Tyler was a troublesome student. He sat in the back row. Every time I called him to answer questions, he'd reply with a flip（轻率的）answer. If he got it wrong, he would get very angry.
    Usually kids could sit quietly in class. However, Tyler was just loud. One day, Tyler was talking while I was teaching. I said to him, “Tyler, why not join in our discussion instead of having one of your own?” He got up from his chair, pushed it over, and shouted something I can't remember. I sent him to the office and he received a week's out-of-school punishment.
    The week was a wonderful time for me, but when it came to an end, I began to feel worried. So I came up with a plan. On the day of his return, I told him I wanted to start over with him. If he felt like he was going to lose control in class, he could step outside the door for a moment.
    From then on, Tyler was a changed student in my classroom. In fact he was a smart child and he even stopped a fight between two students one day. And he never used the privilege（特权）to leave the class for a moment. I believe that just letting him decide for himself made all the difference.
    When the year was over, he wrote me a thank-you note about how good the year had been for him. I still have it today and find it very moving to reread when I get stressed about teaching.

    Tony stops his car by the side of the road. He is very tired and wants to get some sleep. Just when he lies down on the seat, a man comes and asks him the time. He looks at his watch and says, “It's a quarter past eight in the morning. “ Tony tries to sleep again, but there is another knock on the window of his car. “Sir, do you know what time it is, please?” a woman asks. He has to look at his watch again and tells her, “It's half past eight a. m..”

    Tony can't sleep well because there are too many people knocking at his window. He writes a note and puts it on the window of his car. It says, “I don't know what time it is!”

    Once again Tony tries to get some sleep. Just at that time, a young man knocks at his window and says, “Hi, sir ! It's a quarter to nine a.m. now!”

    Once a traveller came into a village which was suffering from hunger. The villagers asked him to leave, for they feared he wanted them to give him food. They told him that there was no food. The traveller explained that he didn't need any food and that, in fact, he was planning to make a soup to share with them instead. The villagers watched suspiciously as he built a fire and filled a pot with water With great ceremony(仪式), he pulled a stone from a bag, and dropped the stone into the pot of water. After a moment, he smelt the soup and shouted with excitement, “How delicious the soup is!” As the villagers began to show interest, he mentioned how good the soup would be with just a little cabbage in it. A villager brought out a cabbage to share. This episode(情节) repeated itself until the soup had cabbage, carrots, onions, and beets—indeed, a full pot of soup that could feed everyone in the village was ready. This story describes when there are not enough resources(资源), humans will store things. We do not want to share. The story of stone soup helps us realize that, in doing so, we often prevent ourselves and everyone else from having a feast(盛宴).The meaning of this story goes far beyond food. We keep to ourselves ideas, love, and energy, thinking we will be richer, but in fact we make the world, and ourselves, poorer. The traveller was able to see that the villagers were holding back, and he had the ability to inspire(激发) them to give. In this way, they created a large meal that none of them could have created alone. Are you like one of the villagers? If you come forward and share your gifts, you will inspire others to do the same. The reward is a feast that can feed many.

    When Abe Lincoln was just a boy, he had to help his father to look after his farm. It was hard work and there wasn't any interesting thing for him. Abe wanted to go to school, but there was no school there. Abe was sad most of the time. Mrs Lincoln loved the boy very much. She tried her best to make Abe happy. One early morning she got up early and went to town. That was a long way and it took her a long time to get to town. She bought something there and went back. And it was late in the evening when she got home. The next morning Mrs Lincoln said to Abe, “Today is your birthday. We're going to have a party.” She put some food on the table, then brought out a present. A book. Abe cried. It was an old book, but he liked it. A smile came to his face. He looked up at Mrs Lincoln and said, “Thank you, Mum.”

    Jimmy is a very kind young man. He works in a big supermarket. His workmates like him very much. Last month Jimmy caught a bad cold, and he stayed in bed for about two weeks. But after he got well, something happened-he couldn't stop winking(眨眼) . When he stayed at home, he was all right as usual. But if he went out, he couldn't stop his eyes from winking.

    Jimmy went to work the next morning. On the way he met a policeman and winked at him. The policeman felt surprised but said nothing. Then he met an old man and winked at him. The old man thought he must be mad. But still he didn't say a word.

    Real trouble started when he met women. First he met a young lady. He winked at her. The woman's face turned red, and ran away as fast as she could. And then he met an old woman who carried a walking stick. Jimmy winked at her. She looked closely at him. Jimmy winked again.

    Without saying a word, she hit Jimmy on the head with her walking stick. "Take that!" she cried out. "This is a lesson(教训) for you."

Poor Jimmy! How could he explain it? He ran away quickly. From then on, he always wears a pair of dark glasses when he goes out.