Some people are pessimistic(悲观的) when they think about the future. They say that, a hundred years from now, we will have used up most of the earth's resources. We will have made our seas so dirty that we will not be able to eat fish from them. There will be so many people in the world that we will have to use all the countryside for housing; there will be no farmland left.

    Other people have a different idea about the future. In their view, the city of the future will be a huge pyramid-shaped(金字塔形的) building, which will be floating on the surface of the sea. About 5,000 families will live there, and there will also be schools, shops in it.

In a hundred years' time, people will not need to use oil. They will heat their homes with power from the sun.

    Think of space. Perhaps a station will be set up on the moon; people will be able to visit the moon as tourists. They may even spend their holidays in space, travelling from planet to planet.

What an interesting picture!

    Many people don't think about the future. “I don't care. I'll be dead. ”they say. But it is our duty to care because the world of a hundred years' time will be the world of our children's and their children after them.

    A man walked into a small Irish pub and ordered three beers. Bartender was surprised, but he served that man three beers. One hour later the man ordered three beers again. The very next day that man ordered three beers again and drank quietly at a table. This repeated several times and shortly after the people of the town were whispering about the man, who was ordering three beers at once.

    A couple of weeks later, the bartender decided to clear this out and inquired: “I do not want to pry, but could you explain, why do you order three beers all the time?” The man replied: “It seems strange, isn't it? You see, my two brothers live abroad at the moment, one – in France and another – in Italy. We have made an agreement, that every time we go to pub each of us will order extra two beers and it will help keeping up the family bond”.

    Soon all the town have heard about the man's answer and liked it a lot. The man became a local celebrity. Residents of the town were telling this story to newcomers or tourists and even invited them to that pub to look at Three Beer Man.

    However, one day the man came to pub and ordered only two beers, not three as usual. The bartender served him with bad feeling. All that evening the man ordered and drank only two beers. The very next day all the town was talking about this news, some people pray for the soul of one of the brothers, others quietly grieve.

    When the man came to pub the next time and ordered two beers again, the bartender asked him: “I would like to offer condolences to you, due to the death of your dear brother”. The man considered this for a moment and then replied: “Oh, you are probably surprised that I order only two beers now? Well, my two brothers are alive and well. It's just because of my decision. I promised myself to give up drinking.”

    French writer Frantz Fanon once said: “To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture.” Since the world changes every day, so does our language.

     More than 300 new words and phrases have recently made it into the online Oxford Dictionary, and in one way or another they are all reflections of today's changing world.

    After a year that was politically unstable, it's not hard to understand the fact that people's political views are one of the main drives of our expanding vocabulary. One example is “clicktivism”, a compound of “click” and “activism”. It refers to “armchair activists” — people who support a political or social cause, but only show their support from behind a computer or smartphone. And “otherize” is a verb for “other” that means to alienate (使疏远) people who are different from ourselves — whether that be different skin color, religious belief or sexuality.

    Lifestyle is also changing our language. For example, “fitspiration” — a compound of fit and inspiration — refers to a person or thing that encourages one to exercise and stay fit and healthy.

    The phrase “climate refugee” — someone who is forced to leave their home due to climate change — reflects people's concern for the environment.

    According to Stevenson, social media was the main source for the new expressions. “People feel much freer to coin their own words these days,” he said.

    But still, not all newly-invented words get the chance to make their way into a mainstream (主流的) dictionary. If you want to create your own hit words, Angus Stevenson, Oxford Dictionaries head of content development, suggests that you should not only make sure that they are expressive (有表现力的) and meaningful, but also have an attractive sound so that people will enjoy saying them out loud.

    There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckets(水桶). One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and dilapidated one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.

    Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled (溢出). The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked（泄漏）along the path.

    Sometimes the new bucket would say, “See how capable I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don't know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!”

    And all that the old bucket could say was, “I know I'm not very useful, but I can only do my best. I'm happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least.”

    One day, the gardener heard that kind of conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, “You both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path.”

    Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare (光秃秃的) earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.

    When introducing American universities, some of the first institutions to mention are the Ivy League schools. Originally, the Ivy League was an athletic conference made up of 8 private institutes of higher learning in northeastern United States. However, as time went on, these schools also became known for their excellence in academics besides athletics. Included in the Ivy League schools are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and Harvard University. These 8 schools have been recognized as some of the best colleges and universities in the United States.

    Harvard University is a private institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The university includes a number of graduate and professional schools, as well as a college for undergraduates. In 2012, Harvard ranked number one in US News' ranking of national universities again. Founded in 1636, Harvard is the oldest institute of higher education in the United States. It can be said that first there was Harvard, then the United States of America. Also, Harvard's library contains the oldest collection of books in the United States as well as the largest private collection in the world. Harvard has also been described by Forbes Magazine as one of the "billionaire universities" as of their recent list of 469 billionaires, 50 received a degree from Harvard.

    Harvard College (the institute for undergraduate students) is one of the most famous schools in the United States. It offers over 40 undergraduate fields of study, including astrophysics(天体物理学), mathematics, neurobiology(神经生物学), etc. And the financial aid program there is amazing. Even though the tuition is about $ 37,576, and there are other expenses throughout the year, about 70% of undergraduate students received financial aid. Out of those students, over 90% of them had their full need met. And the policies for international students are the same for U.S. citizens.

    Harvard College is very selective, as it only admits about 6% of their applicants. For admission into Harvard College, it is required that students take the SAT or the ACT, as well as SAT Subject Tests. Harvard will also look at other factors during admission such as your application essay, high school transcript, work experience, GPA (Grade Point Average), your interview, recommendations, and most importantly, your character and personal qualities.

    The phone ID flashed，“Emergency Vet”.“ Oh no” I whispered. I could not lose Merlin now.

    Ron and I had tried to have children for a long time with depressing results. I threw myself into my work. Any maternal feelings I had were spent on Merlin.

    I couldn't wait to get home from work each night. I wanted to pick up that warm bundle of loving fur and nestle him. I wanted to sing “Rock-a-bye Merlin”，as I did every night as he would put his paws around my neck.

    Merlin was my comfort especially at times when I wondered if God was listening. But last night something had changed. Not only did I sing “Rock-a-Bye M1erlin”,but I asked, you 're gone？”

    Although Merlin was 19 years old, a senior in the· age of a cat, he didn't look or act that way. I didn't want to accept the fact that he was nearing the end of his lifetime. My job at the law firm was so demanding and stressful that I couldn't imagine getting through the day without Merlin waiting to greet me at home.

    I dialed the vet's number. I asked for my husband but he already left. Then I took a breath and asked the question that no one wants to ask，“Is my Merlin still alive？”The nurse said“ yes.”

    Ron came home and said that Merlin had almost no red blood cells left. White blood cells were replacing them. Merlin would need expensive transfusions most likely on a monthly basis. We both knew Merlin was running out of time. I asked Ron to drive me to the vet so I could say goodbye to my little boy cat but he was beat tired and it was late. Ron said if Merlin was still alive he next morning then he would take me to the vet.

    The next morning I called the vet. Merlin had survived the night. After driving to the vet, I went into the examining room. The nurse brought Merlin and placed him on an examining table on his side. His eyes were tightly shut. I thought he died already. I carefully edged my hand to reach his body. His body felt warm, but when I spoke his name there was no response. No response to his name or that I was there and that I loved him. I was extremely sad. In that examining room I felt helpless. I wondered how many people in an examining room felt as helpless as I did. Feeling driven to prayer I yelled, “God this isn't good enough. I need to see my Merlin the way I remember him, I need a miracle and I need it now！”

    At that moment, God granted a miracle. Merlin's favorite compliment entered my mind. I said, “Merlin, you are beautiful and you are gorgeous, do you hear me？”

One eye opened.

    I said “Gotcha”. I kept repeating those words.

    Merlin opened the other eye and, one limb at a time, got up. He was waiting for that phrase. He wanted to hear that he was beautiful and gorgeous again.

    Then I experienced another miracle.

    There was no sound in that examining room until Merlin started walking to me. From out of nowhere, or maybe from heaven, I clearly heard a song we sung in church often: “It Is Well With My Soul.” I remember叫thinking，“Yes, it is well with my soul. I got to see my little boy cat one more time.”

    Merlin walked to me. He put his face in mine, which he had never done before. He rubbed a circle around my face twice. Merlin said goodbye with his face and marked me for life.

    Ron appeared shocked that Merlin was up and had walked to me. I said to Merlin，“Tell God you are a good boy and how much we love you”and then handed him back to the nurse.

    Tears of gratitude poured forth in memory of a miracle. You see for nineteen years God spoke to me through a special cat named granted a miracle. That miracle gave me time to say goodbye.