I had worried myself sick over Simon's mother coming to see me. I was a new teacher, and I gave an honest account of the students' work. In Simon's case, the grades were awfully low. He couldn't read his own handwriting. But he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected his abilities.

    So when Simon's mother entered the room, my palms (手掌心) were sweating. I was completely unprepared for her kisses on both my cheeks. “I came to thank you,” she said, surprising me beyond speech. Because of me, Simon had become a different person. He talked of how he loved me, he had begun to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had recently spent an afternoon at a friend's house. She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the self-respect I had developed in her son. She kissed me again and left.

I sat, stunned, for about half an hour, wondering what had just happened. How did I make such a life-changing difference to that boy without even knowing it？What I finally came to remember was one day, several months before, when some students were giving reports in the front of the class, Jeanne spoke quietly, and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, “Speak up. Simon's the expert on this. He is the only one you have to convince, and he can't hear you in the back of the room.” That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, smiled more, and became happy. And it was all because he happened to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed praise was the one who took the last seat that day.

It taught me the most valuable lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I'm thankful that it came early and positively. A small kindness can indeed make a difference.

Best Companies

Shine United (Madison, Wisconsin)

    In the past five years, this Wisconsin-based advertising agency has shared more than $500,000 in profits with its employees through the company's ShineShares program. The agency partnered with the University of Wisconsin's oncology department to develop the Ride, a biking event that benefits cancer research. Employees also get snacks every day, "Beer Thirty" on Thursdays, and Summer Fridays, a program that lets employees leave at noon.

GroundFloor Media (Denver, Colorado)

    The key for workers at this midsize public relations firm in Denver is that employees work anytime, anywhere. Headquarters are in a former warehouse downtown, near Coors Field. The offices are spread around the central space that doubles as a wet bar every Thursday when the company's "bear club" brings in a new brew.

Ergodyne (St.Paul, Minnesota)

    The St.Paul-based company has grown to operating out of a retired storehouse with plenty of natural light. Rules about dressing? "Wear something." Its purpose? To create cool, comfortable, and tough safety workwear for those who need it to get the job done. Ergodyne has around 50 employees, who enjoy hot dish cook-offs, tickets to sporting events, and at least one happy hour every quarter.

Southwest Michigan First (Kalamazoo, Michigan)

    It's family first at this Michigan economic development advising agency. CEO Ron Kitchens says that in the past year, the company has made a push to go green, initially started by the millennial employees who make up half the agency's workforce. A new staff position was created for the purpose of making sure every employee is able to balance working and cheering at their kids' sporting events or going fishing.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    Being less than perfectly well-dressed in a business setting can result in a feeling of great discomfort that may well require treatment to eliminate. And the sad truth is that “clothing mismatches” on the job can ruin the day of the person who is wearing the inappropriate attire(着装)—and the people with whom he or she comes in contact.

    Offices vary when it comes to dress codes. Some businesses have very high standards for their employees and set strict guidelines for office attire, while others maintain a more relaxed attitude. However, it is always important to remember that no matter what your company's attitude is regarding what you wear, you are working in a business environment and you should dress properly. Certain items may be more appropriate for evening wear than for a business meeting, just as shorts and a T-shirt are better suited for the beach than for an office environment. Your attire should reflect both your environment and your position. A senior vice president has a different image to maintain than that of a secretary or sales assistant. Like it or not, you will be judged by your personal appearance.

    This is never more apparent than on “dress-down days”, when what you wear can say more about you than any business suit ever could. In fact, people will pay more attention to what you wear on dress-down days than on “business professional ” days. Thus, when dressing in “business casual” clothes, try to put some good taste into your wardrobe choices, recognize that the “real” definition of business casual is to dress just one notch(等级) down from what you would normally wear of business-professional attire days.

    Remember, there are borders between your career and our social life. You should dress one way for play and another way when you mean business. Always ask yourself where you are going and how other people will be dressed when you get there. Is the final destination the opera, the beach, or the office? Dress properly and you will discover the truth in the principle that clothes make the man—and the woman. When in doubt, always misjudge on the side of dressing slightly more traditionally than the situation demands.

    A new phone app uses shaking from smartphones to warn people about earthquakes. The new app is called MyShake, which is the work of four researchers at the University of California. Berkeley.

    Smartphones are equipped with accelerometers(加速器). MyShake uses phone accelerometers to measure seismic (地震的) activity. It has been programmed to know the difference between normal activity and earthquake movement. The software developers say their app is right 93 percent of the time. A smartphone sends seismic information to the app developers. If the developers receive several warnings from one area, it recognizes that an earthquake may be taking place or will take place soon. Using information sent from the app, the network then judges the location and strength of the quake in real time. MyShake can record 5.0 earthquake at distances of 10 kilometers or less.

    MyShake uses very little power, according to its developers. Only when seismic activity is sensed by the app does it become active and sends data to the network. The app works best when your phone is resting on a flat surface, like a table.

    The developers hope that MyShake can add to information collected by the U.S Geological Survey. That U.S agency has created the Earthquake Early Warning System, also known as the EEW. The EEW has used sensors for measuring quakes in many areas. In places where no such equipment exists, MyShake may be the only method of early quake detection (发现). The app also shows ways to stay safer during an earthquake. The developers say it will become more effective as more people use it.

    The developers say they hope to add a feature that will warn people about possible tsunami after an earthquake.

    TIANJIN, Nov.23 (Xinhua)- Chinese scientists have signed a deal to establish a commercial animal cloning center in the northern port city of Tianjin, making the controversial science closer to mainstream acceptance.

    The plant in the Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area (TEDA), a government-sponsored business development park, will clone animals including sniffer and pet dogs, beef cattle and racehorses. Its main building is already under construction and due to be put to use in the near future, said a spokesman on Monday.

    With an investment of 200 million yuan, the center will be jointly built by Sinica, Peking University's Institute of Molecular Medicine, the Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, and the Republic of Korea's Sooam Biotech Research Foundation.

    It will produce 100,000 cattle embryos a year initially, eventually increasing to 1 million, said Xu Xiaochun, board chairman of Boyalife Group, based in Wuxi. Chinese farmers are struggling to produce enough beef cattle to meet market demand, Xu said. The center, the largest ever worldwide, will also include a gene storage area and a museum, he added.

    Scientists have cloned mice, cattle and other animals since the world's first cloned sheep, Dolly, was born on July 5,1996 iii Britain. Since 2000, Chinese scientists have cloned sheep, cattle and pigs. China's first commercial cloning company was established in September 2014 in Shandong with the birth of three pure-blooded Tibetan mastiff puppies.

    Before this, cloning in China was limited to scientific research. More and more companies have shown interest in investing in the technology for commercial use, especially animal husbandry (饲养).

    As a result of pollution, Lake Erie, on the borders of the USA and Canada, is now without any living things.

    Pollution in water is not simply a matter of “poisons” killing large numbers of fish overnight, Very often the effects of pollution are not noticed for many months or years because the first organisms（生物体）to be affected are either plants or plankton. But these organisms are the food of fish and birds and other creatures. When this food disappears, the fish and birds die too. In this way a whole food chain can be wiped out, and it's not until dead fish and water birds are seen at the river's edge or on the seashore that people realize what is happening.

    Where do the substances which pollute the water come from? There are two main sources of sewage（污水）and industrial waste . As more detergent（洗涤剂）is used in the home, so more of it is finally put into our rivers, lakes and seas . Detergents harm water birds, dissolving the natural substances which keep their feathers water - proof. Sewage itself, if not properly treated, makes the water dirty and prevents all forms of life in rivers and the sea from receiving the oxygen they need. Industrial waste is even more harmful as there are many highly poisonous things in it, such as copper and lead（铅）.

    So, if we want to stop this pollution, the answer is simple: sewage and industrial waste must be made clear before flowing into the water. It may already be too late to save some rivers and lakes, but others can still be saved if the correct action is taken at once.