I was a single mother of four children, working at a low-paying job. Money was always a 31 , but we had a roof over our heads, food on the table, and 32 on our backs. It was Christmas time. We 33 downtown to see the Christmas lights, and enjoyed a special dinner, 34 the biggest excitement for the kids was the fun of Christmas 35 at the mall. They talked and planned for weeks ahead of time,36 each other what they wanted for Christmas.
The big day arrived and we started out early. I 37 each of the four kids a twenty-dollar bill and asked them to 38 for gifts. Then everyone scattered(分散).
Back in the car driving home, everyone was 39 about Christmas, laughing and asking each other about what they had40 . I noted Ginger, my younger daughter, had only one small and flat bag with her. I could41 enough through the plastic42 to tell that she had bought candy bars—fifty-cents candy bars! What did she43 with that twenty-dollar bill I had given her? I was so 44 . After getting home, I called her into my bedroom and closed the door. This was what she told me:
"I was looking around, 45 of what to buy, and I 46 to read the little cards on one of the Salvation Army's ‘Giving Trees'. One of the cards was47 a little girl, four years old, and all she48 for Christmas was a doll with clothes and a hairbrush. So I took the card off the49 and bought the doll and the hairbrush for her."
My anger50 and I had never felt so rich as I did that day.
There are many different skills that make a good leader. Experiencing new places and cultures will help you build these leadership skills. Here are just a few leadership trips for high school students.
Worldwide Friends
Start your teen adventure travel in Iceland! You'll gain photography experience while having amazing experiences like hiking, swimming, whale watching, horseback riding, and ice walking. This 12-day program takes you all over Iceland, giving you a complete Iceland experience.
Where: Iceland
Cost: $250 per day
ActionQuest
Who else was inspired to take a sailing trip after seeing Moana for the first time? With this incredible British Virgin Islands Summer Yachting Adventure, that dream can become reality! While sailing around and exploring the islands, you'll also earn certifications(证书) for diving.
Where: British Virgin Islands
Cost: $6,000 for 21 days
Travel for Teens
Can't you choose between Germany, France and the UK? Why not go to all three? Travel for Teens' summer program goes into all three countries. This program takes you through adventures in Europe's most beautiful and historic cities, ensuring fun and adventure for all!
Where: Germany, France, and the UK
Cost: $4,700 for 13 days
Tico Lingo
What is a better way to build leadership skills than to communicate with local people in a new environment? This Spanish Immersion Program will have you exchange with Costa Rican vendors(摊贩) in no time. And, out of all the leadership trips for high school students, this program is very affordable.
Where: Costa Rica
Cost: about $130 per day
Michelle Rasul, aged 9, is one of the world's top DJs—people who play recorded music on the radio or at celebrations or parties. Rasul even competed in this year's international championship(锦标赛) and was placed 14th out of 85 DJ stars from around the world.
At her home in Dubai, the rising star described how she got her start. "I looked at my dad while he was practicing DJing and I thought, ‘Wow, is he doing magic or something? He's a real magician...' " Michelle said. She added, "On my fifth birthday, I told him, ‘Dad, I want to be a world-famous DJ. I'm going to start practicing.'"
Although she did not go to the next round this time, she hopes to beat her father, Vagif "DJ Shock" Rasulov in next year's competition. Rasulov came 9th this year and had taught Michelle how to practice DJing. From the moment her parents gave her a mini DJ starter set, they recognized her strong ability. Sadia Rasulova, a former violinist, is Michelle's mother. She said, "Michelle just catches on to things so fast."
Michelle usually performs at weddings, parties and musical events across her city in her spare time. Her parents put videos of her DJing online. Her Instagram page has around 110,000 followers. Online messages from DJs aged 6 to 65 come in from around the world.
While other people in the world pay attention to her achievements as a DJ star, Michelle is busy attending school, reading and hanging out with friends and dogs in her neighborhood park. But her heart always beats with music. "I can't imagine my life without music," she said.
In ancient China tea was probably used as a relish and as a medicine. Tea was first prepared with boiled water as a medicine around 2,700 BC in the western mountains of China.
Tea drinking, and commercial(商业的) growing, spread during the Tang Dynasty, 618~907, especially after Lu Yu wrote a book on the value of tea, Ch'a Ching. Tea gradually became one of the seven basic necessities of Chinese life. (The others are fuel, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.)
A Japanese Buddhist priest, Saicho, is believed to have introduced tea to Japan, when he returned from a visit to China in 805. In Japan tea drinking was considered medicinal, and became closely associated with Zen Buddhism (禅宗).
Tea drinking also spread to Korea and Southeast Asia, and was taken over the Silk Road to Central Asia, Russia, and the Middle East.
Dutch explorers became familiar with tea in the 1590s and were soon importing tea to Europe. In 1657 the British East India Company held the first public sale of tea in England, while that same year Thomas Garraway began offering tea at his London coffee house.
In 1662 tea received a big boost(推进) in England when the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza, married King Charles Ⅱ and introduced tea drinking to the British court.
Gradually, the British fell in love with tea, and with the sugar that went in it. In 1665, less than 88 tons of tea was imported to Great Britain. By 1700, it had increased to 10,000 tons of tea, ranking first in Europe. In 1768 the East India Company imported 10 million pounds of tea to Britain.
Tegla Loroupe is a Kenyan long-distance track and road runner. She is the first African woman to win the New York City Marathon and holds many world records.
Tegla Loroupe was born in Kutomwony in the West Pokot District of Kenya. At the age of seven, she started to go to school. It was at school that her talent for running was noticed. However, few people supported her dream to become a runner except her mother and older sister. Still, Loroupe determined to continue her running because she wanted to realize her dream.
In 1994, Loroupe ran her first major marathon and became the first African woman to win the New York Marathon. She became an important sporting role model. After this great success, Tegla Loroupe went on to win many major marathons around the world between 1997 and 2002.
Between April 19, 1998 and September 30, 2001, Loroupe held the world record for the marathon. She set a time of 2:20:47 in the 1998 Rotterdam Marathon. In 1999, she broke her own record, setting a time of 2:20:43 in the Berlin Marathon.
In 2003, Loroupe founded the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation and has been an active advocate of peace. Loroupe said the aim of the organization was to use her fame to help bring about greater harmony. "I grew up in a place where life was really hard because of the local disagreements between the tribes(部落)," she said. "I was lucky. I had talent and was able to make a success out of running and I felt that I wanted to give things back to the community I grew up in."
