Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything—tutors (家庭教师), cards, special learning centers—in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic (天主教的) school.

   After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn’t kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread (铺开) out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner and as soon as he finished eating, he went back to his room, without a word. In no time he was backhitting the booksas hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.

   Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his room and hit the books. His mom looked at it and to her surprise, little Tommy got an A in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity (好奇心). She went to his room and asked, “Son, what was it? Was it the nuns (修女)?”

   Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head, “No.”

“Well then,” she asked again. “What was it?”

Little Tommy looked at her and said, “Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed (钉) to the plus sign (加号), I knew they weren’t joking.”

    Chen Guangbiao was born in Jiangsu in July,1968. He is the chairperson of a company in Jiangsu. Now he is one of China's richest men and he has donated a great amount of money to charity projects. He says he will donate everything he has to charity after he dies.

    When people are in need of help, he will appear at once. He helped people during the Wenchuan earthquake, the Yunnan earthquake and the Taiwan earthquake. He also gave a helping hand in Japan's earthquake. He has built many Hope Primary Schools to support the education in poor areas.

    He doesn't do charity for honour. He wants to encourage more people to make contributions to charity. After announcing he would donate everything to charity after his death, many businesses, overseas(海外)Chinese people and common people encouraged by him have also promised to do something for charity.

    As a philanthropist(慈善家),he is asked for help every day. Sometimes he gets very tired, but he has never stopped caring.

    So far, he has received a lot of awards, including Pioneer of the Year, and National May Day Labour Medal(全国五一劳动奖章). He is considered as one of china' s top philanthropists.

Students don't always get along well with their teachers. Sometimes they try to get out of a class to escape(逃离) a teacher they don't like. Here is some advice to solve this problem.

●Ask yourself, "What can I learn from this teacher?" If you don't worship his or her personality (性格) or lessons, you can find out what he or she is good at.. Focus on(聚焦) that part of the teacher's personality, and use him or her as a tool for learning. You'll not only get more knowledge in that subject, but also a closer relationship with your teacher! It may help you understand each other better.

●Talk to students who are doing well in the class and ask them for tips, tools, and a plan of action to get along with the teacher better. If you're too shy to talk to another student, study his or her actions and behavior（行为） in the classroom and try to follow them.

●If you still can't get along, make an appointment with the school guidance counselor（辅导员）． He or she will offer many tips and suggestions for you to get out of difficult teacher relationships. Sometimes a guidance counselor can be a mediator（调解员） between you and the teacher. That means they can help you and your teachers get rid of （摆脱）the bad impression（印象） on each other.

●If your relationship problems can't be solved in school, it's time to tell your parents. They can meet with your teacher and try to work it out.

Teachers are there for more than just knowledge, and they know about more than just their subject. They can help you learn how to be a lifelong learner and a helpful adult.

Once there was a piano player in a bar(酒吧). People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.

 ＂I don’t sing,＂ said the man.

 But the lady told the waiter, ＂I’m tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!＂

 The waiter shouted across the room, ＂Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!＂

 So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!

 He had talent he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.

You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.

C

     It was Sunday and Bruce stayed at home. After breakfast he went out into the garden and played with Ted, his dog. Bruce climbed up and down the trees. Sometimes a bird would come down to stay on the doghouse. Then Bruce threw a stone (扔石头) or something at it. He never made it, but he liked doing it.

     Bruce played in the garden for half an hour. Suddenly something was in pieces and the little boy began to cry.

    “What’s the matter, Bruce?” his mother looked through (穿过) the kitchen window.

      Bruce ran into the kitchen. “Mum,” he cried, “Ted’s plate (盘子) was in pieces. I didn’t know it was so fragile.”

       His mother put her arms round him and said, “Don’t feel too bad, Bruce. We have other plates for Ted. But how did you do that?”

    “I threw this at a bird but missed, and it flew to the plate.”

      In Bruce’s hand was his father’s watch.

 The day was warm and the sun shone down like a new beginning in my life. I was waving goodbye to my son, the last one of my children to leave home and go to a new place — university. I felt so light-hearted after spending many years looking after my four children — cooking, washing, ironing, teaching them hew to look after themselves and manage many other things — that I actually thought "At last, I was free".

   But, as I watched my last one leave, although it was joyful, I realized I had not been really prepared for this day. I was too busybringing upthese adults of the future to realize that they would all leave the nest and live by themselves.

   At first I didn't know what I wanted to do. I tried a part-time job, the result of which was that I ran out in tears. I started another business, but that didn't work, either. I grew my own vegetables and fruit, which lasted 3 years. But one day my doctor advised it was not fit for me to do this because of the pain of my feet.

   I began wondering whether I had a future of my own. I cried for the life I was used to, and hadn't known or wanted anything different.

   Then one day I saw an advertisement for foster(代养的) parents. I discussed it with my husband who was always behind everything I tried and then I rang up the number. A week later, a girl named Tracy became a member of my family.

   I now laugh and sing with my 14-year-old foster daughter, even when my kitchen is dirty and in a mess and my bathroom is totally out of order. I now know, 8 years later, the meaning of my doing all these things with the spare hours, days, and weeks when my last child flew the nest. The sun shines once again in my home.

According to scientists’ research, the month in which babies are born could affect(影响) them in some ways.

Babies born in spring get sick easily. Children born under Aquarius (Jan. 21st—Feb. 19th) may be less clever than those born in other seasons. They may also have shorter lives than those born in autumn. Scientists believe many of the differences can be explained by the mother’s exposure to sunlight in pregnancy (怀孕). Sunlight helps lead to the production of vitamin D in the body. The lack (缺乏) of vitamin D in the first months of life may have a bad effect on health.

Vitamin D is called the “sunshine vitamin”. It has a good effect on health. A study showed that people born from April to June had slightly shorter lives than those born in October, November or December. Similar studies in the US showed that people born in autumn lived about 160 days longer than those born in spring.

Professor Russell Foster said the conclusions were surprising and interesting. He added, “These are small effects but they are very, very clear. I am not giving voice to star signs and they are just for fun. But it is true that we are affected by our season of birth.”

  At the first day of my senior high school, I met a nice teacher. She looked at me and said, "I am happy to have an international student in my class." I was very excited.

      One day I was three minutes late for school. She told me to write my name and the word "late" on a piece of paper. In that way she could know I was late for the first time. At the beginning, I was angry. But later I understood why she did that. She did it because she wanted to teach me an important lesson(教训): time is valuable(宝贵的).

      I learnt another important lesson during my first exam. After finishing my exam paper, I did not review the answers because it was the end of the exam time. One week later, she returned my exam paper. I found that one of my answers was wrong. Although A, B and C were the only choices(选择) on the paper, I chose D, but not C. I tried to explain my mistake, "I chose D although I knew C was the right answer." However, she told me, "I do believe you, but I am not going to forgive your mistake. This will remind(提醒) you to be more careful before you hand in your papers." I knew she was right.

                                                            Linda.

 Many kids do housework such as doing the dishes, making the bed, and folding the clothes. In exchange, they get some money or other computer time.

 Paying kids for housework is one of the most popular topics, especially at a time when everyone is more careful about money. Some parents think since adults are paid to do their jobs, we should pay kids for everyday housework.

 But some people don’t think kids should get rewards(报酬) for doing housework. Susie Walton, an expert, believe that by rewarding kids, parents are sending a message that work isn’t worth doing unless you get something in return. “Running any kind of housework is a team effort” Walton said, “A home is a living place for everyone in the family. It’s important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities in the house, and families decide how they want their home to look like, and how they are going to keep it looking like.” 

  Other people believe that getting a reward encourages kids to do housework, and it also teaches them real world lessons about how we need to work to get money. There are also apps(程序) to give kids points and digital gifts that can be redeemed(兑现) either online or in the real world. “Our goal is to give kids lawful power so they can get rewards,” says Chris Bergman. “And kids need rewards to help encourage them.” 

“_________”.     

Do you want to know what pets do when their owners leave for work or school each day? That’s the question The Secret Life of Pets (《爱宠大作战》)tries to answer.

The cartoon movie is mainly about Max, a sweet and loyal dog. He lives inside one of the high buildings in New York. Things are going well until his loving owner, Katie, decides to bring home Duke, a careless, untidy dog from the dog pound, where lost cats and dogs are kept until their owners (主人) come to take them home.

Actress Ellie Kemper plays the role of Katie.“ She decides to bring home a new dog because he needs a home but she’s very worried,” said Kemper.

Instead of welcoming each other with open paws, the dogs can’t get along well at first. When the two dogs find themselves on the mean streets of New York City, they have to team up and work together against a cute but criminal(犯罪的) rabbit named Snowball.

“The story is really funny,” Kemper says. The movie also has an important message. “Animals have feelings too,” she says. “That sounds corny, but we should be kind to animals.”

The Secret Lift of Pets hits theaters on July 8, 2016.