Mr．Young worked in a hospital in the capital．He was busy all the time and little time to have a rest．And one day he felt unwell and couldn't go on working．He decided to spend a week's holiday in a quiet village where he could go swimming or fishing．He got off at a small railway station and soon got to the village．He took a room hotel and went to sleep as soon as he had a good meal．

    At first Mr．Young enjoyed himself there．He could do everything he wanted and went wherever he liked．Nobody disturbed（打扰） him and knocked at the door at mid﹣night．But on the fourth day he was in trouble．After lunch it was very hot．He went swimming in the river．Suddenly he saw a beautiful bird in a big tree．He wanted to catch it and walked to it，but it found him and flew away and soon was gone．He began to pick some flowers in the forest and before long he lost his way．

    The sun had gone down and night had fallen before Mr．Young found a small restaurant in another village．He came in and told them to bring him some bread，two eggs and a glass of tea．After a while his food was brought．

    Soon he ate up all the bread and eggs．When he was going to have the tea，he found there was a fly in the glass．

    "What's in my tea？"Mr．Young called out，"A fly？"It's impossible （不可能的），sir，"said the owner or the restaurant，"I had told them to pick all the flies out of your tea before they brought it to you!"

    In the 1920s, the airlines were just beginning. It was unusual for people to travel by air because it was expensive and dangerous. In those days, there were no flight attendants (服务生) to look after the passengers. Young men, or “stewards” helped the passengers onto the airplane and carried the passengers' bags but they did not provide food and drinks. But then in 1930, a woman called Ellen Church invented the “stewardess”.

    Ellen Church was born in 1904 on a farm in Iowa. She was a different child. She didn't want to work on a farm or marry a farmer. She wanted a more adventurous (冒险的) life. Ellen studied to be a nurse at the University of Minnesota and then got a job in a hospital. For the next few years she stayed at the hospital and at the same time took flying lessons and got her pilot's license.

    Ellen was 25 years old when she first got in touch with BAT (Boeing Air Transport). She loved flying but she understood that airlines were a man's world. Though women like Emelia Earheart were becoming famous, she realized it was impossible for a woman to have a career as a pilot. But she had another idea. Most people were afraid of flying because flying was still not a very safe way to travel. There were often delays (延误), many crashes and the bad weather made many passengers sick. Ellen thought nurses could take care of passengers during flights and BAT agreed.

    The young woman from Iowa and seven other nurses became the first air stewardesses.

    At first pilots were unhappy because they did not want stewardesses on airplanes, but passengers loved the stewardesses. In 1940 there were around 1000 of them working for different airlines. The early “stewardesses” had to be under twenty-five-year-old, single and slim. When a woman joined an airline, she had to promise not to get married or have children. It was a hard job and not well paid. They worked long hours and was paid $1 an hour.

    In the 1970s, stewardesses were unhappy in their job and airlines had to make some changes. Since the 1970s, “stewardesses” have been called flight attendants. They are well paid and work fewer hours than in the past.

    On a sunny day of September, I sat with my friend in a well­known coffee shop in a neighboring town. As we enjoyed our coffee, a young man wearing glasses entered and sat at an empty table beside us. He called the waiter and placed his order, saying, “Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the wall.” We heard this order with rather interest and found that he was served with only one cup of coffee but he paid for two. When he left, the waiter put a piece of paper on the wall, saying “A Cup of Coffee”．

    While we were still there, two other middle­aged men entered and ordered three cups of coffee, two on the table and one on the wall. They had two cups of coffee but paid for three and left. This time also, the waiter did the same. He put a piece of paper on the wall saying, “A Cup of Coffee.” It was something special and perplexing for us. We finished our coffee, paid the bill and left.

    After a few days, we had a chance to go to this coffee shop again. While we were enjoying our coffee, a poorly­dressed man arrived at the shop. As he seated himself, he looked at the wall and said, “One cup of coffee from the wall.” The waiter served coffee to this man as usual. The man had his coffee and left without paying.

    We were amazed to watch all this, as the waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it into the dustbin. Now it was no surprise for us — what was happening was very clear. The great respect for the men in need shown by the residents(居民) of this town made our eyes in tears.

    Harry is eighteen years old now. He studies in a middle school. His parents like him very much and hope he can become a famous man. So they tell him to study hard and they do all for him. They call him at six in the morning, after breakfast his father takes him to school in a car and in the afternoon, as soon as the young man comes back, the supper is ready. Of course, he never washes his clothes or goes to buy anything in the shops.

    Once Harry's father was sent to London on business. He would stay there for half a year. Leaving, he told his wife to take good care of their son. The woman had to get up earlier and did all that her husband did before. And two months later she was so tired that she was ill in bed. Now the young man got into trouble. He couldn't do any housework. He had to do as his mother told him. Even he didn't know where to get on the bus! Yesterday Harry's mother found his shoes were worn out and told him to buy a new pair in the shop. But he didn't know how to choose. The woman had a size and gave him a shoe pattern and told him to buy a pair of shoes himself. It was Saturday that day and Harry didn't go to school. With a policeman's help, he found a shop. The shopkeeper was friendly to him. The man brought a lot of shoes and asked him to choose. When he was trying on a pair, suddenly he remembered something and took them off. The man was surprised and asked," What's the matter, young man?"

    "I'm sorry. I've left the shoe pattern at home!"