Tears ran down from my eyes as I saw the essay my high school English teacher had just handed back. A big F was written on top. I was hopeless. I was stupid !My face burned with shame when my classmates called me stupid.

    “I'm the only one who doesn't know my ABCs!” I sobbed to Mom.

    “I'll help,” she promised.

    Everyday I sat with her, but to me, cat looked like cta and red was reb. Frustrated, I would return to my bedroom and draw, filling the paper with houses, restaurants and offices.

    “When I grow up, I want my own store,” I told Mom , pointing to my drawings.

    “That's great!” she said, “ but first you have to learn to read.”

Later, I was diagnosed with dyslexia (失读症). So Mom took me to a learning centre, where I was given reading exercises. But I still had a hard time. Finally, I graduated, but I was afraid of my reading skills.

    “I'll never get a job !”  I cried to Mom later again.

    “Don't focus on what you can't do,” she comforted, “ Concentrate on what you really can.”

    But what can I do? I wondered. Suddenly, I thought of the drawings I'd made as a child and my dream of having my own store. I enjoyed sales so much that over the next few years, I tried my hand at other businesses. Today, I watch over seven branches. We have 187 employees and $15 million in sales.

    While I'll never be what my teachers might have wanted, I am a success--on my own terms. The other day a student sent me a card, reading: You gave me so much confidence. I hope to be like you when I am big. Tears of joy filled my eyes. This was my A, and I smiled.

    One of the most famous buildings in the United States is Carnegie Hall, the home of classical and popular music concerts in New York. Carnegie Hall is known not just for its beauty and history, but also for its amazing sound. Carnegie Hall is named after Andrew Carnegie, who paid for its construction. Construction of Carnegie Hall began in 1890 and the official opening night was on May 5th, 1891.

    The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1924 when it was sold to Robert E Simon. The building became very old and in 1960, the new owner made plans to destroy it and build an office block. Isaac Stem led a group of people who fought to save Carnegie Hall and finally, the city of New York bought it for $5 million. It was then fixed up between 1983 and 1995.

    Advertisements and stories in newspapers about how Carnegie Hall needed help to recover its history led people to send in old concert programmes and information from all over the world. Over 12,000 concert programmes were received and with these it was possible to make a proper record of Carnegie Hall's concert history.

    Carnegie Hall is actually made up of several different halls, but the Main Hall, now called the Isaac Stem Auditorium, is the most famous. The hall itself can hold an audience of 2,804 in five levels of seating.

    Because the best and most famous musicians of all time have played at Carnegie Hall, it is the dream of most musicians who want to be great to play there. This has led to a very old joke which is now part of Carnegie Hall's history. Question: “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” Answer: “Practice, practice, practice.”

    Two of the saddest words in the English language are "if only". I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.

    My father is famous in our family for saying, "Take the extra minute to do it right." I always try to live by the "extra minute" rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an "if only" moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.

    I don't only avoid those "if only" moments when it comes to safety. It's equally important to avoid "if only" in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say "I love you" or "I forgive you." When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn't be here. But then I thought about the fact that he's 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn't give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.

    I know there will still be occasions when I have to say "if only" about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I'm doing the right thing. I'm buying myself peace of mind and that's the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.

    A long-term American study shows the importance of early education for poor children. The study is known as the Abecedarian(初步的) Project. It involved more than one-hundred young children from poor families in North Carolina.

    Half of the children attended an all-day program at a high-quality childcare center. The center offered educational, health and social programs. Children took part in games and activities to increase their thinking and language skills and social and emotional development. The program also included health foods for the children.

    The children attended the program from when they were a few weeks old until the age of five years. The other group of children did not attend the childcare center. After the age of five, both groups attended public school.

    Researchers compared the two groups of children. When they were babies, both groups had similar results in tests for mental and physical skills. However, from the age of eighteen months, the children in the educational child care program did much better in tests.

    The researchers tested the children again when they were twelve and fifteen years old. The tests found that the children who had been in the childcare center continued to have higher average test results. These children did much better on tests of reading and mathematics.

    A few years ago, organizers of the Abecedarian Project tested the students again. At the time, each student was twenty-one years old. They were tested for thinking and educational ability, employment, parenting and social skills. The researchers found that the young adults who had the early education still did better in reading and mathematics tests. They were more than two times as likely to go to college or to have completed college. In addition, the children who received early education were older on average, when their first child was born.

    The study offers more evidence that learning during the first months and years of life is important for all later development.

    The researchers of the Abecedarian Project believe their study shows a need for lawmakers to spend money on public early education. They believe these kinds of programs could reduce the number of children who do not complete school and are unemployed.

The Young Scholars Program

    The University of Maryland's Young Scholars Program is a perfect summer camp for academically talented teenagers who want to earn college credits, pursue academic interests or discover college life at the University of Maryland. The program is challenging and rewarding. Students have the opportunity to show that they can be successful in a university environment.

    The Activities

    During three weeks of exploration, teens preview the university experience, study with students who share similar interests and communicate with the best teachers of the University of Maryland in a dynamic and challenging classroom environment. Students can have trips to nearby Washington, DC and enjoy movie nights and activities at the student union. Workshops and seminars featuring speakers in academic fields further enrich the learning experience.

    The Courses

    The Young Scholars Program offers college courses that are at the cutting edge of theory, thought and technology. Classes generally meet every day from Monday to Friday. The program is a great introduction to the University of Maryland, Participants can benefit from the University of Maryland's vast resources, including libraries, computers and instructional labs.

    The Rewards

    Upon program completion, teens will go home with better preparations for the college experience—both academically and socially. In addition, students earn three college credits that post to the University of Maryland transcript (成绩单).

    The Application

    The application process includes submission of the application, high school transcript and a letter of recommendation.

    Ages: 14-18

    Mailing address: The University of Maryland College Park

    For more information, call 3014057762.

    Our tolerating ability is indeed way beyond our imagination. But not until the very critical moment will we realize our potential tolerating ability.

    There was a woman in the countryside who got married at the age of 18 and had to escape with her two daughters and a son wherever she could at the age of 26 due to the Japanese army's invasion, Many people could not bear the suffering of being a fugitive (逃亡者)and wanted to commit suicide. Knowing that, she would come to those people and soothed them by saying, "Don't do that silly thing. There are no such setbacks that we could not overcome. The Japanese armies are bound to be driven away one day!”

    Finally, she insisted until the day when all the Japanese armies were kicked out of China. However, her son died of disease without sufficient medicine and nutrition in those days of hardships. Her husband, after knowing the death of his son, lay in bed for two days without eating and drinking anything. She teared to her husband and said, "We have a tough destiny, but however tough our lives will be, we should persist in our efforts."

    After she gave birth to the second son, her husband died of edema (水肿), which almost, blew her away. But eventually, she recovered and embraced the three young children, saying, "My sweet hearts, don, feel scared. You still have me, your dear mum!”

    It took her painstaking efforts to raise her children up and, the life of her family was getting better and better. Two daughters were married and so was her son finally. She said to everyone she met," Look! What I said is absolutely right. There are no such setbacks that we could not overcome! My life is so happy now!”

    She lived until 86. Before she went to Heaven, she said to her children, You all should live to your best. There are no such setbacks that we could not overcome!”