On the first day of the New Year 2019, I made up my mind to go to Thailand to teach English as a volunteer. At the beginning, all I cared about was travelling and seeing the country. I didn't know how fantastic my life would be in the coming months!

    My journey began with attending TESOL certification course in my home state of New York last February. After 3 weekends of study and another 40 hours' study online, I received my TESOL certificate.

    I was asked to contact Philip, who is Program Director of the Teach in Thailand. After discussing with Philip, I chose my school and after many months of excitement, I finally flew to Thailand in early April and I couldn't wait to explore the country!

    After a few weeks of single travel, I met up with Philip and the other new teachers in my program in Bangkok. It was great to meet other people who were on the same journey as me, see some cool sights and walk in Thailand's cities! After that, I attended the week­long training. At the end of the training, I was sent to my school—Anuban Buriram Primary School.

    I truly love my job—I teach Grades 5 and 6 and I have the cleverest and most active kids in the world. It's a truly fantastic thing that you can see the difference you make in someone else's life, right in front of you!

    Buriram is a small city with green rice fields. People here are more friendly than anyone I've ever met—I've never been anywhere where a smile is so easily received, where everyone you pass is so friendly to say "Hello" and "Good morning". I've been taken out to countless dinners, and been lent a guitar, a camera, and I am given Thai treats and the most delicious fresh fruits many times a week. I only hope to repay them in the future.

    A restaurant had one falled upon hard times. Only five 1 were left: the manager and four others, all over 60 years old.

    In the town near the restaurant there lived a successful businessman who was good at managing business, so the manager2to ask the businessman if he could offer any advice that might save the restaurant. The manager and the businessman talked for a long period of time, but when he was asked for advice, the businessman 3for a while and then said, "I have no advice to give. The only thing I can tell you is that the saver (救星) is one of you."

    The manager, returning to the restaurant4, told the other people what the businessman had said. In the months that5, the old restaurant workers thought carefully of the words of the businessman, "The saver is one of us?" They asked themselves. As they thought about this possibility, they all began to treat each other with6respect(尊重). And thinking that each of themselves might be the saver, they also began to treat themselves with more care.

    As time went by, people coming to the restaurant7that some respect and warm kindness were around the five old members of the small restaurant. Hardly knowing 8, more people began to come back to the restaurant. They began to bring their friends, and theirs brought more friends. Two 9 later, the small restaurant had once again become a big food company, thanks to the businessman's10. They understood that it was they themselves that were the savers.

    Mary was ill yesterday. She went to see a doctor.

    "Doctor, I'm not feeling 1 at the moment," she said. "Every time I do my homework at night, I feel 2. If I walk to school, I have to sit down and 3  for ten minutes."

    The doctor looked 4 Mary carefully. At last he said, "5 serious, but I'm afraid you are 6 too much."

    "I don't understand. What do you mean?" asked Mary. "I mean you eat too much 7 ,"said the doctor.

    "Oh! You mean I'm too 8. That's a problem," said Mary. "What should I do if I don't want to be heavy?"

    "The answer is easy," said the doctor. "If you want to be thinner and healthier, you 9 eat a lot of food and you also should take more 10."

Michelle, a famous lady, has found that more than 25% students are too fat in her country. It is a very serious problem. So she starts a Health Program to deal with it. The Health Program is to reduce the number of fat students today and in the future.

The program will get families, schools, newspapers, magazines and TVs to join together and deal with the students'obesity so that students will be at a healthier weight.

The program includes: Food stores should sell healthier foods; schools should arrange(安排) healthier meals without too much fat and more gym classes.

The lady is trying to fight the students' obesity all over the country because it can cause illnesses and high food cost. She wants the students to eat right, exercise more and control their weight. She also wants the students to understand it is important to have less sweet food and drink water, milk and fresh juices, but not to choose cokes. At the same time, she has also set a good example by planting a vegetable garden. She hopes that the garden will encourage more people to plant one, too.

The Health Program is really meaningful to the students today and in the future. As she says, "We can't always build the future for the young, but we can build the young for the future."

Two students were asked to meet their teacher at the end of a forest.There were two paths.One was short and easy, and {#blank#}1{#/blank#}other full of fallen trees.One student chose the easy one.He felt he was clever as he walked through without {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. He finished first and felt proud of {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.The second student chose to take time to jump over every fallen tree in his path. After{#blank#}4{#/blank#}at the finish line, he felt tired and regretted choosing that path. The teacher nodded and smiled at them both. He asked them to get a prize by a river in three days.

When the{#blank#}5{#/blank#}arrived, they were {#blank#}6{#/blank#} to hear that they needed to jump over a river which was a few meters wide. The teacher said, "Everything that you have done until now should have prepared you for this moment. This is a jump which will lead you to greatness."The first student walked away immediately, as he knew that he hadn't prepared well{#blank#}7{#/blank#}for the jump. The second student looked at his teacher, ashamed of his former(先前的) regret. He knew now by choosing to deal{#blank#}8{#/blank#}challenges instead of avoiding them,he was ready{#blank#}9{#/blank#}the jump.He ran towards the river and jumped as far{#blank#}10{#/blank#}he can. And he made it!

Riding bikes is becoming more and more popular all over the world. Many people like riding in their daily lives. The following are some students' ideas about it:

◆ Lily: Having a night bike riding in a big city is really good for us. When we're riding around the city, we open our eyes. Many people travel by bike. They say travelling by bike gives them a chance to see the world differently. 

◆ Tom: If you live in a city full of cars, a bike can help to save your time. You don't need to pay different kinds of vehicle taxes (车税). It helps you save money. 

◆ Peter: It's good for the environment. You should just start from yourself, do something to reduce air pollution and keep the air clean. Then try to ride a bike to school or to work. 

◆ Mark: Now, we are so busy that we often don't have time to exercise. Riding can give us the chance. It is good for our mind and body. 

Do you think it's your turn to live a safe, happy and healthy life now?