“I honestly have no idea how that cat got up there. It's a hundred—foot—metal pole. There's no way he climbed that thing,”Jim said to the worried woman. It wasn't even her cat, but she was passing by and saw it. immediately calling the fire—station to come to save it. Jim saw a lotof strange things as a fireman, often sad or upsetting things, but this was new.

  “I suppose we could get the blanket and see if we can convince the poor cat to jump down. But he doesn't really look too scared…”Jim said to the woman.

  “Dave, get overhere!” Jim called over his shoulder to the fire truck driver. Dave walked over and looked where Jim was pointing.

  “How'd he get up there?”

    Jim shrugged, similarly puzzled.“Do you suppose we could get the blanket and convince him tojump?”

    Dave shrugged in response.“I don't seewhy not.”

    Jim looked up at the black mass on the top of the flagpole, the Americannag waving proudly beneath him. It was definitely a cat, and heregarded the people gathered below as if they were his subjects(臣民) and he their king, his yellow eyes scanning his surroundings with apparentd is interest.

    When the blanket was spread out below the cat, Jim and Davebegan striking the flagpole. The cat lookeddown, and then gazed into the sky as if it were looking for something. Jim and Davefollowed his gaze. Suddenly, out of theclear sky, appeared adark figure. The figures wooped(俯冲) low toward the flag pole. It was aneagle! As it got closer, the cat leaped down the pole swiftly onto the ground, and then got lost in the bushes.

    Jim, Dave, and the oldwoman were left with their mouths open. They all agreedit was the best way to get it down.

    How many girls in this world fall behind? The answer is hard—too many to count. This is why the phrase “Go Get It Girl” popped up in my head one day. This would be my project. Thus begins the journey of my Cold Award project, the largest and most important step of Girl Scouts (女童子军).

    “Go Get It Girl” is a girl's self-empowerment (自我授权) project centered on a website called gogetitgirl.org. It focuses on areas including education, health, and financial literacy. The education section includes information on applying to college and, maintaining good grades. The health section contains information on basic health and self-respect. Lastly, the financial literacy section has all the information a girl needs to manage her money properly.

    As part of my project, I was able to work one-on-one with girls in elementary, middle, and high school. I gave a speech at a local high school's College Night. I spoke to Hispanic girls and their parents about applying to college. In addition, I worked with an organization called Cool Girls, Inc. Cool Girls is an organization focused on the advancement of girls in all aspects of their development. I worked at the afterschool program, Cool Girls Club. The girls I worked with were primarily minorities, and Cool Girls truly helps them to rise above any current difficulties in their lives.

    To provide inspiration for the girls who visit gogetitgirl.org, I interviewed successful women in my community, including a doctor and business owner.

The project has been a lot of work, arid it's not over yet. It will never be over, hopefully, because I will always look for ways to help girls.

    Anyone can try to lead a group, but not every individual is cut out for leadership. The better leaders possess a few qualities that can mean the difference between the success and failure of the group. These are the qualities the leader of higher rank will look for when choosing a leader for a group, or when evaluating the performance of a leader. They're also the qualities team members want in a group leader, and appreciate when they find them.

    Take Responsibility

    Group leaders might share tasks around a group as necessary, but eventually a group leader needs to be able to accept that responsibility lies on his shoulders. That means that if things go wrong in a group project, he's the one who must accept the consequences and work out what mistakes are made. The group leader won't always have the power to control everything group members do, but he should be ready to admit any mistakes the group has made as a result of his leadership

    Concern for Members

    The group leader has a commitment to the task or project at hand, but perhaps more importantly, he has a real concern for each and every person who is part of his group. This means getting to know the strengths, weaknesses and goals of team members, as well as making time to build the group through collective activities. The group leader should make sure that everyone is included, even if an individual is new to a group.

    Good Listener

    The group leader needs to be able to listen to the suggestions, complaints and ideas of group members. Not only will this allow complaints to be addressed and potentially suitable ideas to be put into practice, but a leader who listens will also encourage group members to share their concerns and thoughts, creating an atmosphere of free speech and productivity.

    Pinewood Studios is located (位于) about twenty miles west of central London and named after the pinetrees in the grounds. Pinewood has been at the heart of both British and international film production. The house, Heatherden Hall, was bought by Charles Boot in 1934, and he and J. Arthur Rank became partners in the project to build the studios. Pinewood proved pioneering in its use of the "unit system" that allowed more than one film to be made at a time, and this enabled Pinewood to achieve the highest output of all the studios in the world. The first film to be completed at Pinewood was Talk of the Devil (1936, Reed) while the immediate postwar period saw six major productions including the praised Oliver Twist (1948, Lean) and The Red Shoes (1948, Powell and Press-burger).

    The 1950s saw countless productions including the Doctor series and medical comedy, which were the fathers to the Carry On films: the series started with Doctor in the House (1954, Thomas) and led to a further six films. Other notable films of the 1950s age include The Prince and the Showgirl (1957 Olivier) starring Marilyn Monroe, Carve Her Name with Pride (1958, Gilbert), North West Frontier (1959 Thompson) and The Thirty-Nine Steps (1959, Thomas). The Thirty-Nine Steps was a reworking of John Buchan's novel originally filmed by Hitchcock in 1935. Because of its new ideas and skills, American production companies crowded to Pinewood and a major reinvestment (再投资) was required. During the 1960s, four new stages were built to accommodate every aspect of film and television production. This period also saw the start of the association between Pinewood and the James Bond series, which started in 1962 with Dr No (Young). The studios have continued to produce imaginative and technically challenging material such as Superman (1978, Donner), Superman Ⅱ (1980, Lester), Superman Ⅲ (1983, Lester), Superman Ⅳ: The Quest for Peace (1987, Furie),and Batman (1989,Burton).

    Helen Keller was one of America's best-known women. She was admired for her courage and achievements although she couldn't see or hear. She was also known throughout the world for herself-sacrificing work to improve the condition of the blind, the deaf and the speechless. When she died on June 1, 1968, the newspaper Washington Post wrote: "Her life was truly one of the most remark able phenomena of our time and her death just short of the age of 88 leaves the whole world poorer."

    Helen Keller was born on June 27th, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. For the first 19 months of her life, she was a pretty and happy baby, normal in every way. Then a sudden illness destroyed her sight and her hearing. Because she could not hear sounds to imitate(模仿), she could not speak. Helen used to say that her real birthday was not June 27th, 1880, but March 3rd, 1887—the day when Anne Sullivan entered her life. It was Anne Sullivan who taught Helen to spell certain words by a special system, Braille, and even to talk.

    Anne Sullivan could not teach Helen Keller to speak until some other important things had been learned. The little girl had to learn to control her actions and feelings. She had to learn that she could not always do what she wanted to do. She had always been able to get what she wanted by using force. The teacher had to change such habits without breaking the child's spirit.

    Miss Sullivan's battle began. Sometimes, there was real fighting between the wild child and the strong young teacher. At last, however, the battle was won by Miss Sullivan, who succeeded in showing Helen that she loved her and wanted to help her. The child and her teacher became friends. They continued to be friends until the teacher's death, fifty years later.

    The day on which Helen finally accepted Miss Sullivan as her friend and teacher was a great day in Helen's life. After that, the teacher could begin to teach the child language.

    I was ten when my father first sent me flowers. I had been taking ballet lessons for four months, and the school was giving its yearly performance. As a member of the beginners' chorus group, I was surprised to hear my name called out at the end of the show along with the leading dancers and to find my arms full of red roses. I can still feel myself standing on that stage, seeing my father's big smiles.

    Those roses were the first of many bunches accompanying all the milestones in my life. Getting all those roses was wonderful, but they brought a sense of embarrassment. I enjoyed them, but I also felt they were too much for my small achievements.

    Not for my father. He did everything in a big way. Once, when mother told him I needed a new party dress, he brought home a dozen. His behavior often left us without money for other more important things. Sometimes I would be angry with him.

    Then came my 16th birthday. It was not a happy occasion. I was fat and had no boyfriend. And my well-meaning father furthered my suffering by giving me a party. As I entered the dining room, there on the table next to my cake was a huge bunch of flowers, bigger than any before.

    I wanted to hide. Now everyone would think my father had sent flowers because I had no boyfriend to do it. Sweet 16, and I felt like crying. But my best friend, Jenny, whispered, "Boy, you're lucky to have a father like that."

    As the years passed, other occasions—birthdays, awards, graduations—were marked with Dad's flowers. Those flowers symbolized his pride, and my success. As my fortunes grew, my father's health became worse, but his gifts of flowers continued until he died. I covered his coffin with the largest, reddest roses I could find.

    Often during the dozen years since, I felt an urge to buy a big bunch to fill the living room, but I never did. I knew it would not be the same.

    Then one birthday, the doorbell rang. I was feeling blue because I was alone. My husband and my two daughters were away. My 10-year-old son, Tommy, had run out earlier with a "see you later". So I was surprised to see Tommy at the door. "Forgot my key," he said. "Forgot your birthday too." He pulled a bunch of roses from behind his back.

    "Oh, Tommy," I cried. "I love flowers!"