I wrote my first note to my mother and it said, "Hi, Mom! Have a nice day!1, Marie!" I was twelve when I wrote it, and I2the note into her change purse（零钱包）. My mother worked3a cleaner in a clothing factory. I knew that when she bought meals in the dining hall, she had to4changes in her purse. I didn't know that she always kept that note, and carried5with her.
After that, I6folded the small piece of paper into my mother's change purse, she and I left each other secret notes. My mother usually hid her notes in the fridge, under a lamp7beside the TV set. I even found one hidden in my shoe. Gradually, I understood8notes became the records of our days, ideas and wishes. But to my mother and me, they were a life-long communication with each other that9else shared.
On October 20, 2018, my mother10after an illness. I stood near her bed, holding her hand. I didn't cry on that day when my mom passed away（去世）. A week11, I even didn't cry. I was so thankful12she no longer had aches and pains.
Recently, I13a note that my mom left me. It was hidden in the pages of my favorite childhood book for years. It14＂Dear Marie, I love you always. Miss you a lot. Don't forget me. Be15! Love, Mom." That day, I cried.
April 27 is a special day in Britain. It's called Take Our Daughter to Work Day. It was brought to Britain in 1994 from America. On that day thousands of girls take a day off school and go with one of their parents to their work places. By doing this, it can teach girls more about the society where they live.
Now the girls can have a close look at what their parents are doing. This may help them to be calmer when they have to choose a job. Mary experienced a day of work at her mother's office. This helped her understand her mother's work better. She said that this made her feel more confident about her future.
Schools and many companies support the activity, too. Some schools even make the day a necessary part of school life.
Experts think that girls with more self-confidence are more likely(可能的)to be successful than common girls. If parents can set good examples both at work and at home for them, they will do better than others. Take Our Daughter to Work Day is surely a step in the right direction.
One day after school, I went to the teacher's office to see my teacher, but nobody was there. As I was about to leave, I noticed a piece of paper on the floor. I picked it up and saw the words "FINAL-TERM EXAMINATION " at the top. I put the paper into my school bag secretly and ran out of the room.
After I came back home, I took out the paper quickly. It was the exam paper of my worst subject, History. I felt excited. My heart beat fast. I took out my History book and started working on the answer. I had never answered any questions so seriously.
On the day of the History exam, I went into the exam hall confidently. When the paper was sent to me, I dreamed of getting the highest mark in the whole grade and could not help smiling. "My History teacher always encouraged me to work hard and get better grades, but I let him down time and time again. This time I will give him a big surprise," I thought.
When the teacher said we could start, I turned the paper over. To my surprise, all the questions were different. Later I felt nervous. In the end, I almost left the paper undone. After the exam. I ran to the toilet, took out the paper and carefully read it from the top. Oh! It was last year's exam paper. I read all the questions but I hadn't read the date.
This is a lesson in which I know I have to put my feet on the ground. I regretted doing such a silly thing. After that, I told my teacher the truth and I promised to be honest. From then on, I worked harder than ever before.
During all this time I never stopped thinking about escape（逃跑）. When I traveled across to the other side of the island, I could see the other islands, and I said to myself, "Perhaps I can get there with a boat. Perhaps I can get back to England one day."
So I decided to make myself a boat. I cut down a big tree, and then began to make a long hole in it. It was hard work, but about six months later, I had a very fine canoe (独木舟). Next, I had to get it down to the sea. How silly I was! Why didn't I think before I began work? Of course, the canoe was too heavy. I couldn't move it! I pulled and pushed and tried everything, but it didn't move. I was very unhappy for a long time after that.
That happened in my fourth year on the island. In my sixth year I did make myself a smaller canoe, but I did not try to escape in it. The boat was too small for a long journey, and I did not want to die at sea. The island was my home now, not my prison, and I was just happy to be alive. A year or two later, I made myself a second canoe on the other side of the island. I also built myself a second house there, and so I had two homes.
My life was still busy from morning to night. There were always things to do or to make. I learnt to make new clothes for myself from the skins of dead animals. They looked very strange, it is true, but they kept me dry in the rain.
I kept food and tools at both my houses, and also wild goats（山羊）. There were many goats on the island, and I made fields with high fences to keep them in. They learnt to take food from me, and soon I had goats' milk to drink every day. I also worked hard in my corn (玉米) fields. And so many years went by.
For Miller, an 80-year-old man, it's a chance of a lifetime. Miller is a part of a group of around 60 Germans who are on a bus journey along the ancient Silk Road.(古丝绸之路)
About this journey, he says: "I have been deeply interested in the Silk Road since I was a child. But now I finally have a chance to experience it."
The two-month bus journey will take the group through Germany, Russia and other 4 European countries. They will then enter China from the country's western part. It will be an unforgettable memory for them.
Nearly half of the 13,000-kilometer trip will be inside China. From Xinjiang in the west to Shanghai in the east, the German visitors will see more than 20 Chinese cities. "we have managed the trip of the Silk Road for around 10 years. An increasing number of people, not only from German-speaking countries, have been joining us." Says Liu Guoqiang from China Tours.
Almost 26 million foreigners traveled to China in 2015, and about 5 million of them were from Europe. Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai and the Yangtze River are traditional Chinese travel destinations for European tourists. Speaking of where he wants to go, Miller says: "Compared with modern cities, the culture in western China attracts me more."
As Shi Xiang, head of China Tours says "Being a new brand to attract foreign visitors, the Silk Road is good for people to know more about China, especially the northwestern part of the country."
There are many things we need to know that we don't learn at school. For example, if we want to use our money wisely, we need to shop carefully. We need to know how to compare (比较) the prices of things in different shops. We need to be able to compare the quality of different brands (商标).
Knowing how to make such choices（选择） is a life skill. And we need these skills if we are to lead useful and happy lives.For example, will I take an apple for lunch or a pear? Will I get the bus to school today or will I walk? Will I wear the red T-shirt or the blue one to the movies? For example, will I eat healthy food for lunch or will I eat junk food because it's delicious? Will I work hard in all my classes or will I only work hard in the classes I enjoy?We have to realize that the choices we make can affect( 影响) the rest of our lives.The next time you decide to waste time in class, play a joke on someone or talk loudly at the movies, think this: Who else does your choice affect?
| A. Some of these choices are small. B. Our choices can also affect other people. C. Other choices are more important. D. We make choices like these every day. E. We need to know how to make a choice when we shop. |
| sing, care, Asia, slow, hang, possible, shy, be, fight, many |
For this month's Young World magazine, I interviewed 19-year-old pop star Candy Wang. Candy told me that she used to be really shy and took up singing to deal with her . As she got better, she dared to sing in front of her class, and then for the whole school. Now she's not shy anymore and loves in front of crowds.
I asked Candy how life was different after she became famous. She explained that there are many good things, like able to travel and meet new people all the time. "I didn't use to be popular in school, but now I get tons of attention everywhere I go." However, too attention can also be a bad thing. "I always have to worry about how I appear to others, and I have to be very about what I say or do. And I don't have much private time. out with friends is almost for me now because there are always guards around me."
What does Candy have to say to all those young people who want to become famous?" "Well," she begins, " you have to be prepared to give up your normal life. You can never imagine how difficult the road to success is. Many times I thought about giving up, but I on. You really require a lot of talent and hard work to succeed. Only a very small number of people make it to the top."
