Charlie studied in a famous college for four years．He studied hard and did well in all his subjects．He hoped to become a good teacher．This year he left the college and began to work in a senior high school．He likes his students and is strict with them．He does his best to make his classes lively and interesting．

   One day he carefully explained a chemical reaction(反应) to the students of Grade10 inthe chemistry lab．

   “Be careful，everyone，”he said loudly，“Before I make the experiment，there are 25 atoms of carbon(碳原子)，but after I finish it，there are 24 atoms of carbon left!”

   He stopped to watch the classroom and hoped his students would go on explaining it．But the students looked at each other and nobody answered him．He had to ask，“What happens?What makes the atom lost?”

   The classroom was very quiet and none of the students looked at their teacher．

  “Who can tell us where it has gone?”

   Suddenly a soft voice came from the back row，“We did not see anybody leave the lab．”

 The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before a huge pile of troublesome stuff they call “books”. I was going to have my examination the next day. "When can I go to bed?" I asked myself. I didn’t answer, in fact I dared not.

  The clock struck 12."Oh, dear!" I cried, "ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.”

  The clock struck one. I was quite hopeless now. I forgot all I had learnt. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were heavy, so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.

    If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.

      Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver w ould not show the least sign of anxiety.

     The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.

     The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the pay. From then on, they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.

       With so many loopholes (漏洞) in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have atte nded to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.

      In a society of such high moral practice, what need is there for people to be on guard against others?

D

There is one legendary monkey in Chinese literature, who is Monkey King in the famous work Journey to the West.

As it is the year of monkey in Chinese traditional lunar New Year, many people think that Zhang Jinlai, who starred Monkey King in Journey to the West, should show up in the spring festival gala (春晚) of Monkey Year 2016. However, the truth turns out to be quite disappointing for them. Lots of angry remarks go quickly on the internet.

Once I read an article criticizing the people who spread the angry remarks of the absence of Zhang jinlai in the gala. The author obviously can’t understand the feeling of the angry remarks commentators(评论者). He said that the TV series did not match up to the original work and the stories that the TV series described were too simple and naïve. I am sure he hasn’t been growing up with the TV series. 

In those days the ways of entertainments were rare and simple, so the legendary TV series caught numerous hearts of people. When I saw the TV series, I got to know the mysterious and soul stirring stories in one of the four famous novels. Although later I found out that the stories in the TV series is more or less different from the original novel, it didn’t decrease my love for it.

In recent years, the stories of this great novel have been adapted into many different versions. However, there is no one can surpass my beloved old version first showed in 1986. Those who were born in the 90s, 20s and even the latest may not think much of the TV series. The fantastic feeling presented a child a brand new world and gave him a pair of magical wings. How can he forget such turning point in his childhood? We don’t care much about the truth of the stories. What we care for is the joy of watching it and the wonderful world this TV series opened to us.

No matter how the time will change the surroundings, and how wonderful the new technology will be applied in the movie industry, there will always be just one Journey to the West in my mind and only one Monkey King forever! 

(D)

        Tony Bennett，the American singer recently touring Britain，can't remember how many times he has sung his standard hit I Left My Heart in San Francisco. He sang it again to his audience at the London Palladium last night.

      “I never get tired of singing it，”he said.“I like it very much. It's a great city and it's a good song.”

        Bennett is to record a TV special with the American singer Lena Horne while he is here. And a new LP recorded by him in London for Philips titled Listen Easy will be published in June.

     “I like it here，”he added quietly over whiskey.“I would like to live here so many months of the year.”

          He already keeps a large flat in Grosvenor Square，where he is staying with his actress wife Sandie Grant and their three-year-old daughter Joanna. It has a studio where he likes to paint. Tony plans to have his first exhibition later in the year and he has already sold one picture for $ 4，000. At the end of the year Tony is to star in a musical film which has been specially written for him called Two Bits，an informal expression for 50 cents. It's about an Italian immigrant(移民) who goes to America，but he becomes a failure.

         “In many ways it's very close to my life，”said Bennett.“My father，an Italian，was ill and died when I was nine. He always wanted me to sing，but he never lived long enough to be a part of my success.”

The film is to be made by Italy's top director Vittoria De Sica.

A     

There lived a king who liked art. One day an artist offered to paint the most beautiful picture on the wall of his palace.

So the king said，“All right, you may work on one of the walls in the new hall.”

Just then, another artist said, “Please allow me to work on the opposite wall. I shall make exactly what that man will make on the opposite wall. Moreover, I shall do so without looking at his work. I would even request you to have a thick curtain put up between the two walls so that neither of us can see the other.”

Everyone in the king’s court, including the king and the first artist was intrigued. So the king decided to give the second artist a chance.

The following day, a thick curtain was put in place and both the artists got to work. The first artist brought a regular supply of paint, oil and water. But the second one would come with a piece of cloth and a bucket of water every day.

A month later, the first artist said that his work was completed and invited the king to come.

So the king sent a message to the second artist, saying he was coming to see their works that evening.

After seeing the first artist’s wall，the king was very impressed with the painting and gave him a huge sum of money as a reward. He then asked some people to remove the curtain.

The same painting was seen on the opposite wall too! It was exactly like the one on the first wall. But the second artist had not seen what was going on, on the other side of the curtain.

The king gave the second artist a double reward，and then asked，“I am indeed very happy with your work. But how did you do it？”

The man said simply, “It’s very easy！I just polished (擦亮) the wall every day！”

It was a wall made of white marble (大理石)! The fellow polished it till it shone like a mirror. The reflection of the painting across the room showed up in it!

D

    One day last month，I read a story about two teachers who gave awards to their students．The awards were labeled the“8th Annual Ghetto(贫民区)Classroom Awards，”They were intended to be“light-hearted”and the teachers didn’t mean anything bad．One student was recognized for his academic difficulties with the award．

    The world learned about it because his mother posted it on social media．She wasn’t proud．She was angry，confused and hurt for her son．Did I mention that the students to whom the awards were given were in a class for kids who receive special services for learning disabilities? Yes，the "Ghetto Classroom" was the special education classroom．

    When I read this story，I was sure of three things：That student got the message that he was a loser；he would never forget those teachers；he would head to high school without a lot of confidence．

    Humor can be tricky．I learned this the hard way，in my first year of teaching．Someone mentioned that one of my students，whom I had placed into the "athletic" category，had taken ballet lessons for years，and I gently teased her for it．At least I thought it was gentle．I also thought it was okay，until the day when she came to me after class and told me that it hurt her feelings and she'd like me to stop．

    I'm thankful every day that she had the courage to talk to me．Over the years I think I figured out how to throw away my sarcastic(挖苦的)wit(风趣)and learned how to have humor without being hurtful．

    It's really quite simple：You can make fun of yourself in a self-deprecating(自我贬低的)way，but never make fun of your students．

D

    Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family's last vacation. It was my six-year-old. son's winter break from school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked (超额预定), and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits (信誉赔偿) to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York, so I had to get back. But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.

    The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged-okay, ordered--them to wait it out at the airport to "earn" more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?

    Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.

    I've made a living looking for the best deals and exposing (揭露) the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.

    I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money's worth. I'm also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate tospend on a good haircut. It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.

       Charlie and Jackie joined a wholesale company together just after graduation. They both worked very hard.

       After several years, the boss made Jackie sales manager but Charlie remained a salesman. One day Charlie could not take it any more. He handed in his resignation letter (辞职信) to the boss and complained that the boss did not value hard-working employees, but only raised those who tried to please him. He thought that it was really unfair.

       The boss knew that Charlie had spared no effect for the company all these years, but in order to help Charlie to realize the difference between him and Jackie, the boss asked Charlie to do the following: Go and find out if there is anyone selling watermelons in the market. Charlie went, returned and only said, “Yes.” The boss asked, “How much is per kg?” Charlie went back to the market to ask and returned to answer, “$12 per kg.”

       The boss told Charlie that he would ask Jackie the same question. Jackie went, returned and said, “Boss, only one person is selling watermelons. $12 per kg, $100 for 10 kg. He has a total of 340 melons. On the table are 58 melons, and every melon weighs about 15 kg, bought from the South two days ago. They are fresh, red, and of good quality.”

       Charlie was struck and he 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 observant, 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? How thoughtful are you?

    The American newspaper has been around for about three hundred years. In 1721, the printer James Franklin, Benjamin's older brother, started the New England Courant, and that was what we might recognize today as a real newspaper. He filled his paper with stories of adventure, articles on art, on famous people, and on all sorts of political subjects.

      Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin's Courant, few believe that newspapers in their present printed form will remain alive for long. Newspaper companies are losing advertisers, readers, market value, and in some cases, their sense of purpose at a speed that would not have been imaginable just several years ago. The chief editor(主编) of the Times said recently, “At places where they gather, editors ask one another, 'How are you?', as if they have just come out of the hospital or a lost law case.” An article about the newspaper appeared on the website of the Guandian, under the headline “NOT DEAD YET.”

       Perhaps not, but the rise of the Internet, which has made the daily newspaper look slow and out of step with the world, has brought about a real sense of death. Some American newspapers have lost 42% of their market value in the past three years. The New York Times Company has seen its stock(股票) drop by 54% since the end of 2004, with much of the loss coming in the past year. A manager at Deutsche Bank suggested that stock-holders sell off their Times stock. The Washington Post Company has prevented the trouble only by changing part of its business to education; its testing and test-preparation service now brings in at least half the company's income.