When Kyle walked into Paul's Pet World, he looked very anxious. He walked quickly to the store owner, Paul. Paul jumped out of his seat to greet Kyle. He was the store's first customer of the day.
“Good morning, sir!” Paul said. “What can I help you with?”
“Well, I…,” Kyle started to say.
“Wait, don't tell me,” Paul stopped him. “You are looking for a…a new dog… for your daughter's birthday. Right?”
“Not really, I just…”
Paul didn't let him finish. “Ah, I've got it. You just opened a new business, and you want some fish for your office. I have some very nice goldfish over here.”
“Actually, I…” Kyle was starting to look very anxious. His face had a strange look on it.
“No fish? Ah, a cat! You look like a cat person. At Paul's Pet World, we have the best cats. Take a look at this cat— long, white hair. She is looking at you. She is thinking, “Take me home. Take me home.” Would you like some cat food and toys as well?”
l“No, thank you,” Kyle said. By this time, he had a pained look on his face. “Really, I'm no interested in cats or fish or dogs.”
“What do you want, then?” Paul asked.
Kyle looked like he was going to cry. “I just want to know if I can use your restroom!” he finally said.

    A girl who graduated from a world famous university wanted to do translation work for authority leaders. She was so happy when she entered the British Embassy (大使馆). She thought it was the greatest happiness in her life as many graduates wanted to get that job and she was one of the few people who got it!

   But when she started her new job, she realized that it was just a job of answering calls and recording staff members'arriving and leaving times. It was supposed to have no future. For some time, she felt disappointed and didn't know what to do. However, she didn't want to give up this job. She thought about it for one or two days and finally she decided that she would try her best to do this job. From then on, she learnt to appreciate her own job. She wrote down the names and phone numbers of the staff members on a notebook so that she could remember them. She found great pleasure in dealing with the daily chores. When a phone call came in, she picked up the phone as soon as possible. When someone asked her about who was not in the office, she would give the right name and even the time when he or she left. Nobody could do that except her.

   Her excellent work received praise not only from the embassy's members, but also from people in the local government. A leader of a famous company in Britain was deeply impressed by her, so he invited her to work for him. After that she became the leader's personal translator and she was appreciated by the foreigners.

   We cannot choose our destiny(命运), but we can choose the attitude with which we face our life. Maybe the attitude could change our destiny.

Cell Phone Madness

    When I opened the box at my 12th birthday party, I couldn't believe my eyes. I had really got a cell phone!

    As soon as I got to my school the next morning, I showed off my phone and asked everyone for their number. It felt like I didn't even exist in that class anymore. I wouldn't pay much attention to the teachers because I was too busy on my phone. Luckily I didn't get caught using it. I was pretty sure that the teacher did notice that I stopped paying attention to her because a week later we took a test and I got Grade D for the first time. To make matters worse, my mom had to sign the test. It was hard to show my mom the paper. She never expected “D” on my tests. Well, finally, I showed her and she couldn't believe it. She was angry but most of all, she was disappointed(失望的).

    Weeks passed and my parents started to dislike the fact that I had a phone. They would say, “We have noticed that you never pay attention to us. It's like you have your own little world now and we don't communicate as much with your phone.” I acted like they were wrong, but then I started to wonder if it was true that I was spending too much time on the phone.

    A week later I tried going a whole day without a cell phone and it didn't go that badly. I had so much fun because I was actually spending time with my family and paying attention to them. From that day, I had a different point of view towards cell phones.

    Phones really take you away from the rest of the world．I'm not saying that phones are bad and not to use them, but you do have to spare some time to spend with your family and not get stuck with your phone all day. My phone took away time from my homework and from my family. It also affected my grades.

    I will keep using my phone, but I will have it under better control.

    Things didn't go well for Henry, the village pancake maker. The Great Pancake Contest(比赛) was today. People from different places would try to win the contest .The villagers wanted Henry to win, but Henry had problems. There was not enough wood in the oven to make a pancake. Mice ate half the flour(面粉) during the night.

    The villagers saw that Henry was having problems. The woodsman brought wood for the oven. The farmer gave Henry more flour. This was all very good but he was still missing one more important thing. There was hardly enough time for Henry to make his pancake and take it to the contest. But Henry decided to have a try.

    As fast as he could, Henry put the wood in the oven. When he made the pancake, he thought, "When I had no wood, the woodsman brought me wood; when I had no flour, the farmer brought me flour. My good friends helped me."

    After Henry finished making the pancake, he ran as fast as he could to the contest. "I'm sorry, Henry," one of the judges(评判员) said. "You are too late." Henry's friends were sad for him, but Henry just laughed. "I' m not sad! In fact，I'm happy!" he shouted. "I have good friends who helped me. Now, I have a wonderful pancake to share with them."

    Nora was 16 years old. Her little brother Jim was sometimes naughty, but he made Nora1a lot. One afternoon2she was walking in the street, she saw a small boy3very fast to her. When he came near her, she was4to see it was Jim. "Hi, Jim," Nora shouted at him. "5are you running so fast?"6Jim didn't stop. He waved to his sister and shouted, stop two boys7fighting. Again. She laughed and 8important job for a little boy, isn't it? You don't do things like that very often. 9are the two boys?" "They are Tom and me," answered Jim when he10down the street very quickly.

    "We only had one recess (课间休息) today!" a girl from Connecticut said sadly to her mom. The mother, Lucy Dathan wishes her daughter had more recess time. "It helps kids build relationships and be creative thinkers," Dathan is working to pass a state bill(议案). The bill would require at least 50 minutes of recess every day.

    Advantages of recess

    There was a report about recess in 2017. It said that playtime encourages kids to be active. It can build healthy bodies. It also helps kids make friendships. Last year, the state started requiring two recess periods a day. Most U.S. schools offer 27 minutes. But some schools offer none at all.

    Powerful Voices

    At least six states have laws that require primary schools to provide recess. Other states are considering the same thing. Kids can help. In Arkansas, they asked lawmakers to consider a state bill. This bill requires 40 minutes of recess. Izzy Kopsky is one of those kids. Playing with his friends is his favorite part of recess, but he felt like he didn't have enough time to do that. He spoke in front of lawmakers and told them that more recess time could help students pay attention in class. The governor of Arkansas signed the state's recess bill on April 1st.He likes the kids' efforts. "Young people can have a powerful voice."

    Test Case

    Many schools have to make sure students do well on state tests. That's why some schools have shorter recess. It makes more time for class. But cutting back on recess may not be the right choice. Recess can improve a child's memory and focus.