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    Ricardo Semler became the boss of his father's company in Brazil at the age of 21. The name of the company is Semco. It sold parts for ships. Semler worked like a mad man, from 7:30 in the morning to midnight every day. One afternoon, while he was visiting a factory in New York, he fell down. The doctor said, “ There's nothing wrong with you. But if you continue like this, you'll find a new home in our hospital.” Semler got the message. He changed the way he worked. In fact, he changed the ways his workers worked, too.

    At the same time, Semler changed the office. Instead of walls, they have plants at Semco, so the boss can't shut himself away from everyone else. And the workers are free to decorate their workplace as they want. As for uniforms, some people wear suits and others wear T-shirts.

    Semco has flexible working hours: the workers can decide when they need to arrive at work. Also, Semco lets its workers use the company's machines for their own projects, and makes them take holidays for at least thirty days a year.

    It sounds perfect, but does it work? The answer is in the numbers: in the last six years, Semco's revenues (收益) have gone from $35 million to $212 million. The company has grown from 800 workers to 3,000. Why?

    Semler says it's because of “peer pressure” (同辈压力). Peer pressure makes workers work hard. It means if someone isn't doing his job well, the other workers will not allow the situation to continue. In other words, Semler treat his workers like adults rather than children, and expects them to act like responsible (负责任的) adults. And they do.

    What do you think will happen when the traditional culture meet modern technology? Yes, the words become lively characters at once. How happy it is to enjoy these Chinese cartoons!

    Ma Liang is a poor boy who loves painting. He always uses his magic brush to fight against the bad people in the village. The cartoon The Magic Brush came out in 1955.

    A group of tadpoles（蝌蚪）are born. They try to find their mother that they have never seen. The story is very easy, but it needs complex technology to show the artistic style of ink（水墨）painting. Little Tadpole Looking for Mom was watched in 1961 first.

    The Monkey King：Uproar in Heaven（1961-1964）is China's first color cartoon. It is from the Chinese novel Journey to the West. It's successful. Not only we but also many westerners like the monkey Sun Wukong.

    To beat two bad persons, an old man grows 7 calabashes（葫芦）, and they change into 7 boys. They try their best to beat the bad. Calabash Brothers（1986）is a masterpiece（杰作）of Chinese paper-cutting art.

    People all over the world like to eat in fast food restaurants. The food there is delicious and it comes q{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Also, it is not too expensive, and the restaurants are always c{#blank#}2{#/blank#}and bright. People can eat in or take their food away.

    Chinese families l{#blank#}3{#/blank#} eating in fast food restaurants, too. There are two kinds of fast food restaurants in China:  the western fast food restaurants and the Chinese o{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Western fast food restaurants sell hamburgers, French  fries, fried chicken, drinks and so on(等等)。Chinese fast food restaurants sell dumplings, noodles, spring rolls and other Chinese snacks.

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    A girl went to her father and told him that her life was too hard. She said she couldn't work all the difficulties out 1. She just wanted to give up.

Her father said, "I think I know 2 I can help you. 3 me." They went into the 4. Her father put a potato, an egg and some coffee beans into three different bowls of water. Then, he started to boil (煮沸) the water on the stove.

After some time, he turned the stove 5 and took out the potato, the egg and the beans. He then showed each of them to his daughter.

"Look. The potato was hard before I boiled it, but now, it is 6 and weak. The egg was fragile (易碎的) until I put it in the water—now, it is hard inside. But the coffee beans were different. When they met the boiling water, they changed and became delicious 7."

Life 8 problems to us all. The potato, egg and coffee beans were all met with the same problem. But they each solve the problem in their own way. It is up to you to take the difficulties you face and find something good in 9. By making a(n) 10, the father taught his daughter a life lesson.

The greatest source of inspiration for me has always been my father. Though he's been gone for 17 years, his 1 still resonate (产生共鸣). He taught me how to run my own race in life. But the most inspiring thing he taught me was to 2.

One incident is 3 in my mind. It happened when I was a teenager. My sister and I weren't very fond of a so-called friend of 4. Dad was a very generous man, and as he'd done with so many people, he'd given this fellow great help. But when he asked for a favor 5, the guy didn't deliver.

Dad's outlook (人生观) on most things was "Live and let live." In this case, however, his calmness 6 Terre and me, and we let him know it.

"How can you be nice to that man?" we said to him. "You've been so kind to him, and he's not being kind back. Why would you want to give him the time of day again?"

My father shrugged (耸肩) and said to us, " I do not bend my back with 7." I didn't get it at first, but over the years I came to understand the 8. Holding a grudge (怨恨) doesn't 9 the person you're angry with, but it changes you. It makes you heavier and gives you more weight to drag around.

After my father died in 1991, a (n) 10 came from a fellow I'd had a quarrel with years before to 11 his sympathy. He wrote: " I thought I'd tell you how sorry I am 12 the loss of your father. I know he 13 the world to you. I just wanted to let you know that you are in my thoughts."

Much moved, I wrote back. I thanked him for his 14. And then, because he'd 15 our disagreement, I recalled Dad's inspiring words. "I am my father's daughter," I wrote. "And like him, I do not bend my back with yesterday."