My husband, Tom, has always been good with animals, but I was still amazed when he befriended a female grouse (松鸡). It's 1for a grouse to have any contact (接触)with people. In fact, they're hard to spot, 2they usually fly off when they hear humans approaching

    This grouse came into our lives in 3Tom was working out in the field when he 4her walking around at the edge of the field. She was 5unafraid and seemed to be6about what he was doing,

    Tom saw the 7bird several times, and site got more comfortable around him. We quickly grew8of the bird and decided to call her Mildred.

    One day, as Tom was working, Mildred came within a few feet of him to watch. Tom 9he didn't see her and kept working to see what she would do next.

    Apparently, she didn't like to be 10 She'd run up and peck (啄) at Tom's hands, then 11off to see what he would do. This went on for about 20 minutes, until Mildred became tired of the 12and left.

    As spring went and summer came, Mildred started to 13_more and more often. 14Mildred felt comfortable enough to jump up on Tom's leg and stay long enough for me to get a 15of the two of them together. This friendly grouse soon felt16no just with our family, but with anybody who walked or drove by.

    When hunting season opened, we put a17at the end of our driveway asking18not to shoot our pet grouse. My father, who lived down the road,19warned people not to shoot her.20 hunters would stop and take pictures, because they had never seen anything like her.

    When I was about twelve, I was taken out for dinner with my family one day. As we headed towards the 1, a girl about my age came up to us and asked if we had any spare2. My mom asked where she kept her things. She pointed to an old car. She said there were six of them3in that car, which was the same size as my own 4

    After 5   her a few dollars, we said goodbye. Then, my mother sent me inside the restaurant with my grandparents, my dad and my6. But she didn't come. 7, she had gone home and 8our cupboards(橱柜) into a few bags. She brought all the 9 over to the car and handed the bags to the family. I wasn't there when that10, but I could imagine the 11appearing on their faces.

    Later, when I 12about what she had done, I asked her 13 she helped them. She told me that the girl's family 14 needed help. The girl and I were the same15, yet we lived 16 lives.

    Here I stood, 17 in good clothes, headed to dine in a restaurant and then back home to the bedroom I 18 with my sisters. I remembered thinking that the other girl didn't have any food to eat and had to share a cold car with five other people.

    After 19this picture in my mind, I understood why my mom had done what she had done. She 20 me one of the best lessons I ever learned.

Be a Traveler, not a Tourist

    Last summer, I had just enough money saved to buy a golden ticket—— a 3-month train pass that would take me to the furthest reaches of Europe. Excited for my journey, I 1all the necessities — 2the guidebook.

    While the 3of the Internet was definitely a contributing factor to my4, this was not the only reason I decided to fly 5.

    To be honest, I find the guidebook 6a journey—like a bossy aunt who is always telling you what to do,7she doesn't always know what's best.8has taught me that there is a clear 9between a tourist and a traveler.

    While waiting in a queue to see Michelangelo's Statue of David in Florence, I met a man who showed me his 10of "Top 20 Things to do in Italy" and told us11that he'd "seen" everything Italy has to 12in just four days.

    The problem I had with this man's way of 13was that he was too 14the information provided by his guidebook. He was 15in the so-called "must-sees" and blind to all that was happening somewhere else.

    So, guidebook-less as we were, I traveled to Estonia. Arriving for no good reason, I had no option but to16some friendly faces for advice. I 17myself and asked them what was happening around town. When this resulted in an 18to a beautiful Estonian home by a river where I enjoyed a 110-degree wood-stove sauna(桑拿), 19picked forest-mushrooms and the good 20of my five new-found Estonian friends,  I was most glad I had left our bossy aunt at home.

    I'm Therese, a business manager living in Berlin, Germany. Last month, I 1 to read over 100 nonfiction books in psyshology, politics, and leadership. It might sound 2, but I really did.

    It started with a 3. A colleague 4 me to read Mallcolm Gladwell's The Story of Success in two 5. Determined as I was, I just couldn't 6 the deadline. I 7 the first few chapters quickly but found it impossible to finish all in 2 hours. So I 8 the bet, but it gave me an idea: I needed to find a better way to consume nonfiction books. I finally registered the Blinkist app, which is really 9 for me to read quickly. Blinkist is one of the apps that transform books into "bite-sized" 10. I've learned that in order to produce proper insights from every book, over 100 literary experts 11 themselves to work. I also love that the app has an audio 12 allowing me to listen to great ideas. So I set a fresh 13 with this cool app — to read the key insights from 100 books in one month. How did I do? I read 102 titles exactly.

    I used to 14 much time on social media. Moreover, my job is exhausting, so by the time I leave work, my brain is pretty useless. 15, reading a book on the Blinkist app is like a snack for my 16. I'm happy that I'm doing something  17 with my time. Every day, I wake up 18 than the day before. If you want to get wiser too, then I challenge you to try and 19 my 102-title record! 20 the Blinkist app and start your reading adventure!

The Fitting-in of Suzy Khan

    The first time I saw Suzy Khan, I knew I had to help her. She was really small for her age of 12. The boys in my class often1about her and laughed their heads off. She would open a book, pretending to read, with tears dropping on the open page.

    All I knew was that she was an orphan (孤儿) from Africa. She had just been adopted by a family in town who2that the best way for her to learn American ways of life was to be with American kids. I looked down at this3girl and promised myself that somehow I would help her.

    But how could I help her4in with us? There had to be a5

    One day, when I went into the classroom, I saw that Suzy had6her geography book to a picture of a train, and in her notebook, she had made a(n)7copy.

    I was surprised and thought that she could do something in the coming8show. So, I took her to see the art teacher, Miss Parker, and showed her what Suzy had9. "why, it's wonderful," said Miss Parker, who then showed us a poster she had painted10the talent show. "I need more of these, but I just don't have enough11. Could you help me, Suzy?"

On the day of the talent show, Suzy's12were everywhere —- all over the hall and all over the school, each one different.

    "And finally," said Mr Brown, the schoolmaster, at the end of the show, "we have a (n)13award. I'm sure you've all noticed the wonderful posters." Everyone nodded. "One of our own students14them."

    I could hear everyone whispering. "Who in our school could draw15well?"

Mr. Brown waited a while before saying, "16this student worked so hard on the posters, she deserves a17, too. Our mystery(神秘) artist is our new student —- Suzy Khan!"

    Mr. Brown thanked her for all the wonderful posters and gave her a professional artist's set. "Thank you," she cried.

    I18, at that time when I was looking at her excited face, she'd probably never19anything in her whole life.

    Everyone started to20their hands. Suzy Khan gave them a shy smile and the applause was deafening. I knew then Suzy was going to be all right.

It was a long time since I had seen my parents last time. Last Saturday I drove a long way to visit them, 1neither of them was at home. So I waited patiently at their home 2their return. Not seeing them made me really3.

As I was walking around their bedroom, I 4 little reminders of them. Some

Christmas gifts were still 5in boxes. There were 6on the wall, which I guess must have a 7 meaning to them. What 8 was seeing my dad's emblems (徽章) from his military service of our country when he was young. My father never 9to us about the Korean Wars. As I looked at those emblems hanging 10 with all the photos that he treasures, I 11 that this was an important part of his life, but I never spent 12in talking with him about them. The photos of my mom with her close 13made me realize her life before she was my mom. I had been so 14running my business to raise my own family that I 15the chance to know about their past and experience.

We sometimes don't realize something is 16for us until we have lost it, so it's not too late for us to talk to our parents about their past. I am writing my story to 17 everyone who is fortunate to still have their parents 18to invest some time to learn about them. I am grateful to have 19of my parents. So I still have time to talk with them. I hope that readers will 20from my story and find the time to talk about those things in their life that mean so much to their parents.