It was 1959. Life became hard after my husband got killed in a traffic accident. With five children aged from two to seven to take care of, I1thought of finding a job. But 2 was running out and Christmas was drawing near. Every child was talking about the present that Santa Claus would bring them. It occurred to me that I had to find a 3
I went to almost all the places where I had 4 to get a job. But when the interviewers learned about my case, they 5 me politely. I felt sad and 6 saying to myself that I would try the last place.
I went into a 24-hour chain restaurant with five children 7 patiently in the car. The manager was an elegant woman of about 40. As I explained my 8to her, she kept looking out of the window to see all those kids.
Finally she told me she really needed someone but the time was from 11 at night until 7 in the morning and that the pay was one dollar an hour. I accepted the job without hesitation and 9to do it well. The problem was that I had to find a person to look after my children during my work time. At last I found a teenage girl. I would pay her one dollar for looking after my five children. She seemed 10with the work because there would be 11 that she needed to do as all my children would be sleeping during the time she “worked”.
The other employees were very friendly and helpful. They knew my12situation and often brought some “old” toys from home to give me, of which some were new. It was obvious that they actually bought them for my kids but said they were old in order not to13me.
Christmas was only three days away. Everyone was preparing presents 14their families. But I knew there would be no money for toys for the kids. So, I found some red paint and started repairing and painting some old toys. Then I hid them in the15 so there would be something for Santa Claus to16on Christmas morning.
On the morning of Christmas, I 17to the car, hoping to get home and get the presents from the basement and place them under the tree before they 18 up. But when I opened the car door, I found my car was filled with boxes of presents for children aged from two to seven. Beside the presents was a 19saying ”Merry Christmas!”20and appreciation filled my heart.
Successful People
People can succeed in many aspects. Here are some successful people.
Stephen Hawking
Much more than the namesake of Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking, Stephen Hawking is one of the most well-known physicists in the world, and he was able to achieve that in spite of being diagnosed with ALS when he was 21. He can now only speak with the assistance of a computer and has been a full-time power chair-user since the 1980s. His disability, however, has never been an excuse to give up on his desire to study the universe, specifically the framework of general relativity and quantum mechanics. His best-selling book, A Brief History of Time, stayed on the Sunday Times bestsellers list for a surprising 237 weeks.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
A beloved U. S president who helped guide the nation successfully through World War II, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is considered a great president and the entire time he was in office, FDR was also a wheelchair-user. Upon starting his political career in excitement, he got illness while drinking water at a campground and became disabled from the waist down. Even though it wasn't made public until years later that he couldn't walk for fear of the public doubting his ability, FDR proved disability wasn't a roadblock to being a great leader.
Marlee Matlin
An Academy Award winning actress for her leading role in Children of a lesser God, Marlee Matlin is one of the most successful actresses who are deaf. She has been deaf since she was 18 months old. She also received a Golden Globe Award for her role in Children of a lesser God. Since receiving her Oscar, Marlee has been a character on many TV shows including The Word and Law & Order: SVU, and has appeared on reality shows such as The Apprentice and Dancing with the Stars.
Steven Wonder
One of the most beloved singers alive today, Stevie Wonder is a musician, singer and songwriter who was born blind. He was born six weeks early. The blood vessels at the back of his eyes had not yet reached the front and stopped their growth, therefore leading to his blindness.
Considered a child talent, Stevie signed with his first record label at age 11, Motown's Tamla label, and he's been performing since. Over his wildly successful music career, Stevie has recorded more than 30 U. S. top ten hits, including his singles “Superstition” “Sir Duke” and “ I Just Called to Say I Love You”.
A story of a man who made the brave journey of love, cycling from India to Sweden to see his sweetheart, has gained the hearts of thousands online. A Facebook post, that has been linked more than 113,000 times, shares the tale of how Dr. Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia crossed eight countries to be reunited with his wife Charlotte Von Schedvin in her native country.
The story began in 1975 when wealthy 19-year-old Charlotte Von Schedvin, who was a student in London at the time, travelled to India in 1975 to meet the poor but famous artist Mahanandia. The Indian was born in 1949 into a poor family in Odisha, Dhenkanal and was considered an untouchable in the society.
Although his family couldn't afford his education, he managed to gain a place at the College of Art in New Delhi where word of his talent quickly spread.
In events that wouldn't be out of place in a romantic movie, when the young Charlotte Von Sledvin met with the painter, the two fell in love with one another. He was greatly impressed by her beauty and she, with his pure simplicity. Despite their contrasting backgrounds, the pair shortly married.
In 1978, the time came for Charlotte to return to her native country, and she requested her husband join her back in Europe. However, Mahanandia was in the middle of his studies and said he would join her after these were completed. The couple stayed in touch through letters and despite Charlotte's offers to send flight tickets, Mahanandia was determined to meet her in his own way.
Selling his belongings, he managed to get enough money to buy a second-hand bike and set out on the intrepid journey to be reunited. From New Delhi, the brave love-struck adventurer entered Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Germany, Austria and Denmark. It wasn't all easy sailing. His bike broke down a lot of times along the way and he had to go on without food for days.
In total the trip took four months and three weeks before he finally reached Gothenburg, Sweden. Upon arrival, he was questioned by immigration officers, who were said to be amazed at his story of devotion after he shared photographs of his marriage.
Her parents welcomed him with open arms and 40 years later, the pair are still happily married. Dr PK Mahanandia serves as the Odiya Cultural Ambassador of India to Sweden and lives with his wife and two children in Sweden. He has become well-known in Sweden as an artist and as an adviser of Art and Culture, under the Swedish Government too.
Donald Trump has been known to do it in the middle of the night. Kim Kardashian has done it more than 22,000 times. Many people don't understand why you would want to do it at all.
We're talking about tweeting and, unlike posting your entire life on Facebook, this social media activity demands a particular set of skills.
Why use Twitter? It's a way to have a one-on-one virtual connection with your heroes and anybody who interests you. Likewise, you can share your life and views with an almost limitless number of people. And it all has to be done within the limit of 140 characters of text – plus photos, videos and links – which really helps you focus your mind.
Katy Perry has the most Twitter followers, with 95.6 million of the micro-blogging site's 317 million monthly active users. Justin Bieber isn't far behind with 91.5 million, followed by Barack Obama and Taylor Swift with around 83 million each. The heaviest hitters of Twitter are pop stars, heroes of sport and other celebrities. But you don't need to be famous to create a buzz with the right tweets at the right time.
In fact, Katy Perry is a great example of how to do it well. She has a bubbly tweeting style that mashes up chat about her tours and her music, insights into her emotional roller coaster over the US election, and playful descriptions about her daily life. "Done with my Christmas shopping", she tweeted, and posted a link to her Instagram page that featured crazy gadgets like a "pet emergency jacket" and a "chocolate donut camera".
To get started on Twitter, pick a simple, memorable user name like @KatyPerry, post a short profile and choose a photo. Some tips: post your own photo (not a photo of your dog, it's not Facebook) and don't be an "egg person" – referring to the absent egg-shaped image when a user hasn't posted their own picture. In that case, Twitter won't get you any followers or respect.
Then, it's time to start tweeting by sending your updates ("what's happening?") and following people. Building up an army of followers can take time. Generally, the more people you follow and the more you tweet, the more followers you'll get. To become a Twitter star, you need to carve out a reputation for posting original, eye-catching tweets on trending topics – and maximise your visibility by mastering the use of hashtags.
Twitter Analytics will show you how your tweets are performing and who is following you – right down to their age category, country, income bracket, gender and interests. If your popularity is flagging and your Twitter ego is keeping you awake at night, you can turn to the business of buying thousands of "followers" from online sites. But do be ware – there may be a lot of fake profiles in there and, at the end of the day, it'll feel like paying a crowd of people you don't know to come to your birthday party.
Happy tweeting!
Are you addicted to computer games? Do you stay up all night playing them? Do you feel happy after you play computer games? There's no doubt that the excitement and appealing of games these days makes them hard to put down. More and more people are attracted by the choice when it comes to gaming: You can role play--creating your own fantasy characters and stories, giving you a chance to step out of everyday life into an imaginary world. And there are shooting games where you can let out your anger and depression in violent situations where you kill people with guns. You can get excited from the games.
However, can these kinds of games really be fun and can being absorbed in virtual reality be good for us? Should we worry about their effects on our health? Popular games like Grand Theft Auto have been blamed for everything from falling results at school to causing acts of extreme violence. Internet safety advisor, Alan MacKenzie, thinks “many people understandably will just think that a game is just a game and not realizing the exact content that's in there”. He gives an example of the violence, which he says is “wholly inappropriate for anybody, not to mention children.”
Others will argue that gaming is a harmless form of entertainment. There is evidence that playing video games could actually be good for us. Some games are educational and using games certainly can help children learn good qualities. Studies have also shown that the skills used in playing games can cause growth in certain areas of the brain, the ability to think in 3D and even improve our eyesight.
Video gamers are also no longer just simple creatures. Just as Edward Smith, the professor in Oxford University, puts it that for some, gaming is having a positive effect on their social lives with games like Halo and World of Warcraft often being played in groups. When your group works together to win the game, your sense of achievement is higher than when winning by yourself.
So every coin has two sides. It seems today, gaming isn't just for game fans and if used in a proper way, we can all take part. If video games have two sides, what side do you stand by?
（I：introduction；P：point；Sp: sub-point; C: conclusion)
B . 
C . 
D . 
Let's Go Skiing
Skiing can be a good sport. Here is a list of advice for a new skier. It can also be used by would-be instructors to help you give a beginner the best possible skiing experience.
The biggest complaint of the complete beginner is cold feet. This is because the boots you are using don't fit. Boots should allow you to shake your toes.But, boots should not allow you to turn your foot side-to-side within the boot. If you can turn your foot inside the boot, you won't have a chance to control your skis.
Try several pairs of boots —not every boot marked the same size is actually the same size (even if they are the same brand and model). This extra effort will be annoying, but worth it.
Probably fitting ski boots are warm. Do NOT wear very thick socks, or more than one pair of socks inside your boots. Besides, socks can help here. Bring two pairs of socks for your first outing, a thin pair, and a medium-thick pair. Then choose the socks based on how the boots seem to be fitting. You may even find you wear a thin sock on one foot and a thicker sock on the other because the boots won't match exactly.
Do NOT wear jeans or sweatpants. You will be falling down in snow and even if it is cold enough to be dry snow, some of it will stick to you and melt. If you get wet, it's over. There's no chance to stay warm. I suggest thick ski pants for beginners. The ski pants will also help keep you warm on the lift. Similarly, your jacket should also be waterproof. It doesn't matter how heavy it is.
Keeping warm isn't so hard. Make sure you read the parts on boots, socks and clothes above.Remember to start out warm. When you go out into the cold, you should be a little too warm, not quite sweating but close. If your body is warm but your neck, nose or ears are cold, it is always because you left them uncovered.
If you are sweating a tiny bit, that's fine. If you are sweating a lot, you are too hot. Your sweat will make parts of you very cold, even while other parts are still too hot. To deal with this, don't be afraid of opening your coat, or removing your hat or gloves, for just a minute, or for the day.
A. Keeping warm can be difficult.
B. Getting too hot can be a problem too.
C. Wear heavy boots and socks together.
D. All the clothes you wear must be waterproof.
E. If you can't shake your toes, then your feet will be cold.
F. If you didn't rent your boots in advance, finding a good fit will be a problem.
G. Apart from this, you have to wear the right amount of clothing and keep moving.
