Jimmy is an automotive mechanic, but he lost his job a few months ago. He has good heart, but always feared applying for a new job.

One day, he gathered up all his strength and decided to attend a job interview. His appointment was at 10 am and it was already 8:30. While waiting for a bus to the office where he was supposed to be interviewed, he saw an elderly man wildly kicking the tyre(轮胎） of his car. Obviously there was something wrong with the car. Jimmy immediately went up to lend him a hand. When Jimmy finished working on the car, the old man asked him how much he should pay for the service. Jimmy said there was no need to pay him; he just helped someone in need, and he had to rush for an interview. Then the old man said, “Well, I could take you to the office for your interview. It's the least I could do. Please. I insist.” Jimmy agreed.

Upon arrival, Jimmy found a long line of applications waiting to be interviewed. Jimmy still had some grease on him after the car repair, but he did not have much time to wash it off or have a change of shirt. One by one, the applicants left the interviewer's office with disappointed look on their faces. Finally his name was called. The interviewer was sitting on a large chair facing the office window. Rocking the chair back and forth, he asked, “Do you really need to be interviewed?” Jimmy's heart sank. “With the way I look now, how could I possibly pass this interview?” he thought to himself.

Then the interviewer turned the chair and to Jimmy's surprise, it was the old man he helped earlier in the morning. It turned out he was the General Manager of the company.

“Sorry I had to keep you waiting, but I was pretty sure I made the right decision to have you as part of our workforce before you even stepped into the office. I just know you'd be a trustworthy worker. Congratulations!” Jimmy sat down and they shared a cup of well-deserved coffee as he landed himself a new job.

    Do you often feel tired? Is it really because of the large amount of mental work you do? Here is an astonishing and significant fact: Mental work alone can't make us tired. It sounds absurd. But a few years ago, scientists tried to find out how long the human brain could labor without reaching a stage of fatigue (疲劳). To the amazement of these scientists, they discovered that blood passing through the brain, when it is active, shows no fatigue at all! If we took a drop of blood from a day laborer, we would find it full of fatigue toxins(毒素) and fatigue products. But if we took blood from the brain of an Albert Einstein, it would show no fatigue toxins at the end of the day.

    So far as the brain is concerned, it can work as well and swiftly at the end of eight or even twelve hours of effort as at the beginning. The brain is totally tireless. So what makes us tired?

    Some scientists declare that most of our fatigue comes from our mental and emotional attitudes. One of England's most outstanding scientists, J.A. Hadfield, says, “The greater part of the fatigue from which we suffer is of mental origin. In fact, fatigue of purely physical origin is rare.” Dr. Brill, a famous American scientist, goes even further. He declares, “One hundred percent of the fatigue of a sitting worker in good health is due to emotional problems.”

    What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired? Joy? Satisfaction? No! A feeling of being bored, anger, anxiety, tenseness, worry, a feeling of not being appreciated —— those are the emotions that tire sitting workers. Hard work by itself seldom causes fatigue. We get tired because our emotions produce nervousness in the body.

    We all know what a brain is. A doctor will tell you that the brain is the organ of the body in the head. It controls our body's functions, movements, emotions and thoughts. But a brain can mean so much more.

    A brain can also simply be a smart person. If a person is called brainy, he is smart and intelligent. If a family has many children but one of them is super smart, you could say, "He's the brains in the family." And if you are the brains behind something, you are responsible for developing or organizing something. For example, Bill Gates is the brains behind Microsoft.

    Brain trust is a group of experts who give advice. Word experts say the phrase "brain trust" became popular when Franklin D. Roosevelt first ran for president in 1932. Several professors gave him advice on social and political issues（问题）facing the U.S. These professors were called his "brain trust".

    These ways we use the word "brain" all make sense. But other ways we use the word are not so easy to understand. For example, to understand the next brain expression, you first need to know the word "drain". As a verb, to drain means to remove something by letting it flew away. So a brain drain may sound like a disease where the brain flows out the ears. But, brain drain is when a country's most educated people leave their countries to live in another. The brains are, sort of, draining out of the country.

    However, if people are responsible for a great idea, you could say they brainstormed it. Here, brainstorm is not an act of weather. It is a process of thinking creatively about a complex topic. For example, business leaders may use brainstorming to create new products, and government leaders may brainstorm to solve problems.

    If people are brainwashed, it does not mean their brains are nice and clean. To brainwash means to make some accept new beliefs by using repeated pressure in a forceful or tricky way. Keep in mind that brainwash is never used in a positive way.

    We were silently waiting on the platform in the late afternoon. There he was, my 80-year-old grandfather with his silvery hair. And there I was, a teenage girl in my jeans and T-shirt. His aged but still clear blue eyes were taking in the scene as I wondered how I was going to get through the next two days. Why did I ever agree to accompany my cranky grandpa on a train ride from New York to Georgia?

    No one else wanted to be the fellow traveler since my grandfather refused to fly. In contrast, I loved to fly since I wanted to get to the destination as quickly as possible. No matter what anyone told my grandfather about the comfort and safety of flying, he refused to book a flight, saying, "It's not just the trip; it's the adventure of getting there."

    With my first step onto the train, the journey was already different from what I expected. The train was modem and filled with friendly travelers. We settled into the club car, where we could enjoy food and drinks while watching the scenery pass. Instead of listening to my music, I became a willing audience and learned family history that I had never had the time or patience to learn. With teary eyes, he told me that going to family events was hard for him since my grandmother died. It always made him think about those who were no longer with us. For the first time I felt I understood him. I gained a new appreciation for our time together.

    In this fast-paced world, we often miss important moments. There is great significance in listening to elders who offer a piece of their history and experience. I may be more open to opportunities to stay with my grandpa. Life isn't just about the destination; it's about the journey.

    Before you make friends, you have to decide who you want to be your friends.

    Most people like to have friends who like to do the same kind of things they do.

    The quickest way to make a friend is to smile. When you smile, people think you are friendly and easy to talk to. It may not be easy at first to smile, but remember most people will stay away from a scaled or angry looking.

    One easy way to start a conversation with someone is to say something nice about him. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn't it make you want to keep talking to that person?

    Ask your new friends questions about themselves. Who's their favourite singer, where do they live, what do they do after school are all good questions to start a conversation. Make sure you have something to add to the conversation, too. Then someone asks you a question, do have an answer for it. There is nothing that will stop a conversation quicker than a shrug for an answer.

    Kids who show an interest in other kids and who are kind and friendly make good friends. Remember, everyone wants to be around people who like to do similar things and people who are nice to them.

China Experience Tours

    China Experience Trip

    Beijing →Shanghai →Xi'an (8days)

    Price: Adult $1,517 p/p Under 17 $1,230

    Imagine you are a king or queen when entering the great Forbidden City

    Have a hike on the world famous Great Wall

    Discover the Terracotta Warriors (兵马俑)

    Admire Shanghai where east meets west and walk around some local markets

    Glories of China

    Beijing →Xi'an →Guilin →Yangshuo →Shanghai (11days)

    Price: Adult $2,219 p/p. Under 17 $1,650

    Discover more of China's extraordinary history from Beijing and Xi'an

    Visit the easy part of the Great Wall at Mutianyu

    Cycle near Yangshuo and admire the beautiful rural scenery

    Discover Shanghai lifestyles ancient and modern

    China Impression Experience

    Beijing →Xi'an →Yangtze River →Shanghai (11 days)

    Price: Adult $2, 329 p/p. Under 17 $1,810

    Explore both the ancient cultures and modern features, and relax on the yangtze river Cruise (乘船游览) to see the various ideas of China. Your guides will show you around not only the most classic spots, like the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army, and the Three Gorges but also take you for a local experience by visiting lovely giant pandas and local markets.

    Cultural and Natural Wonders of China

    Beijing →Xi'an → Zhangjiajie →Shanghai (11days)

    Price: Adult $2,159 p/p. Under 17 $1,360

    Wind your way from Beijing to Shanghai in style and discover. Climb up the Great Wall, walk around the Forbidden City while listening to the stories of kings, and see the Great "Avatar Mountain" in Zhangjiajie.