Dave is my friend. His family is rich. His parents always give him lots of pocket money. But Dave thinks his parents work very hard and it's not easy for them, so he always tries his best to save money. He has some good ways to do it.

    Dave likes reading. He has lots of books. He tells me he often buys books online, because they're cheaper. And when he has free time, he often goes to bookstores or libraries to do some reading.

    Dave has a bike. He usually goes to school by bike instead of taking a bus. Sometimes when it rains or snows, he walks. These two ways help Dave keep healthy and save some money.

    Dave brings a bottle of water to school every day. When other students drink juice, he enjoys his water. He thinks water is the cheapest but the best drink.

    Some students think Dave is mean. But I don't think so. I think he is right. What do you think of him?

      Why are so many people so afraid to fail? Quite simply because no one tells us how to fail so that failure (失败) becomes an experience that means growth. We forget that failure is part of the human condition and that every person has the right to fail.

      Most parents work hard at preventing failure or protecting their children from the knowledge that they have failed. One way is to lower standards. 60% of the parents choose this way. When a child finishes making a table, the mother describes it as “perfect” even though it doesn't stand still. Another way is to blame (责怪) others. If John fails in science, his teacher is unfair or stupid.

      There's a problem with the two ways. It makes a child unprepared for life in the real world. The young need to learn that no one can be best at everything, no one can win all the time, and that it's possible to enjoy a game even when you don't win. A child who's not invited to a birthday party, who doesn't make the honour list on the baseball team, feels terrible, of course. But parents should not offer a quick consolations (安慰), prize or say, “It doesn't matter.” Because it does. The young should be allowed to experience failure and be helped to come out of it.

     Failure never gives people pleasure. It hurts both grown-ups and children. But it can be really good to your life when you learn to use it. You must learn to ask “Why did I fail?” Don't blame anyone else. Ask yourself what you did wrong and how you can improve. If someone else can help, don't be shy about asking them.

    We often see top students around us and everyone knows about them. Let us take Jenny as an example. She is the monitor of our class. She spends a lot of time working for our class. But she always gets good grades in all subjects. How do students like Jenny do that? When I asked her, she said, "Hard work is not the whole story. It's not how long you sit at the desk with your books open. It's what you do as you are sitting." In fact, we can see many top students spend fewer hours on their studies than their classmates. Jenny gave me some valuable suggestions.

    If your math teacher gives you five exercises, you should do six. If your Chinese teacher gives eight pages of reading, you should read nine. The more you practice, the more you learn.

    Studying is a matter of your personal interest, so choose the way you are most comfortable with. Some people like working at night when the house is quiet, while others like doing their work early in the morning. However, others like studying as soon asthey arrive home from school while the work is fresh in their minds. No matter(无论) which way suits you, try to do your best.

    Studying is your business and the business comes before entertainment(娱乐). When you are studying, phone calls should go unanswered, TV shows unwatched, snacks given up. Studying is the only thing in your mind. Nothing can pull your attention away from what you are studying.

    Studying is like eating. You should eat a little at a time. You can plan what to do today, but don't do too much. When you can't finish the work you planned to do, you will feel stressed and may lose confidence. On the other hand, you will not study well without a good plan. It all depends on how you manage your time.

    The students who hand in a clearly written paper are already half way to get an A. Tidy papers are likely to get higher marks than messy(乱糟糟的) ones. When you write clearly and do your work carefully, the thoughts in your mind are clear. You are able to make fewer mistakes.

    I was ten when I first sat with my grandmother behind the cashier（收银台）in her general store.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} I quickly learned the importance of treating customers politely and saying “thank you.”

    At first I was paid in candy.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} I worked every day after school, and during the summer and on weekends and holidays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. My father helped me set up a bank account.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    By the time I was 12, my grandmother thought I had done such a good job that she promoted me to selling cosmetics（化妆品）. I developed the ability to look customers directly in the eye. Even though I was just a kid, women would ask me such things as “ What color do you think I should wear?” I took a real interest in their questions and was able to translate what they wanted into makeup（化妆）ideas.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The job taught me a valuable lesson: to be a successful salesperson, you didn't need to be a Rocket scientist—you needed to be a great listener.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Except they are no longer women purchasing cosmetics from me; instead, they are kids who tell me which toys they would like to see designed and developed.

A. Later I received 50 cents an hour.

B. Before long, she let me sit there by myself.

C. I ended up selling a record amount of cosmetics.

D. Today I still carry that lesson with me: I listen to customers.

E. My grandma's trust taught me how to handle responsibility.

F. Soon I found myself looking more beautiful than ever before.

G. Watching my money grow was more rewarding than anything I could have bought.

    There is a National Health Service in Britain. People usually call it "the NHS". When people are ill, they can get free treatment（治疗）. ① The government pays for the treatment. In Britain everyone has a local doctor. The local doctor is a general practitioner (全科医生)(GP). A GP is a doctor who treats patients with all kinds of illness. He may not have specialists (专家) usually work in hospitals.

    If a man is ill and wants to see his doctor, he calls to make an appointment first. If he is too ill and he can't go out, his doctor will come to his house. If the patient has to take medicine, the doctor gives him a prescription(处方). ② The patient has to pay some money for the prescription. He goes to the chemist's shop and buys the medicine there. The price is the same as any kind of medicine. ③But children, students, old people or people without work don't have to pay for their medicine

Future and Today

    It is well known that everyone has his own dream as well as his own future. But do you know what future really is? I have to say that future is now. That is to say we must treasure(珍惜)every minute now. If we want to have a bright future, we should know how important time is and use it well.

    There is an old English saying: "Gain time, gain life." Then what's time？ Time is something that we can't see or touch, but we can feel it passing by. Time is always with us. When we are at table, time passes; when we play, time goes by unnoticeable. We always say "Time is money", but time is even more precious(珍贵的)than money, because when money is spent , we can earn it back. But if time is gone away, it will never return. So, some of us even say time is priceless(无价的).

    We should always remember: future is now. For us students, we should try our best to work hard in order to create a great future of our own. We should make the best use of every hour and be the master of today. We should do everything before us as well as possible. And never put off what can be done today till tomorrow.

    As we all know, "Time and tide wait for no man." If you waste today, you will regret(后悔)tomorrow. So from now on, work hard. Tomorrow will be better, and your future will be brighter. Remember:" No pains, no gains." Today's hard work is the cause of tomorrow's harvest(收获).

Title: Future and Today