It was summer and I had gotten one of the few jobs a 14-year-old can find—working at Burger King, a fast food restaurant. It 1 wasn't a good job, but it meant money,2 was something I needed.
One day, I was working behind the front counter, taking 3 . The customers were coming and going, and the woman who 4 didn't seem any different from most others.
She ordered her meal and I told her the total. As she searched 5 her purse to find some change, the woman soon 6 that she was about a dollar short."I'm 7 to say this, but I guess I won't be able to make my purchase after all," she said 8 .
That's when I had the idea of paying the difference for her. She refused at first, but after I 9 , she agreed. She thanked me and moved to the end of the count er to 10 her order. I continued with my work and thought 11 more of it.
About an hour later 12 had slowed down and I was waiting for my next customer.Then I glanced over towards the 13 and saw the same woman whom I'd helped with the money entering again. I 14 recognized her.
She walked straight up to me and said,"I want to thank you again for what you did.You see, I'm a diabetic(糖尿病患者), and 15 I need to eat something right away. That's16 I came in earlier. If you hadn't helped me as you did, I 17 have fainted. Thank you."
She handed me two dollars, 18 I'd given her.
19 the woman walk away, I realized that God had used me to help me. In the end,I was 20 not only with money but also with the satisfaction of knowing that I'd helped someone out of a tight spot.
When I was nine years old, I loved to go fishing with my dad. But the only thing that wasn't very fun about it was that he could catch many fish while I couldn't catch anything.I usually got pretty upset and kept asking him why. He always answered,"Son, if you want to catch a fish, you have to think like a fish", I remember being even more upset then because,"I'm not a fish!"I didn't know how to think like a fish. Besides, I reasoned, how could what I think influence what a fish does?
As I got a little older I began to understand what my dad really meant. So, I read some books on fish. And I even joined the local fishing club and started attending the monthly meetings. I learned that a fish is a cold-blooded animal and therefore is very sensitive to water temperature. That is why fish prefer shallow water to deep water because the former is warmer. Besides, water is usually warmer in direct sunlight than in the shade. Yet, fish don't have any eyelids(眼皮) and the sun hurts their eyes... The more I understood fish,the more I became effective at finding and catching them.
When I grew up and entered the business world, I remember hearing my first boss say,"We all need to think like sales people."But it didn't completely make sense. My dad never once said,"If you want to catch a fish you need to think like a fisherman."What he said was, "You need to think like a fish." Years later, with great efforts to promote long-term services to people much older and richer than me, I gradually learned what we all need is to think more like customers. It is not an easy job. I will show you how in the following chapters.
Holidaymakers who are bored with baking beaches and overheated hotel rooms head for a big igloo. Swedish businessman Nile Bergqvist is delighted with his new hotel, the world's first igloo hotel. Built in a small town in Lapland, it has been attracting lots of visitors, but soon the fun will be over.
In two weeks' time Bergqvist's ice creation will be nothing more than a pod of water."We don't see it as a big problem,"he says."We just look forward to replacing it."
Bergqvist built his first igloo in 1991 for an art exhibition. It was so successful that he designed the present one, which measures roughly 200 square meters. Six workmen spent more than eight weeks piling 1 000 tons of snow onto a wooden base; when the snow froze,the base was removed."The only wooden thing we have left in the igloo is the front door,he says.
After their stay, all visitors receive a survival certificate recording their success. With no windows, nowhere to hang clothes and temperatures below 0℃, it may seem more like a survival test than a relaxing hotel break."It's great fun,"Bergqvist explains,"as well as a good start in survival training."
The popularity of the igloo is beyond doubt: it is now attracting tourists from all over the world. At least 800 people have stayed at the igloo this season even though there are only 10 rooms."You can get a lot of people in,"explains Bergqvist."The beds are three meters wide by two meters long, and can fit at least four at one time."
B . 
C . 
D . 
As someone who's been studying English for many years now, you might think you know the English language pretty well. But if you overheard a British person say,"A Billy left some bees and honey in my sherbet(冰冻果露) last night,"would you understand what they meant?
Probably not, but many native speakers may not know what this person was saying either.
The example above was a sentence that a London taxi driver might say to another member of his or her tribe. In plain English, the sentence would be,"A customer left some money in my cab last night."
So, what exactly is meant by"tribe"?
A recent article on the BBC Culture website pointed out that nearly all of us are a part of a tribe. This is a group that defines(定义) who we are and even how we speak. And with each tribe comes its own"secret language", as the BBC called it.
If you work in a certain industry—education, for example—you may use slang words(俚语) and acronyms(首字母缩略词) that only other people who work in that industry would understand. Or if you live in a certain city, you might use a slang word to describe a landmark in the city that only locals would understand.
These so-called secret languages each have their own fascinating history. In the US,for example, the underground"ballroom"(舞厅) tribe of 1970s and 80s New York City and its language were showcased in the 2018 FX show Pose.
These secret words don't always stay within their tribes, however. Words from many tribes, especially musical cultures such as rap and hip-hop, often enter people's everyday vocabulary. For example, the phrase"to have beef"——meaning"to be in a conflict"—was made popular by US rappers. Today, it's widely used by na tive English speakers all over the world.
As BBC reporter Susie Dent wrote,"We are all surrounded by amazing secret languages, full of history and stories and in-jokes(内部笑话). And one thing is certain: our tribal conversations will never run out."
"I can't believe you have driven from Florida to Tennessee for me,"said Kyle, as tears filled his eyes. We talked in a private room in the church while groomsmen(伴郎) paced outside the open door. In a few minutes, the wedding would change Kyle's life. It was a significant occasion for me, too, because I had been his second-grade teacher and mentor(导师) for the past twenty years.
It started when Kyle was assigned to my second-grade classroom. On the first day of class, I approached the thin, sad-looking boy with messy blond hair."Welcome to my class,Kyle,"I said. He looked at the floor and didn't respond. When I helped him with his assignments(作业) during the week, I noticed he didn't know how to properly finish his work and his writing was messy. He attempted some lessons but often had wrong answers.
During a talk with his grandmother, who was raising Kyle. she said,"I'm thankful that you are his teacher. He never liked his teacher before, but he adores you. I wonder how he has been a different kettle of fish over the months. At home, Kyle now behaves better. He begins to listen to me and obey my orders. What's more, it seems that he has fallen in love with his study."I was glad that I could make a difference to Kyle."Unfortunately, due to some family factors, the grandmother and Kyle moved to Tennessee later.
Years later, a tall teenager visited me. It was the struggling student, Kyle. He said he had traveled to Florida to see his father and me. After that, Kyle began to visit me each summer, and we talked about his life, the importance of making good choices, etc. After graduation from school, without his parents' support. Kyle managed to start his own business, later bought a truck, and moved into his own beautiful apartment. I was really proud of him.
And now Kyle was getting married. He said,"I'm lucky that you have influenced my life."
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