thinks I should be an engineer or a doctor. "I lowered my head.
"Follow your dream, choose a job you love and carry on. " The man smiled at me with his blue eyes. He patted me on the shoulder and put the shirt he had repaired in my bag.
Today I have become a footballer and I still keep that shirt in my closet.
