II.

Tina was not like many of her classmates. She didn’t listen to popular music or watch many movies, and she wasn’t interested in nice clothes. When she got together with her friends, they wanted to listen to rock and pop music. When Tina asked  if  they would  like  to  try classical  (古典的) music, they all looked at her strangely.“Classical music  is  for old people, ” one of  her friends said. Tina was worried that something was wrong with her. She decided to talk to her father. As she entered his study (书房), her father could feel something was wrong.

“Dad, am I strange?” she asked her father.“Of course not, ” he answered. “Why do you ask that?” “Because I don’t like the same things as my classmates do. They want to listen to Mariah Carey’s music. I like Yo Yo Ma’s.” “I can understand, Tina,  it’s all  right  to be your own person. You don’t have to copy (模仿) what other people do. Everybody has different tastes. Some of them are popular, and others aren’t. ”After talking with her father, Tina felt better. She realized (意识到)  that being different made her special.  It was an important lesson for her to learn.

One of the secrets 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 merits (优点). You should always look for the good in people and learn from them.

Second, you should try to learn new things and skills every day. Reading a few pages of a book or a newspaper every day may help you.

Third, start the day the right way. When you get up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself today you must keep your good habits.

I think the last one is the most important. No matter what good habits you decide to develop, you should try to keep them. Then you can have a life with success and happiness.

 Hello, my name is Susan. I have a cute pet.pig. Look, here is a photo of my pet. Sheˈs white and black. Her name is Dudu, a lovely name, isnˈt it? For breakfast, she likes to have carrots, milk and apples, but tomatoes are her favorite. She is very smart. She can swim. And sometimes she can dance to music. I think itˈs really funny.

    After school, I usually take the school bus to go home. She usually waits (等待) for me at the bus stop. She is really happy to see me when I get off the bus. After dinner, we usually take a walk around the garden. Sometimes she picks (摘) some flowers for me. She thinks Iˈm her best friend.

Do you get angry when your friends sing loudly while you are trying to work, or when your best friend does not wait for you after school?

If you do, you need to take control of your feelings and stop getting angry so easily. Getting angry with people can cause you to lose friends.

Gray Gerber, an American high school teacher, has written My Feelings Are Like Wild Animals to help you control your feelings. It tells teens how to stay cool when bad things happen to them.

The book says that getting angry only makes problems worse. It can never make them better. Getting angry is not a natural way to act, the book says. It is just a bad habit, like smoking.

The book says you can control your anger easily. All you have to do is tell yourself not to be angry. When a baby falls over, he only cries if people are watching him.

Like a baby, you should only get angry if you are sure it is the right thing to do. The book gives many tips(提示)to help you if you get angry easily. Here are our tips:

   (1)Keep a record. Every time you get angry, write down why you are angry.

   (2)Ask your friends to stop talking to you when you get angry. This will teach you not to be angry.

   (3)Do something different. When you get angry, walk away from the problem and go somewhere else. Try to laugh.

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.

Fat people are always looking for ways to be slim without giving up their favourite food or taking a lot of exercise. Here is some good news for them. This is not a diet. Itˈs a simple way to become slim. And you donˈt even have to give up the food you love or do a lot of exercise. You just follow some habits that thin people have. Keep them, and youˈll become thin.

    (1) Wake-up

    When you wake up in the morning, sit up slowly without using your hands. With legs straight out, bend(弯曲)forward until you feel sore(酸)in your back. It will burn about 10 calories(卡路里).

    (2) Start with soup

    When you have a meal, order a clear soup, and have it before having the main food. In this way, youˈll feel fuller, so youˈll eat less when the main food comes.

    (3) An apple (or more) a day

    Apples are full of fiber(纤维)and water, so your stomach(胃)will want less. The study shows that people who eat at least three apples a day lose weight.

    (4) Stand up and walk around

    Every time you use the mobile phone, stand up and walk around. Most of the heavy people sit two and a half hours more each day than thin people. This skill is very important as standing up and walking around will burn 50 or more calories.

    Use these skills, and you will become slimmer and slimmer.

What is a Chinatown? Is it a town in China? Of course not! Chinatown is a part of a town area with a large number of Chinese residents(居民), usually outside of China. Chinatowns are throughout the world, including those in East Asia, Southeast Asia, North America, South America, Australasia, and Europe. The biggest one is in New York. It is a good place to go.

People like to give gifts to others on big days. Do you know how to choose(挑选) gifts? You should choose gifts that your family or friends like. Different gifts are for different people. For example, boys often like to play with robots(机器人),toy guns(枪)and balls. And girls may like something lovely, like flowers, dolls and beautiful clothes. Of course, you don’t need to choose something expensive. Your feeling is much more important than money. There is a Chinese saying, “A small gift means far much. ”