On Christmas Eve, 1944, my grandmother urged my uncle, then 12 years old, to slip out of the concentration camp where they were imprisoned near 15 miles east of Vienna to go to Deutsch-Wagram. “People are charitable around Christmastime,” Grandma Lili said to her son, Gyuri. “Ask for some food. Anything they can spare. Tell them that we're on the edge of starvation. Tell them that your 3-year-old sister can not get off the bed because she's outgrown her shoes.”

    In the dark of that night, Gyuri secretly left the camp and walked nearly four miles to Deutsch-Wagram, the closest town. He happened upon a house and knocked on the front door. A woman opened that door. She was probably alone, her man far away, fighting in the war, her children asleep in their beds. The 12-year-old pieced together in German exactly what his mother had told him to say.

     “Come back tomorrow," whispered the woman. The next day, my uncle returned. The woman opened the door with a smile. She piled his hands with bread, clothing, a pair of shoes that her child had outgrown and a pair of socks. The woman had knitted warm socks for my mother. After putting on the socks and shoes that fit, my mother got off the bed in delight. Her ragged shoes were passed on to a younger child who was also living in the camp. They shared their unexpected harvest with the entire camp. It was a quiet celebration of human kindness around Christmastime.

    In April 1945, my mother, uncle and grandmother were liberated. And it was those very socks and shoes that my mother wore as she walked some 28 miles over two days to Bratislava on her walk to a new life.

    To the unknown giver, I thank you. In the desperation of a cold and snowy land, when many hearts were closed and death was more likely than life, especially for Jews, you gave them hope and comfort.

    Have you ever been sad because of failure? Please remember, for quite often achieving what you set out to do is not the most important thing.

    A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house. As he was working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. “What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a while, the boy picked up a jar. He showed it to the visitors. It was full of all kinds of stones and insects. Then he said calmly and confidently, “Maybe I can't finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I've found during this period!”

    The boy's goal was far too difficult, but it did cause him to go on. And that is what a goal is for－to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen, in other words, to cause us to keep working!

    Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you fall short of your aim, maybe you can say, “Yes, but look at what I've found along the way! There are so many wonderful things having come into my life because I tried to do something!” It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really makes sense.

    Writer Liu fang's first novel, about the life of a teacher at a rural school in the mountainous province of Guizhou in the 1990s , is greatly similar to her own early years-before she lost her sight and struggled to find a full life in the darkness.

    Liu, 44 , was a Chinese language teacher at No 3 Middle School in the Baiyun district of Guiyang until 2006 , when she could no longer see the characters printed in the textbooks .

    Diagnosed with incurable eye disease , in 1996 , Liu was told she would gradually lose her eyesight over 10 years.That it took her 20 years to walk into darkness makes her have the ability to tell you the difference between the two worlds .She spent the first 10 years gradually accepting the reality , and the second facing it with smiles.

    Fortunately , Liu had many people on her side.Her family and friends helped her overcome the most difficult period of her life. And her own kindness served her well . Liu praised the school's headmaster , who gave her a new post as a psychological consultant(心理咨询师) for students, and planned for professional training for her new role.

    Liu's office is a comfortable place decorated with hand-drawn student pictures , one where children can thoughtfully talk about their problems . Liu takes her job seriously.She donated 5,000 yuan (＄760) from her income to five poor students.After she became famous, all she wanted to do was help for the “left-behind”children.

    Yang Hui , a student who often quarrelled with her parents , said Liu feels like a mother to the student. Yang said She would listen to me patiently , and Liu helped her find the reason she couldn't get along well with her parents .

Liu said , her blindness is an asset . “I guess they trust me because I cannot see them , and they feel I am more concentrated and careful than others while listening to them.”

    George Bernard Shaw(1856,07-1950,11) was an Irish dramatist, literary critic, and socialist. During his career Shaw wrote more than sixty plays. He was uniquely honored by being awarded both a Nobel Prize(1925) for his contribution to literature and an Oscar(1938) for Pygmalion. Shaw was a free-thinker, defender of women's rights, and advocate of equality of income.

    George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, where he grew up in something close to genteel poverty. His father, George Carr Shaw, was in the wholesale grain trade. Lucinda Elisabeth Shaw, his mother, was the daughter of a landowner. She was 16 years younger than her husband. George Carr was a drunkard -his example made his son become a teetotaler(禁酒主义者). When he died in 1885, his children and wife did not attend his funeral. Young Shaw and his two sisters were brought up mostly by servants. Shaw's mother eventually left the family to teach music, singing in London. When she died in 1913, Shaw confessed to Mrs. Patrick Campbell: "I must write to you about it, because there is no one else who hates his mother."

    Boy and man, he was always bitterly opposed to schools and teachers, saying "Schools and schoolmasters, as we have them today, are not popular as places of education and teachers, but rather prisons and turnkeys in which and by whom children are kept to prevent them disturbing and chaperoning (陪伴) their parents."

    The booking notes of the play “the Age of Innocence”:

    Price: $10

    BOOKING

    There are four easy ways to book seats for performance:

    In person

    The Box Office is open Monday to Saturday, 10a.m-8p.m.

    By telephone

    Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard and Amex accepted)

    By post

    Simply complete the booking form and return it to Global Theatre Box Office.

    Online

    Complete the on-line booking form at www.Satanfiedtheatre.com

    DISCOUNTS:

    Saver: $2 off any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday Savers are available for children up to 16 years old, over 60s and full-time students.

    Supersaver: Half-price seats are available for people with disabilities and one companion. It is advisable to book in advance. There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show.

    Standby: Best available seats are on sale for $ 6 from one hour before the performance for people eligible (suitable) for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers.

    Group Bookings: There is a ten percent discount for parties of twelve or more.

    School: School parties of ten or more can book $6 standby tickets in advance and will get every tenth ticket free.

    Please note: we are unable to exchange tickets or refund money unless a performance is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

    According to findings of a survey by Citi and Seventeen Magazine, nearly four out of five (almost 80 percent) college students work while attending college, with the average work load of 19 hours per week. But should college students work while at college? Many factors should be considered.

    One benefit of working while in college is that it can help build your resume, regardless of whether the job is in your field, according to an article at Scholarships.com. "If you're lucky enough to find a job that closely relates to your major, you could get a leg up on the rest of your class once you graduate, because you'll have more experience in your chosen field," according to the article.

    Perhaps the most compelling reason for working while earning a degree is the money. While it's unlikely to entirely finance your education through a part-time or full-time job, you can still make quite a dent(削减)in the college bill by working.

    But some students prefer not to work while earning a degree so they can focus on getting the best grades. It's true that you'll have more time to stay at school if you don't work, provided you use that time wisely. If you feel like even 10-15 hours a week of work will hurt your grades, then perhaps you should not consider working.

    Working a part-time or full-time job can take away time from social activities, according to a You University TV article. "Trying to balance a job and your college studies, and taking a job can cut down your time to hang out with friends," according to writer Dave Potts.

    In addition to missing out on hanging out with your friends, working during college could prevent you from attending a number of campus events, such as movies on the lawn or football games. While you may be able to land a job that's flexible, it seems unlikely they'll let you choose your own schedule.

    So should students work at college? The decision should be made on a case-by-case basis. Some students can also thrive in school while working, whereas others can't.