When I was a kid in Minnesota, watermelon was expensive. One of my father's friends, Bernie, was a rich businessman, who owned a large store in St. Paul.

    Every summer, when the first watermelon arrived, Bernie would call. Dad and I would go to Bernie's place. We'd sit on the edge of the dock (码头), feet dangling (摇晃), and got ready for a big meal.

    Bernie would take his knife, cut our first watermelon, hand us both a big piece and sit down next to us. Then we'd bury our faces in watermelon, eating only the heart—the reddest, juiciest, firmest, sweetest, most seed-free part—and throw away the rest.

    Bernie was my father's ideal of a rich man. I always thought it was because he was such a successful businessman. Years later, I realized that it was not Bernie's wealth itself but his way of dealing with it that my father liked. Bernie knew how to stop working, get together with friends and eatonly the heart of the watermelon.

    What I learned from Bernie is that being rich is a state of mind. Some of us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to eat only the heart of the watermelon. If you don't take the time to dangle(悬荡) your feet over the dock and enjoy life's small pleasure, your work is probably hurting your life.

    For many years, I forgot that lesson I'd learned as a kid on the loading dock. I was too busy making all the money I could.

    Well, I've relearned it. I hope I have time left to enjoy the success of others and to take pleasure in the day. That's the heart of the watermelon. I have learned again to throw the rest away.

Since May 12, a computer virus named WannaCry has infected（感染）more than 300,000 computers in over 150 countries, according to Reuters.

WannaCry is spread by using a weakness in Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Once the virus gets into the computer, it locks all the papers and asks the user for money to unlock them. At first, it asks for $300, but if the user doesn’t send the money in 72 hours, the price doubled, Papers are locked forever if the user doesn’t pay in seven days.

The virus has brought bad results. For example, in the UK, the virus left the country’s National Health Service in a mess. Some hospitals had to cancel patient appointments（预约）, reported The Telegraph. In China, the virus has hit thousands of computers, according to Qihoo 360. One of the most hard-hit groups in China were university users. Many students’ graduation papers were locked. They felt nervous and frightened. Also many gas stations were seriously hit, and the payment system didn’t work.

WanaCry is the latest example of the cyber security（网络安全）problem. Matthew Hickey(who set up the security company Hacker House) said, “The attack is not surprising. It shows that many organizations do not use updates（更新）fast enough.” According to a survey, nearly half of the people said, “ We are not satisfied with the way software updates work.”

As China Daily wrote, “We can’t completely protect our computers against these kinds of viruses, as this cat and mouse game will continue forever. The best choice for most users is to take care online and always install（安装）software updates.”

Once upon a time, a fox was walking along a road. He saw some beautiful grapes hanging over a high wall. He stopped to look at the grapes. They looked nice to eat .The fox wanted to eat the grapes very much, but he cou1d’t reach them. So he jumped as high as he could. Sometimes his nose touched a grape, but his mouth could not reach it. The fox jumped and jumped until he was very tired．

    Finally he stopped jumping and walked away with his nose held high. He said, “I don't need those grapes. They look nice but I'm sure they are sour.”

    In our daily life, when people can't get something they want, they may say, “The grapes are sour.”

  I used to have this serious problem. I would remember something selfish (自私的) or stupid I did   (1)   I was younger and the memory would hurt. In fact, I don’t know if it was pain in my     (2)   or just physical pain, but it would hurt.

         I would be eating dinner or taking a shower and I would feel the memory pouring out suddenly. There was no way I could   (3)   it. All I could do was wait until the memory went away. It took me a long time to recognize I was   (4)   a type of grief (悲伤) and that the way I was dealing with it wasn’t   (5)  . I’d stop and clench (攥紧) my fists until the   (6)  of the memory passed: half fighting it, half letting it overcome me. It was truly like a person who   (7)   

roller coasters (云霄飞车) riding a roller coaster: I would hold it firmly while on the ride, scream (尖叫), let it move quickly, and then just wish it would be over.

         Then, one day I realized there had to be   (8)  better than letting the past disaster of my life hurt me whenever it wanted to. I finally decided to deal with the problem   (9)   next time. That next time turned out to be a cold winter morning as I walked across the parking lot from the subway station. I could feel   (10)   and shame start to hit me. But this time, I didn’t react in an unhealthy way.   (11)   , I stopped walking, closed my eyes, and opened my   (12)   as if I was about to give someone a hug.

         I   (13)   the memory of a time when I acted stupidly and selfishly and hurt other people. I remembered all the details and then I   (14)  what I had done. Though all the things showed the fact that I was not   (15)  , I learned to forgive (原谅) myself. As a result, I stopped letting the memory control me.

In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts (主人) and the worst guests in the world. They’re not really bad guests, but because the guest-host relationship in China is much different than in some western counties, it appears they are not nice guests. And western guests sometimes look rude (粗鲁的) in the eyes of Chinese guests.

   In China, guests are almost like gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese person’s home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. In the west, generally the guest is not a god. Acting according to the host’s way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.

   My wife’s mother, a very kind elderly Chinese lady, doesn’t smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house, as a non-smoker, I feel unhappy. Usually I want to stop them directly, but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In most North America homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are not smokers, you should not smoke in their house. At the very least, you could ask, “Is it OK if I smoke?” “But, don’t besurprised if they say, “No, you can’t smoke.” In our culture, if you smoke in their home, you are a bad guest, but if they don’t allow you to smoke in their house, they are not a rude guest.

   Guests in China also have special habits. Some western people may not adapt to these habits very soon. Thankfully my wife is Chinese, so whenever we visit a Chinese family she tells me to buy them a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite international guests to your home, don’t be too surprised if they don’t bring you a gift.

In China, you probably wonˈt need to change the guest-host relationship very much because you will probably only be the host, and Chinese are naturally very good hosts. If western hosts invite you to their house, try not to be too surprised if their style of treating you is not what you have expected.

A teacher cleared off his desk and placed on top of it a few things. One of them was an empty mason jar（玻璃瓶）. He filled the jar with golf balls until he could fit no more. He looked at the classroom and asked his students if they agreed that the jar is full. Every student agreed that the jar was really full.

The teacher then picked up a box of small pebbles（卵石） and poured them into the jar with the golf balls. The pebbles filled all of the openings in between the golf balls. He asked the students if the jar was full. Once again, they agreed.

Now the teacher picked up a bag of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled in all of the empty space left between the golf balls and pebbles. He asked the class again if the jar was full. The students agreed again.

The teacher said, "I want you to know that this jar represents your life," he started. "The golf balls represent the important things: your family, health, friends…The pebbles represent the other things in life, such as your job, house and car. The sand is every small thing . If you put the sand in first, there is no room for the pebbles or golf balls.The same goes for life. If you spend all of your time on the small things, you will never have room for the things that are most important.

   Pay attention to the important things in your life. You should know there will always be time to clean the house or go shopping.

Which of the events should go in the empty box above?

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.

People all over the world celebrate the new year. However, not all countries celebrate in the same way, and in some countries, the new year doesn’t begin on the   (1)   date very year.

In many countries, the new year begins on 1st January, but people start celebrating on 31st December, New Year’s Eve. In New York many people go to celebrate in Times Square.   (2)    they’re waiting for the New Year, they listen to music, sing traditional songs and have fun. Just before 12 o’clock, everyone   (3)   down from 10: 10, 9, 8… As soon as it’s 12 o’clock, everyone shouts very   (4)  ， “Happy New Year!”

New Year’s Day is often a family day. Some families get together for a special meal. When the weather is fine, many families go out for a   (5)  .

On New Year’s Day, many people make resolutions for the new year. They   (6)  a list of things, such as “I will help out more with housework. I will work  (7)  at school than others.” or “I won’t spend so much time playing video games.” When they have made   (8)   list, they read it to their family or friends and promise to   (9)   their resolutions.

So it doesn’t matter how they celebrate,   (10)   people in countries all over the world, it’s a time to say goodbye to the old year, and to welcome the new.

The ability to forgive others is a great thing that can certainly help to make life happier for everyone. However, some people think that it is very   (1)   to do, and they don’t know how to forgive others, especially their family and friends. This is all   (2)   they don’t understand the meaning of “forgiveness”.In the dictionary, “to forgive” means “to   (3)   feeling angry with somebody that has done something bad to you.” I’m happy that many people have   (4)   in doing this. I have succeeded, too, and I know how hard it is.

    I lived with a friend for two years. During that time, he did cause me many   (5)  . I easily got angry when communicating with him. However, we   (6)   had a talk about our problems. When he pointed out that I wasn’t treating him like a friend, I was   (7)  . I never knew that I also needed to be forgiven for doing something wrong. I thought however   (8)   I might get, I did love my friend deep in my heart. Then I understood the saying, “To love is to forgive.” And when we   (9)   each other, we feel great. After that long talk, we both   (10)   those bad moments. Our friendship became fresh again.

    Now I understand the meaning of forgiveness better.