When my brother and I were children, we spent a few weeks each summer in the countryside with our uncle. He was a geologist and loved to go on long walks to find stones to add to his collection at the university. More often than not, we followed him.

      One day, we left early, and this time, our uncle gave us two backpacks. “ You can help me carry the samples(样本),” he explained.

      Surely, why not? The whole day, we walked around the countryside, and every now and then, our uncle put stones in our bags. We were a bit surprised that sometimes he also took some stones out from our bags, but thought he had just found better samples.

      We reached the house in the late afternoon. The backpacks were so heavy that we were really tired out when we put them on the ground. Yet our uncle's backpack was half-empty.

      “Why did you give us so many stones?” we asked.

      “I didn't. You did,” he said, waiting for a while before continuing. “ You did not know it, but I made you go through a little attitude(态度) test today.”

What do you mean an‘attitude test'?” we wanted to know.

      “It is something someone once did to me. You see, I listened to every word you said. And whenever you complained(抱怨) about anyone or anything, I added a stone to your bags. And whenever you talked about something in an attitude of positive thinking, I took out a stone. And now look at your backpacks.”

      We did. They were full.

      “I hope you remember this little attitude test. You see, your negative thoughts are like stones. You carry them in your mind just like those stones and start paying attention to what you say and how you say things.”

      This little lesson was one of the most important lessons I ever had. And I remember my uncle with great love for teaching us one of the most important lessons in life – the power of attitude.

    Most of the taxi drivers in Beijing can speak some simple English, so western tourists can communicate (交流) with them. If a foreigner is in a street in Beijing, and he wants to take a taxi, the friendly taxi driver will stop near him and ask him in a friendly way. Here is the usual dialogue in English between them.

The taxi driver:” Can I help you?”

The foreigner: “Yes, please.”

The taxi driver:” Please get on the taxi.”

The foreigner: “Thank you.”

The taxi driver: “Can you tell me where you would like to go?”

The foreigner: “I'd like to go to Tian Qiao Street.”

The taxi driver: “OK, I see.”

    During the ride, the driver will play the western music for the foreigner, and the driver will also begin the conversation with a small talk like the weather or the fashion.

    After getting off the taxi, the foreigner will give the driver some tips (小费) like the way in his country, however, the driver will say politely, “Thank you, but I only take what the ride costs.”

    Smokejumpers are special firefighters. They jump from planes into areas that are difficult to reach by car or on foot, like the middle of a mountain forest. They race to put out fires as fast as they can.

    At a fire site, smokejumpers first check the land and decide how to fight the fire. They try their best to stop a fire from spreading. Using their tools, smokejumpers clear the land of burnable things like dry grass and leaves. They usually carry some water with them.

    In the US, although most smokejumpers are men, more women are joining. The important thing is that your height and weight must be within a certain range(范围). For example, smokejumpers in the US must be between 120 and 200 pounds, so they don't get hurt when they land, or get blown by strong winds.

    Smokejumpers must also be able to live in the wilderness. In Russia, many smokejumpers know how to find food in the forest and make simple tools.

    The work is dangerous, and the hours are long. But for smokejumpers, smokejumping isn't just a job. They love being able to jump out of planes, fight fires, and live in the forest. As 28-year-old proud Russian smokejumper Alexi Tishin says, "This is the best job for brave people."

    Though it is one of the early memories of my life, there are times when I remember his face clearly, especially his eyes. As he had yellow spots on his eyes, we called him Spotty.

    I was seven years old. We had just moved to a new house. It was a dark and rainy night. We had our meal and went to sleep. At midnight I heard a loud thud outside the door. I looked out of the window and saw a small dog lying on the ground. At first it was difficult to see the little one. He had a black body which was darker even than a black rainy cloud. It was the yellow spots on his eyes that made me realize he was a dog. The dog was wet. I took an old towel and wiped him till he became dry. I took him inside and made a bed for him.

    The next morning, everyone in my family came to know about the unusual guest. We called him“Spotty”and decided to keep him. Slowly Spotty became part of the family. We got used to all his habits and pranks（恶作剧）.

    One evening when Spotty returned from his long walk, I saw one of his legs bleeding流血）. We dealt with it and gave him food to eat. I was very upset. But the next day, Spotty was up to his usual pranks though he limped（跛行）a bit. I really admired（钦佩）him a lot for his courage.

    A six-year-old British girl, Mollie Price, is opening up her third candy store. She is said to be one of Britain's youngest bosses. Her stores are called "Mollie's." She sells both British and American candy. The girl would like to open more candy stores. "It might sound crazy, but believe me," Mollie says.

    "It was Mollie's idea to open up the shop. It is Mollie who runs the candy stores," her mother Becky, her "business partner" says.

    Her mother says all the stores are put together and stocked(进货)by Mollie. Mollie works in one of the stores every Saturday, then gets up early Sunday to go to the company's product supplier(供应商). She asks her friends to test the sweets to decide which ones are good. She's good at smart marketing. For example, if the weather is really cold, she sells the Mr Whippy ice cream cheaper than when it's hot outside.

    "Children have the best ideas. I tell my mum what I think and she always says I have good ideas. It's just because I know what other children like," Mollie says.