Paul was the best table tennis player in his school and hardly ever lost a match. He hated (讨厌) losing anything. When he won, he would feel really good. If he lost, he would feel very terrible. It seemed to Paul that losing was the worst thing in the world.

   A new kid, Jack, came to Paul's school. He was good at table tennis, too. Soon there would be a match between Paul and Jack. Paul worked hard to get ready for the match, but Jack didn't seem to think much of it. When the match began, Jack was a real player. There was always a smile on his face, while Paul looked serious all the time. Paul thought it was so important to win the match that he even wanted to cheat (作弊), but he lost in the end.

   "You played very well, Paul. I think we can play again sometime," Said Jack.

   But Paul didn't feel happy and couldn't fall asleep that night.

   One day, Paul saw Jack playing basketball. Although he lost again and again, the happy smile never left his face. Paul found Jack was great at table tennis, but bad at basketball. However, he enjoyed both of them.

   No matter (不管) he won or lost the game, Jack enjoyed it. Paul came to realize that enjoying a game was much more important than winning or losing it. He felt happier than ever before.

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.

Long ago, there was a mother and a son living in a house. She worked hard every day,    but  they were always poor.

The story happened on a hot heavy rainy day. After class, I wanted to get some water from the water room. Oh! There were so many people! I had to wait in the rain. My hair didn't get wet because I wore a hat, but my clothes did.

   When at last it was my turn, I filled the bottle as quickly as possible. I began making my way back when I saw a boy coming towards me, who was holding two umbrellas in his hand. As he came nearer, I recognized that it was Tom.

   Tom had been my classmate for nearly three years, but we never shared more than ten sentences. He was always silent, but I liked talking. We were quite strange people and had nothing in common. He was a cold person and I even didn't want to see him.

   "Hey!" He said, "I saw you standing in the rain, so I brought you this umbrella. But it seems a little late, your clothes are already wet." On hearing this, I couldn't say a single word.

   "Don't just stand there. Let's go!" He said and held the umbrella for me. We walked towards the dormitory(宿舍) and this time we talked a lot.

   "I really want to make friends with you." he said, "You may think I am silent, but it is because I always can't find the right words to say."

   The rain finally stopped and we saw a rainbow in the blue sky, I said to myself, "I would never judge(判断) someone only by his appearance."

     Bob and Jackie joined a company together just after finishing high school. They both worked very hard. After several years, the boss made Jackie sales manager but Bob a salesman. One day Bob could not take it anymore. He handed in his resignation letter (辞职信) to the boss and complained that the boss did not value hard-working workers.

   The boss knew that Bob didn’t work hard for the company all these years, but in order to help Bob to realize the difference between him and Jackie, the boss asked Bob to do the following. “Go and find out if there is anyone selling watermelons in the market.” Bob went, returned and only said, “Yes.” The boss asked, “How much per kilogram?” Bob went back to the market to ask and returned to answer, “$12 per kilogram.”

The boss told Bob to ask Jackie the same question. Jackie went, returned and said, “Boss, only one person selling watermelons. $12 per kilogram, $100 for 10 kilograms. He has 340 melons in all. On the table are 58 melons, and every melon weighs about 15 kilograms, bought from the South two days ago. They are fresh and red.”

    Bob realized the difference between himself and Jackie. He decided not to leave but to learn from Jackie.

    My dear friends, you know, a more successful person is more careful, thinks more and understands in depth. For the same matter, he sees several years ahead, while you see only tomorrow. The difference between a year and a day is 365 times, so how could you win?

Think: how far have you seen ahead in your life?                    

Sometimes I really wonder if there is love between my parents. Every day they are busy trying to make money for my schooling.

One day, my mother was sewing a quilt（缝被子）. I silently sat beside her.

“Mom, is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.

With surprise in her eyes, she stopped her work for a while. Then she said, “Susan, look at this thread（线）. It can hardly be seen, but it’s really there. It can make the quilt strong. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. Love is inside"

I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got ill seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month.

After they were back, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road every day. They were so kind to each other and it seemed they were the happiest couple（夫妇）.

But after two months my father still couldn’t walk by himself.

"Dad, how are you feeling now?" I asked him one day.

"Susan, don"t worry about me." he said gently. "To tell you the truth, I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life." Reading his eyes, I know he loves my mother deeply. 

Now I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.

Although environmental problems have existed for centuries, some people still care little about our environment. Problems like ice melting, electronic waste are lighting up news programs and becoming part of an ongoing dialogue about the environment.

As a teenager, what do you think all the problems mean for your future and for the future of the planet? For our October 2016 writing contest, we want you to really consider what you think about environmental problems.

Use these questions to help focus your essay

  What environmental problem do you think should cause the greatest alarm and action?

  Do you think that you have a personal responsibility to help solve environmental              problems or do you feel helpless against the struggle?

  What do you think could help a specific environmental problem?

Don’t try to answer all these questions. Use one of them to make a personal essay.

The title of the essay

When you hand in your essay, title it as: Environmental Problems: _______.

Include the phrase “Environmental Problems” as the beginning of your essay title, but then make the rest of your story title unique. Examples:

  Environmental Problems: Trashy Behavior and the Plastic Bottle

 Environmental Problems: We Can’t Exist If We Refuse to Change

Rules:

(1) This is a non-fiction essay contest.

(2) Essays are 500 words or less.

(3) Essays must be your original work.

The deadline:

Midnight Oct. 30, 2016

Results:

The winner will be posted on our writing contest website or on Teen Trend Report after Nov. 26, 2016.

As I never had a job before, I really wanted to start it. I got my job at the age of 22,When I arrived, I was a little nervous at first, but everybody was so friendly that I felt at ease (舒适的) soon.

My work at first was to help with auditing (审计) information on the computer. I was busy with lots of numbers all day. Being a friendly and great team of eight people to work with, the workers were always ready to help. That really made me know how to work effectively (有效率地) in my job.

Before my work, I did not know what auditing was, but now I do better in the job. I become more confident (自信的) with learning something new for future jobs. I can say that you may feel nervous about your first day at work, but you will soon be a part of the team. Now I work here for three years, and I enjoy my job very much. I thank all the workers for making me feel welcome and a part of the team.

I think people should have a work experience (经历) — it is an excellent way to get skills (技能) and make you feel more confident for future jobs.

 Sarah is 14 years old. She is tall and smart, but there is a scar(伤疤) on her face. Sarah is not happy about it.

   One day, Sarah’s mother takes her to the city zoo. There are many kinds of animals in the zoo. Sarah’s mother likes dolphins(海豚)best, so they go to see the dolphins first. There they see a dolphin swimming.

   “Oh, that dolphin looks so ugly(丑). I don’t like it, Mom!” Sarah says to her mother. Then the dolphin starts to play with a ball. It plays very well. “How smart the dolphin is!” “What a beautiful dolphin!” All the people there say. Sarah starts to enjoy the show.

  “What do you think of the dolphin now, Sarah?” Do you like it?” the mother asks Sarah.

  “Oh, so great! Now I really like it. ” Sarah answers.

  “That’s it, my daughter! Although the dolphin doesn’t look beautiful, many people like it because it’s smart and it can play with a ball so well.” The mother says,

   “So don’t mind your scar. All of us like you so much!”

When he was a teenager, Hunter Adams was very unhappy and he spent many years in a special hospital for people with mental health problems.
When he left the hospital, Adams decided to become a doctor, so he went to a medical school in Virginia, USA. But when he was there, he did things in a different way. For example, he didn’t like the doctor’s white coats, so he wore shirts with flowers on them when he visited his patients and he tried to make them laugh. The doctors at the medical school didn’t like Adams because he was too different.
But Adams believed that people in hospital need more than medicine. He saw unhappy and lonely people, and he tried to help them as patients, but as people too. He spent a lot of time with children in the hospital and often dressed up like a clown to make the children laugh
When he finished medical school and become a doctor, Adams opened his own hospital, called “the Gesundheit Institute”，together with some other doctors. They wanted it to be a place with a different way of working with sick people.
Hunter Adams became famous during the 1980s, and in 1988, Universal Pictures made a film about his life. It was very successful. In the film, Robin Williams played Adams. Williams said,:”Hunter is a really warm person, who believes that patients need a doctor who is a friend. I enjoyed playing him.”