In the spring of my career, I found myself questioning the choice of my life's work. The students did not appear to be motivated; the paperwork was overwhelming (巨大的) and the constant changes of educational direction were discouraging. But I just could not bring myself to do anything else. “Next year,” I would say, “next year I will switch jobs, make more money and have far less stress.” Next year just never came. I am now in my forties. And while I am no longer in the classroom or at the schoolhouse, I remain an educator. It finally dawns on me that there is no other profession that will let me change children's minds and have an impact on their future. For every student that finally “got it”, for every new teacher that said, “You inspired me to stay,” I get the raise that has never quite made it to my paycheck.

    I was on a plane recently and the flight attendant asked my name. When I told him, he said, “I knew that was you! You taught at my elementary school. You made me take my cap off in the building and told me I was handsome.” He then paused and said, “I think I kept my hat on until you saw me, just so I could get that compliment (赞美). Thank you for making me feel special.”

    We have now entered an age where nothing is private and secrets are hard to keep. Your “friends” are counted by simply clicking a button. Face-to-face interactions are seen by many as unnecessary and time-consuming. Of course, we can do anything online, including teaching and learning. But I guess I am just old school. I want to look into your eyes when the answer finally dawns on you.

    Founded in 1764 by French traders, St. Louis today is the fifteenth largest urban area in the United States. There are many attractive destinations for tourists.

American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog

    Dog lovers who visit St. Louis won't want to miss this 14,000-square-foot museum. Inside are over 500 paintings, prints, watercolors, and a variety of other dog art objects.

    The Museum is open year round, Tuesday through Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM, and Sunday 1 PM to 5 PM. Admission is $ 5 for adults, $ 2.50 for seniors, and $1 for children up to 14.

Anheuser Busch Brewery

    The Anheuser Buxch Brewery tour is not just for beer lovers. The tour includes the historic Brew House. Then the tour continues to the modern Bevo Packaging Plant. The best will be the Budweiser Clydesdale stables. The tours are always free.

Gateway Arch

    Designed by Eero Sarinen and Hannskari Bandel, it took over two years and 900 tons of stainless steel to build. It is the tallest of the country's National Monuments. The Arch is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. About one milion people per year come to the top of the Arch, where there is an observation platform providing a great view of the city.

St. Louis Zoo

    First version of the St. Louis Zoo opened in 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair, but in the century since it has grown into one of the chief zoos in the world. The passenger train takes visitors around the Zoo, which contains over 9,000 animals of over 800 species.

    The Zoo is open every day but Christmas and New Year, with summer hours of 8 AM to 7 PM, and hours the rest of the year of 9 AM to 5 PM. Admission to the Zoo is free.

    Good writing starts with good ideas.If you write about things that you care about,you will write better.If you write about things that you don't care about,you'll be bored and your paper will not have many good ideas.

    Once you have a good idea,the next step is organization（组织）.Think through your paper before you start.Write an outline.You need to know what your main points are before you start your first paragraph.Use 2-4 main points, one paragraph each.

    In your central paragraphs,be concise and specific（简洁具体）.Give examples with details,not just general ideas. If you can say the same thing with fewer words,do it!Don't use big words.

    When you finish writing,look at your outline again.Did you really follow it or did it change as you wrote?Many times you find different ideas as you write.Look at your central paragraphs.What are their main ideas now?Are theses ideas in the introduction?I often write the introduction again to fit the paper after I finish writing.

    If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how "foolish" the Finnish people are.

    Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high­class Benz with a fare of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one，tell the driver to drop you at any place，say that you have some business to attend to，and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least signs of anxiety.

    The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests，but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration cards to the waiter. With such a loose check，you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.

The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss at the rate. From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.

    With so many loopholes(漏洞) in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take "petty advantages". But the strange thing is that all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fares after they have attended to their business and that not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.

    From Madrid to Buenos Aires to Panama City to Lisbon, President Xi Jinping has tirelessly promoted the building of a community of shared future for mankind, and the Belt and Road Initiative(倡议) as a means to achieve that.

    But all don't see it that way. While some are quick to see its positive potentials, other countries insist on viewing it skeptically. There have been the usual doubts about the intention behind, although the mysterious threat they speak of is one they seem unable to explain clearly.

    To some of them, it is a vague assumption that investments from China are potential "debt traps" that call for extreme caution or "threats to national security". That is why the business combinations involving Chinese companies which would be mutually(相互地)beneficial have hit the rocks. The Chinese telecommunications technology giant Huawei, for instance, has found the doors to the 5G telecommunications markets of advanced countries closed to it on "national security" grounds. Likewise, the European Union has agreed on a framework regulating foreign investment(投资) particularly those from China on the same account.

    Even as Chinese and Portuguese leaders discuss bilateral(双边的)cooperation under the Belt and Road, there is no lack of concern about "Chinas influence". But existing EU rules do not forbid Lisbon from seeking such a partnership. If Lisbon sees no harm from foreign investment, no outsider is in a position to prevent it from making a choice in its own best interests.

    Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa has reminded EU decision-makers of his country's desire for foreign investment, and advised the latter to avoid taking "the path of protectionism". It was a timely reminder.

    Facing the challenges in today's world, China and the countries that have embraced the Belt and Road are convinced it is the way to common development and the world's lasting peace and stability.

    An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and enjoy his late life.

    The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He did his job carelessly and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

    When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to examine the house and handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

    What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

    So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differently.

    Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or build a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived well. The plaque (匾牌) on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project."

    Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.