We are lucky to live in a rich country where we have many things. However, most of us usually1 some things.

    Electricity(电) is one thing that we waste 2. Lights, TVs, 3 and other things are often kept on even when no one is using them. We should turn them off when we do not need them. It 4 less than a second to do it. Anyway, not wasting electricity saves money, because we do not have to 5 the electricity we do not use.

    The second thing that we often waste is water. Fresh water is precious(宝贵的) ， 6it shouldn't be wasted. It is only a simple matter of turning off a tap. I am sure 7 can do this easily if he wants to.

    8 big waste is food. My mother 9cook so much food that much of it was thrown away. I told her we had wasted so 10 food. She thought I was right and now cooks 11 what we can eat.

    It is not 12   to waste anything. I find there is a simple 13of not wasting things. That is to use only what we 14. Do not touch what we do not need. 15 this way we can stop being wasteful.

    When Justin Tong was a child, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him doing lots of housework such as carrying out the rubbish and sending newspapers. But when he grew up, he was better off than his childhood friends and lived a happier and healthier life.

This is the finding of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 children in London. It showed that the children who had worked hard in childhood had a richer and a happier future. "Children who worked in the home or community gained competence(能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society," said Daniel Brown, the psychologist(心理学家) who made the discovery. "And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them."

Brown's study followed these children in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Brown, the researchers compared the children's mental-health scores with their childhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

    Working at any age is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence — the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this.

    Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, "One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work."

    Jack King

    I work in a TV station from Monday to Friday. My house is near a beautiful park and is about thirty kilometers from my office. I usually go to work by train. I usually get up at 6:30 a. m. and take the train at 7:00 a. m. It usually takes me about thirty minutes to get to my office. The train is quick and cheap. I am never late for work.

    Peter Green

    I am a student, My house is near a beautiful lake. My school is across from the lake. I can walk to school across a bridge. It takes me about thirty minutes. But I often go to school by boat, because it is more fun. It takes me about twenty minutes.

    Molly Smith

    I'm a waitress I work in a restaurant from Monday to Saturday. I often go to work by bus, It is about five kilometers from my house to the restaurant. It takes me twenty five minutes to go to work. Sometimes I am late for work because the traffic is very busy.