It is May, 2050. Frank and Mary wake up in their comfortable house in the morning. They turn on the bedroom computer to read the latest news. They keep on reading The Times for many years. The only difference is that they changed from paper newspapers to electronic newspapers. There is the usual news about space: another space flight has returned from Mars and scientists have discovered a new planet.

    After breakfast, as they watch the screen, Mary orders the cooking robot to make coffee for them. Frank is a computer engineer, working for several companies. He is going to take part in a video conference with his partners all around the world.

    Mary is a medical researcher. She usually works at home. Now she is looking at the shopping channels while her secretary robot is helping her check a new type of medicine.

    Their daughter, Louise, has her own study room at home. She goes to school only one day a week, to play with other students. Louise is studying Chinese in the present. Chinese has become an important language in the world.

    According to the family doctor, Louise will live to at least 130 years old. Her wish is to work for a few decades (十年) and then spend her time on music and painting.

    "Be proud of what you do," my father always told me, "whether you are a boss or a cleaner." When I was 15, I got a summer job in a hospital. I was told that my duties would include sweeping floors. I smiled and remembered Dad's words.

    Even though my job was the lowest, it made me feel excited. I saw it as a challenge because it was my first job. I learned to be on time and tried to do everything well. In return, I was treated with respect(尊敬) by doctors, nurses and patients. Each morning I imagined that the dirty dishes would make patients sicker if I were not there to wash them clean. After breakfast was done, I started sweeping the floors of all patient rooms and cleaning toilets. Though I was tired, I wanted the job to be done well. People would say, "That young boy really does a good job." That gave me pride.

    Working in the hospital taught me that being proud of one's job is important. It does not matter whether the job is sweeping floors or managing a large business. Through every job I have ever had, my father's words have always stayed with me. I have swept floors, and I have been a manager. I think Dad would be proud of me.

    An old man went to live with his son, his daughter-in-law, and a four-year-old grandson. The old man's hands trembled(颤抖)，his eyesight was very poor, and he couldn't walk steadily(平稳地).The family ate together nightly at the dinner table.  But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Rice often dropped on the floor.

    The son and the daughter-in-law became angry with the old man，so they put a small table in the corner. There，the grandfather ate alone, while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner at the table. Since the grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was put in a wooden bowl.

    The four-year-old son watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with a piece of wood on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" The boy answered, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up." The four-year-old son smiled and went back to work. The words struck the parents so that they were in silence. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the man took his father's hand and gently led him back to the family table.

    In the state of Qin (秦国), there was a man called Shang Yang (商鞅). He was a statesman (政治家) and worked out many reforms(改革) for the state, like paying more attention to farming and giving rewards (报酬) to soldiers who were successful when at war.

    But these reforms were not easily carried out (执行) at first. Most people didn't trust Shang

    Yang. In order to solve this problem, Shang Yang came up wiIh an idea. He put a thin wooden pole at the south gate of the Qin capital. Many people came to see him and the pole.

    Then, in front of the crowd, Shang Yang said loudly, "The man who takes this pole to the north gate will get 10 gold pieces."

    It was a sample job and the reward was so large. However, some time passed and no one stepped forward. They all thought Shang Yang was making a joke.

    Hearing no answer, Shang Yang stepped forward and said, "The reward now goes to 50 gold pieces."

    This reward was unbelievably large. Finally, a man from the crowd came forward. He put the pole on his shoulders and walked to the north gate. True to his word, Shang Yang gave the man 50 gold pieces.

    After that, the people of Qin were all talking about what Shang Yang did about the pole. They believed he was a man of his word. So when Shang Yang began carrying out his reforms, the people followed him.

    Under these great reforms, Qin grew stronger and stronger. Al last, Qin made all the seven states into one empire (帝国).

    I am Frank. In our western countries, there are four seasons or 365 days in a year. Usually, we sleep 8 hours every day. So we have 122 days for sleeping. Then our study or work time is only 243 days left. But there are 52 weekends in a year. Each weekend is two days. We lose another 104 days a year for work. It takes up about one hour to have breakfast and supper. This comes to 15 days over a year. Four free hours each evening takes up 61 days. But we can't work all the time, so we need holidays. We have to remember that we get 2 days' holiday at Easter, 3 at Christmas and 1at the New Year. There are also 4 Bank holidays. Take those 10 days away and we have 32 days for work. But then we have one and a half hours' lunch every day, and half an hour's coffee break. That comes to 30 days a year. This means that we have only a few days left for study or work every year. What about you in China?