The Benefits(益处)of Doing More than You Are Paid for

One rainy afternoon an old lady walked into a Philadelphia department store.Most of the clerks ignored(忽略)her,1only one young man asked if he could help her.She replied that she was just 2for the rain to stop.He told her he wouldn't try to3her anything she didn't want.Instead he brought her4.

When the rain stopped,the lady5the young man and asked for his card.A few months passed,the owner of the store received6inviting this young man to Scotland to get orders for providing goods for a large company!The letter was7the old lady for whom the clerk had provided a chair.She happened to be owner's mother of the large company,8

When the young clerk had his bags packed for Scotland,he had already been one of the9in that department store,all because he had shown a little10to a stranger when no one else would.

Although it was autumn, the snow was already beginning to fall in Tibet (西藏).Our legs were so heavy and cold that 1 felt like big pieces of ice. Have you 2 seen snowmen ride bicycles? That's what we looked like! Along the way children who were 3 long wool coats stopped to look at us. In the late 4 we found it was so cold that our water bottles froze (结冰).However, the lakes 5 like glass in the setting sun and looked wonderful.

Wang Wei rode in front of me as usual. She was in high spirit and I knew I didn't need to 6 her. To climb the mountains was hard work but as we 7 us, we were surprised by the view. We seemed to be able to see for miles, and we were so high that we found ourselves cycling through clouds. After a while, we began going 8 the mountains. It was great fun especially as it slowly became much 9 .

      At the foot of the mountains, colourful butterflies flew around us and we saw many sheep eating green grass. Then we had to 10 our caps, gloves and trousers for T-shirts and shorts.   

      In the early evening we stopped to make camp .We   11   our tent（帐篷）and then we ate. After supper Wang Wei went to sleep but I stayed   12   . At midnight the sky became       13   and the stars grew brighter. As I   14  below the stars I thought about how far we had already travelled.

      We will reach Dali in Yunan Province soon, where our cousins will join us. We   15 hardly wait to see them !

    Tongtong is three years old. She likes1English very much. Her mother2 English in a high school.

    Tongtong likes to3English cartoon videos. She plays games with her dolls and4with them in English. She learns a lot by watching the videos. Sometimes she can5but doesn't know the6. When her mother comes back home，she will tell Tongtong what the words and sentences mean.

    Tongtong's mother thinks that interest is important，and7is more important. Tongtong has great interest in English speaking. She can learn to speak by8and listening. But she should have chances(机会)to use it. So her mother tries to talk with her in English at home and takes her to the 9at school. Though Tongtong makes many mistakes，her English improves10.

    An old woman had two large pots(罐) — one on each end of a pole(扁担). She carried the pole with the pots on her shoulder. One of the pots had a crack(裂缝) in it, while the other pot was 1 and was always full of water. At the 2 of the long walk from the local well(井) to the woman's house, the cracked pot arrived only half-full.

    This 3 daily for two years, with the woman bringing home only 4 pot(s) of water. Of course, the perfect pot was 5. But the poor cracked pot was 6 of its own imperfection.

    One day, the cracked pot spoke to the 7 while they were on the way back. "I am ashamed of myself 8 this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house," it said. The old woman smiled and said, "Did you 9 that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I 10 know you were cracked. I planted flower seeds on 11 side of the path. And every day while we walk back, you 12them."

    "For two years, I have been able to 13 these beautiful flowers to decorate(装饰) my dining table. 14 you being just the way you are, I would not have this beauty." Hearing these words, the cracked pot 15.

    Each of us has our own cracks. But it's these cracks that make our lives so interesting and meaningful.