I will never forget the tenth summer of childhood with my grandfather in western Norway at the mountain farm where my mother was born. As a boy ,I always thought people simply bought whatever they need. Whether Grandfather knew this, I don't know. One day he said, ”Come, I have something for you.”

I followed him to a workroom. “You should have a toy boat. You can sail it at Storvassdal.” He said. Great, I thought,looking around for the boat. But there was none.

Grandfather pointed to a block of wood. “The boat is in there,” he said. Then he handed me some tools and showed me how to use them properly. “It'll be a fine boat,and you'll make it with your own hands,” he said,”No one can give you what you do for yourself.”The words rang in my head as I worked. Finished the boat. It wasn't much to look at ,but I was poud. Then I sailed it at Storvassdal.

We had to return to America. “You cannot bring that boat home with you,” my mother said. We already had too much baggage. Feeling sad, I hid my boat under a big rock at Storvassdal.

I said good-bye to Grandfather, not knowing I would never see him again.

In 1964, I went to Storvassdal with my parents and my wife and children. To my surprise,for 34 years my treasure stayed here,waiting for my return. I felt we three were togethet again although my grandfather had died 22 years before.

I carved "1930”and "1964”on its side and put it back.

I returned to the lake in 1968,1971,1977 and 1988. Each time I had the boat and carved the year,my grandfather seemed near.

My last trip to Storvassdal was in 1991. I brought my granddaughters: Catherine,13; Claire,12. I hoped they would understand the importance of the little boat and its simple message. At Storvassdal, Claire said softly, ‘Grandpa,someday I'll come back.' She added,”And I'll bring my children.”

    Mr. King goes to a dinner party. He is wearing old clothes. He comes into the room. But people in the room don't look at him. They don't ask him to sit at the table.

    Mr. King goes home and puts on his good clothes. He goes back to the party. Everyone in the room stands up and smiles at him. They give him very good food to eat.

    Mr. King takes off his coat, and puts it in the food and says, "Eat, coat!"

    The other people ask, "What are you doing?"

    He answers, "I'm asking my coat to eat the food. When I wear my old clothes, you don't look at me or ask me to sit down. But now you give me very good food. Now I see, you give the food to my clothes, not to me!"

Dancing is popular all over the world. People dance in theaters, in parks or in their own living room. But Yang Liu, a woman in Guizhou, dances in an unusual place. Her stage is a single bamboo pole. 

Yang is a performer of bamboo drifting (独竹漂). It is a traditional skill in the girl's hometown. In ancient times, the local people crossed the rivers by riding on a bamboo pole. Now, bamboo drifting has developed into a folk sport.

Yang started to learn bamboo drifting at the age of seven. The bamboo pole is very slippery and it never completely stops moving. Yang fell into the water again and again. But the girl didn't want to give up. She always got back up on the pole and tried again. She practiced hard every day for three years. Finally, she was able to keep her balance on the pole. 

But Yang didn't just stop there. She wanted to live out her dream of becoming a dancer on a bamboo pole. The girl practiced many difficult movements on the pole. She failed countless times, but she never stopped trying. 

Her hard work finally paid off. Now 26, Yang has made a name for herself as a dancer on a bamboo pole. People can't believe their eyes whenever they watch her performances. Through Yang's dances, many people now know about bamboo drifting. They have discovered the beauty of this traditional skill.

①In today's busy world, research shows that more and more people are feeling "time poor". Time poverty (贫穷) can happen when study, work, or social duties take up too much of a person's time, leaving little or no time for fun or personal interests. It can also happen when people feel like they are running out of time to reach their goals or finish tasks before the deadline (截止日期). Besides, we often say "yes" to any extra work. It could be to help your team or your friends. But by saying "yes" to everything, you are adding another task to an already full plate.

②People who don't have enough time fail to perform well at work and remain stressed. Too much stress can harm mental (心理的) health. Moreover, less quality (优质的) time with friends and families can make a person feel lonelier. So how can you stop being time poor?

③Firstly, manage your time properly. It may seem harmless to stay in bed till noon on weekends, but the time wasted every week can add up quickly if you don't realize it. In order to make better use of your time, you can make careful plans before you actually spend it. Try to find out what things in your life are not that important for now and put them off. In this way, you can stick to your plan and focus better on your work.

④Secondly, make quality time a true value in your life. It's important to focus on how you spend your time with someone or doing something. Train yourself to be more present in your life. That is to say, pay attention to one thing at a time. For example, when you are spending time with your family, be present and enjoy yourself rather than still worry about work.

⑤We are all given the same 24 hours each day. By managing your time properly and valuing quality time, you can make the most of your life and become the real owner of it.

China is home to tea and has a long history of tea culture. As time goes by, the tea culture has developed greatly.

In the Tang Dynasty, people not only drank tea, but also ate the tea leaves. That was why tasting tea was called "tea-eating". In the Song Dynasty, the way people drank tea became romantic and was full of art. In the Ming Dynasty, tasting tea returned to its true nature of "drinking tea". People put dry tea leaves in the cup and then poured boiled water into it before drinking. And in the Qing Dynasty, the tea culture finally came into common families. Drinking tea became part of their daily life. At the same time, there were more tea houses.

Nowadays, making tea around a stove (围炉煮茶) has become popular among young people. This is a special way of drinking tea. Many young people like to choose a quiet and comfortable environment to make tea. While boiling tea, there must be delicate and tasty snacks like small oranges and sweet potatoes on the charcoal (炭) stove, satisfying people's eyes and mouth. And beautiful cups and teapots would bring them more pleasure in mind. What they enjoy are art, spiritual world and the deep Chinese tea culture. Away from their busy work and life, they feel calm and peaceful in mind.

In fact, people began to make tea around a stove in ancient times. Traditionally, about the art of making tea, the most important part is the types of tea, water quality, the control of fire, the choices of tea tools, and the skills of brewing (沏茶). In some ways, the art of making tea is a kind of communication between tea and people.

As time passes by, Chinese tea culture continues to develop. Modern tea culture has mixed traditional and modern art and life, showing a more open and colorful culture.

When the host announced that my choir(合唱队) won the second place of the World Choir Game,I couldn't believe what I heard. All the1 that we made was worthwhile(值得的). Through this unforgotten experience,I 2 much.

 In the semi-finals(半决赛), we were supposed to sing 3 songs. When we played the third song, I suddenly heard an unexpected 4 —a girl in the alto(女低音) got quick. The other students in the alt o were 5 by the girl and were getting quicker and quicker. Our choir's leader, Mrs. Li noticed it and 6 used her hand to keep time, but she7 .

 After the song, the smile on Mrs. Li's face froze and some of our members turned and tried to find the person who first got 8 . My mind was blank (空白的), but quickly I realized the only. thing we could do was to9 the performance. Then with a smile, Mrs. Li became a conductor again, who seemed to have completely forgot10 we had done. We sang the last song as usual.

 After the competition I was11 . Just because of one person's fault(过错), the whole choir must afford the fact that we might lose the game. I cried, but then I found nothing would change no matter how hard 12 blame(谴责) the girl who played poorly. Therefore, I came to her, encouraged her, and practiced the whole melody with her. In the finals, we got the medal because of our13 performance.

 Never blame a person when she makes a mistake, but help her to14 the problem when you are struggling(奋斗) towards the same goal. No matter what you will experience with others in the future, successes or failures,15 or tears, these will surely become your treasure and memory.