I learned about life from an ant farm. It was when I was seven years old, my family created one. First, we put clean sand in a thin glass box, and then we waited for the live ants to arrive. Shortly after the ants were dropped into the glass structure, they got to work making tunnels. I was amazed that each of them knew exactly what to do .After hours of staring, I discovered that the ants hadassignedjobs.   

With the help of mom, I kept a diary of what happened each day and named the ants. One day an incident struck the ant farm. The pages of the diary, still wrinkled(皱巴巴的)where tear drops fell, indicate the great loss. I had put my face so close to the structure that I accidentally knocked it over and all the tunnels caved in. Although the ants survived(幸存) their earthquake, one by one they began to die. 

I was terrified as I watched them give up their tunnel-building to carry the bodies to a corner of the farm. My mom reported that the ants were dying of frustration. They simply could not stand the reality that their tunnels had been destroyed.   

Although much time has passed, I still think of that ant farm. Mom had hoped it would teach me about the natural world, but it taught me much more. Over the years, I came to realize the ants were a study in the benefits of teamwork. Working together, they were able to create an amazing world for themselves. I also learned that they should be admired for their hard work. Day in and day out, each worked hard at their task.   

The ant farm showed that teamwork and perseverance(持之以恒）are indeed two keys to success. But there was an even larger lesson that I did not realize until recently: Adversity is a natural part of life, and must be accepted. Unlike the ants, humans cannot give up when they face disappointment. Unlike the ants, we have to realize that if a tunnel caves in, we just have to build another. Giving up, I say, is not a choice.

One day, I took an underground to work, I saw something that made me very sad. On the tube( underground in London), a mother kept looking at her phone screen and playing a game with her daughter sitting beside her. The little girl, about 5 years old, was talking to her mother about her day, repeating the next stop's name cheerfully, praising her mother's long nails--trying to draw her mother's attention. Her mother just nodded and mumbled "Mm, hm" with her eyes glued to the screen, busy passing the levels of the game. I watched the girl give a final try to at least get her mum to look at her, but it was no use. Then the little girl turned silent. It was a shame the mother didn't notice that.

      It broke my heart and got me wondering--what kind of game would make the mother forget she has the most beautiful thing in the world, the human she created, the person she loves with all her heart? What it meant when she couldn't look into her daughter's eyes and even stop to listen to the girl?

      Some parents are almost like the teenagers, always on their phones with mindless games or going through Facebook. Perhaps parents have many things to deal with, but sometimes they are everything to their kids.

     This is not an isolated example. I've seen too many such examples. I might not be a parent myself, and probably still have a long way before becoming one, but I know what I saw isn't right.

     The scene used to be seen among teenagers very often when parents complained how their children were crazy about their mobile phones. Look how the situation has changed! The parents have become "technology slaves", that is to say, they can't control themselves while using mobile phones. Now some middle-aged parents hold the best iPhones or Samsung phones, which are probably the only two brands they know. They are playing the simple games with so expensive mobile phones. I'm uncertain whether to laugh or to cry. But my hope is that this storm passes.

John, a famous musician, took his priceless violin and played it in the crowded subway station. The music from the violin was streaming throughout the whole station. However, during the one-hour play, only six or seven people were truly appreciating the music. A three-year-old kid was so fascinated by the music that he forgot everything around. John only got 52 dollars for his work that day.

However, in normal days, when John is about to hold a concert, one ticket can be sold at more than 100 dollars and it is really hard to buy a ticket even at such a high price. Therefore, later, many passers-by in the station that day felt deeply regretful for not recognizing the famous musician and missing such a valuable but cheap music feast(盛宴).

I have a very busy friend called Charles. He had totally changed after knowing that his wife came down with incurable illness. He cooked by himself for the family and took a walk with his wife every day. But even so, his wife still did notconquerthe illness and passed away. After that, he often sighed. Due to his past busy life, he had missed a lot of beautiful time with his wife. But now, it is impossible to make up for it.

   But It is no use crying over spilt milk. We have missed a lot of precious things without knowing to treasure them. The reason is less than simple :we had thought that we could still own them tomorrow.

There was a famous Buddhist monk saying that in many people’s lives, they have only done two things: waiting and regretting. The result is that they were always too late to treasure what they had before they lost it. We should often expect to do something when we grow up, or when we have money or when we become old, ect. However, when we reach the condition we have expected, we could no longer realize our wish, because we have lost it by then.

Have you ever noticed that you’re treated (对待) differently in stores based on your sex (性别), age, race (种族) and even the way you dress? I certainly have, so I wanted to see exactly what happens inside these stores that are meant to be run with “customer (顾客) service”.

A young man in ripped (撕破的) jeans and an old jacket went into a car shop and asked for a price on the top of the line vehicle (汽车). The salesman looked him up and down and said, “I don’t think you can afford a car like this. Have a look at theinferiorcars over here.” 

As you can imagine, the young man was angry and left the showroom. Two days later, the young man walked back in, and he walked up to the salesman who had served him two days before and asked, “Hi, do you remember me? You said I should look at the inferior cars the other day.” The salesman nodded and said yes.

The young man then asked him to just quickly come outside and have a look at something. They walked out and the young man pointed to the brand-new (全新的) top of the line Ford and said, “I paid with cash (现金), do you like my new car?” And then the salesman quickly left.

Maybe many businesses don’t understand a fact if they don’t treat their customers equally, they will lose business. Not every one of the above people will ever go back to those companies and they won’t recommend them to anyone. You will not only lose repeat business but also lose up to 10 customers, for every person you treat badly will not recommend your companies and will tell people not to go to these places.

 Lots of kids hate school, a new study found. Usually this kind of feeling doesn't last long. But what happens if you feel this way too much? School is a fact of life and getting a good education can help you build the kind of future life you want. So let's talk about school and what to do when you don't like it.

   If you don't like school, the first step is to find out why. You might not like school because you don't have enough friends, or maybe you don't get along with your teacher. Sometime it's a big problem with your classes and school-work. You may be getting farther and farther behind, and it may seem like you'll never catch up.

   When you know why you don't like school, you can start taking steps to make things better. It's a good idea to talk to someone about your problems with school. Your mum, dad, teacher or school counselor(顾问)will be able to help you. Another good idea is to write down your feelings about school in a notebook. It's a great way to let out emotions(情绪).Remember, you don't have to share what you've written with others.

Dear Teens,

  ①Do you wonder why some kids can stay calm while others get nervous so easily? Why do some kids do everything very quickly while others are verysluggish? Why are some kids always happy while some feel upset all times?

  ②One of the answers to these questions is personality(个性). People were born with different personalities. A baby gets its blood type, genes(基因) and other physical things when it is still inside its mother. These factors(因素) make part of your personality. Besides, family life, school learning and life experiences can also decide what kind of person you are. You may not like your personality. Don’t worry. You can always try to change it and make yourself better.

   ③If you are a selfish person who always thinks of yourself, you can start this way. Try to give others a hand and ask for nothing in return. The happiness you get from giving instead of receiving will help you change your personality.

   ④If you are very shy and don’t know how to make friends, just tell yourself to smile at others and start talking to others with warm greetings. You are sure to have more friends than you used to do.

   ⑤If you are a sluggish person who always does things slowly, you’d better make a plan every day. When you finish something, draw a happy face. If not, draw a crying one. No one would like to see a crying face and you will have the desire to change it into a smiling one.

   ⑥All in all, don’t get too worried about your shortcomings(缺点). No one is perfect. That’s why many people are trying to change. Don’t give yourself a hard time about it all. It’s not easy to change the habits overnight. Remember “ Rome is not built in a day”. Keep working at it. One day you’ll see that you can turn over a new leaf and be a new person.

                                                                          Dr. Olson

One of the secrets(秘诀)of successful people is that they have good habits. The good habits help them to be successful. What are good habits? How can you get into good habits? Here is some advice for you.

First, everyone has his good points(优点).You should always look for the good points in people and learn from them.

Second, you should try to learn good new things every day. Reading a few pages of a book or newspaper every day also helps you.

Third, tell yourself you are good. When you get up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror(镜子)and tell yourself you can do things well.

I think the last one is the most important. No matter what good habits you want to have, you should try to keep them，work hard everyday. Then you can live a successful and happy life.

Iˈve loved my motherˈs desk since I was just tall enough to sit above the top of it. Mother sat writing letters. Standing by her chair , looking at the ink bottle , pens , and white paper, I decided that the action of writing must be a most wonderful thing in the world.

Years later, during her final illness, Mother kept different things for my sister and brother. " But the desk . " she said again. "is for Elizabeth. "

  I never saw her angry , and never saw her cry. I knew she loved me ; she just did it. But as a young girl. I wanted to have heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter. They never happened. And a gulf   opened between us. I was " too emotional（易感动的) " . But she lived " on the surface（表面) ".

As years passed, I had my own family. l loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive（愿谅）me.

My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace— it seemed that nothing happened. I couldnˈt be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.

   But the present of her desk told me. as sheˈd never been able to. that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside— a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded and refolded many times. It was my letter.

 "In any way you chose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words. "

In the middle of a dark forest，there lives an owl(猫头鹰）. All the animals know that he is the wisest among all of them. So they often go to him and tell him their troubles. Then the owl always teaches them what they should do.

One day，a little bird goes up to the owl. She is crying. “What’s wrong with you?”asks the owl.

“I’m not happy at all. “I don’t want to be a bird,” the bird says.

“Why don’t you want to be a bird?” asked the owl.

“I am so small，weak and useless，” she cries.“I want to be big and strong like the lion. He

is very important , but I am not.”

      Then the owl whispers(耳语）something in her ear. At once the bird dries her tears and goes away. One week later, the bird came back. “Oh, thank you very much. You are a very wise owl，” she says to the owl.“I am very happy now. Every day，I sit on top of the tallest tree and watch for(监视）lions and tigers. When they come near, I shout at the top of my voice. Then my friend all run and hide. They are very thankful to me. I am useful and important now.”

      The wise owl smiles and says，“No one in this world is useless.”