When I was a child，I stayed with my grandmother a lot of the time while my mother was at work. One day some money problems started to arise for my grandmother and the family. They needed a little more income so she decided to sing at the nearby retirement home(养老院).
So I had to go with her. I wasn't sure about it at first，but as soon as my grandmother actually persuade me to get on stage and start singing，I loved it. I just loved seeing that sparkle(光亮)in those people's eyes. They would stand up and dance and clap to the beat of the music. Eventually，we were singing at many of the homes in the surrounding area 5 out of 7 days a week.
Making other people happy has always made me happy. And during that experience I even discovered my gift， singing. My grandma still sings to those people 15 years later，only for no charge now. I moved to North Carolina when I was 13，leaving my grandma in Florida，but I still carry on her effort and try and go out of my way to do something kind，even if very small，for at least one person every day. There is no better feeling in the world than the one you get when you hear appreciation in someone's voice.
Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history. Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the world forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger.
Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more. Animals are more than just beautiful and interesting. They are more than just a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems. For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks, the farmers' stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice increased quickly.
Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger. Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animals or plants on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.
Have you ever wondered how your favorite NBA team received its famous name? All NBA teams have an interesting story or a history behind their names. Some of the names reflected the city's culture or history, others came from previous owners and many were selected through "Name the Team" contests.
For teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz, the names were not always a reflection of the city. Even though Los Angeles has no lakes, the Lakers name has been a city treasure for almost 40 years. Before going to Los Angeles, the team originated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In1947, team officials changed the name to the Lakers to reflect the Minnesota State's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes". The team name went unchanged after moving to Los Angeles in1960.
Because the Utah's team originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, it was called the Jazz. In 1974, New Orleans club officials chose the name to represent the city for its reputation as the "Jazz Capital of the World". The name stayed with the team even after they found a new home in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1979.
The original owner of the Chicago Bulls, Richard Klein, named the team the Bulls. He picked the name because a fighting bull is relentless and never quits. Klein, who founded the club in 1966, believed these qualities were necessary for a championship team and hoped his Chicago athletes would live up to the team name. The Bulls, the winner of the six NBA championships, has definitely followed the belief.
In 1967, the Indiana Pacers selected their team name in a different way from most other teams. Their decision was based on what they wanted to achieve in the NBA . Team officials chose the Pacers name because the organization wanted to set the "pace" in professional basketball.
When her five daughters were young, Helene An always told them that there was strength in unity (团结). To show this, she pick up one chopstick, taking it as one person. Then she easily broke it into two pieces. Next, she tied several chopsticks together, taking them as a family. She showed the girls it was hard to break the tied chopsticks.
This lesson about family unity stayed with the daughters as they grew up.
Helene An and her family own a large restaurant business in California. However, when Helene and her husband Danny left their home in Vietnam in 1975, they didn't have much money. They moved their family to San Francisco. There they joined Danny's mother, Diana, who owned a small Italian sandwich shop. Soon afterwards, Helene and Diana changed the sandwich shop into a small Vietnamese restaurant. The five daughters helped in the restaurant when they were young. However, Helene did not want her daughters to always work in the family business because she thought it was too hard.
Eventually the girls all graduated from college and went away to work for themselves, but one by one, the daughters returned to work in the family business. They opened new restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Even though family members sometimes disagreed with each other, they worked together to make the business successful. Daughter Elisabeth explains, "Our mother taught us that to succeed we must have unity, and to have unity we must have peace. Without the strength of the family, there is no business."
With three generations of Ans working together, now the Ans' business makes more than $20 million each year. Although they began with a small restaurant, they had big dreams, and they worked together. Now they are a big success.
Within your family, are you the "boss", the "peacemaker", the "baby" or the "king"?
Firstborn — The "Boss"
First-time parents often have very high expectations for their eldest children.Firstborns tend to be natural leaders who respect and trust authority. Many astronauts and engineers are firstborn children.
Middle child — The "Peacemaker"
Typically, parents don't give middle children as much attention as the firstborn or the youngest. As a result, they are usually determined to achieve success in their own way. They don't like conflict and will try to avoid it. They are often realistic, independent, patient peacemakers and good communicators.
Youngest child — The "Baby"
By the time the youngest family member is born, most parents have loosened their rules. They often enjoy amusing others and being the center of attention. They are typically fun-loving, creative people who aren't afraid to question authority or take risks.
Only child — The "King of the Castle"
Life in the family of an only child often revolves around him or her. An only child enjoys learning from adults and is usually very clever for his or her age. Only children are creative and intelligent and can easily communicate with adults. They are typically confident, independent and very successful. What about you? Does the birth order description match your personality?
A. Thus, they tend to have more freedom.
B. That often causes them to feel they are ignored.
C. Early-born children experience a better social environment.
D. These kids don't have to share their toys or their parents' time.
E. Many researchers believe your position in the family influences your personality.
F. As a result, these kids are often responsible, organized, bossy, successful achievers. G. The relationships between birth order, personality, and behavior confuse many researchers.
Karen is being praised for teaching her students a powerful emotional lesson that they will not soon forget. She has been teaching for decades, but her most recent class was apparently the most 1 class of her educational career.
For her sixth day of classes at Collinsville Middle School, she decided to try a new2 in empathy (共鸣) with her students called "The Baggage Activity".
Upon establishing that her classroom was a(an) 3 space for expression and respect, she asked what emotional baggage 4 to her students. She then asked them to write about some of their own — and 5 they were not required to put their names on the paper, they could describe their issues as 6 as they wanted.
The kids then read what their classmates wrote 7 , things like suicide, drugs in their family, cancer and on and on.
"The kids who read the papers would cry because what they were reading was 8 The person who shared would cry sometimes too. It was an emotionally draining day, but I firmly believe my kids will judge a little 9 love a little more and forgive a little faster." Loewe wrote in a social media post.
Since writing about her exercise on social media, her 10 has been shared widely. Teachers from all over the world have 11 out to her about performing similar activites in their own classrooms and their students have apparently been "so much more 12 " of each other.
Moreover, Karen kept all the paper confessions (坦白) in a plastic bag so that her students will 13 their exercise in empathy, which also reminds them that they all have 14 .
"We will leave it at the door. As they left, I told them they are not15 they are loved, and we have each other's support." said Loewe.
Located in Ordos, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Kubuqi Desert (库布齐沙漠) is the closest desert to China's capital Beijing. It was once known as the "sea of death". However, in the past 30 years, the government, social organizations and local farmers (work) together to control desertification (沙漠化) in Kubuqi Desert.
Historically, Kubuqi was a rich city filled with water and grass. But due climate change and over-exploitation from humans, the farmlands gradually turned to desert. Controlling desertification was the only way out for people still living in Kubuqi. With the first highway going through the desert (build) here, people started planting trees in whole desert. It was common for planted trees to die. But the next year, people just continued to plant more trees. (ultimate), their hard work inspired the term "Kubuqi spirit", encouraging local people (devote) themselves to the desert greatly. Over three decades, tree planting technology saw further (improve) in Kubuqi. Now workers can plant a tree in just ten (second), and the survival rate of trees is over 80 percent.
The 102,000 residents in the desert have enjoyed the benefits of managing with desertification. Meng Keda, family has lived deep in Kubuqi Desert for generations, began a tourism business in 2006 earned about 300,000 yuan last year.
I was a volunteer for an organisation at the beginning of this year. The organisation is aimed at helping children who suffer from cancer. One day, we were asked to raise money for cancer research and programme funding at an event.
Since my friend Lisa was also a volunteer for the organisation, I went to the event with her. There were many people at the event. After seeing our poster, some people came to us and talked with us. But few people donated money. It was a bit hot that day. Both Lisa and I got really upset.
Half an hour later, Lisa started complaining, "I don't think we can raise much money today. "
"Don't worry. The event lasts for three hours. There is still a lot of time left，" I said, though I also thought poorly of our plan to raise much money that day.
While Lisa and I were talking, a little boy of about eight years old came to us. He stood in front of our poster and started reading.
After a while, he asked, "What is cancer？"
I explained what cancer is. Then I said, "Many people around the world are suffering from cancer. It can be really dangerous. More research is needed to learn about it so that people with it can suffer less. That's why we're collecting money for it. "
"Do children suffer from cancer, too？" asked the boy.
"Yes. Many children suffer from cancer. Some of them may die. They need help. " Lisa said and I nodded.
Hearing that, the boy became sad. Then the boy asked, "How much money have you collected？"
Both Lisa and I were embarrassed to tell him that we didn't raise much money. At last, we said, "Not much. "
The boy looked into our donation container and only saw a few one-dollar and five-dollar bills. The boy said nothing after seeing that and left. Then some girls came to us and we started talking with them. Neither Lisa nor I thought the boy would return. However, about twenty minutes later, the boy did return.
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The boy happily ran to us and asked, "Would you take a donation from children？"
Both Lisa and I were deeply touched.
