An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife, enjoying his extended family. He would miss the pay check, but he needed to retire.

    The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He used shoddy materials to build the house. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

    When the carpenter finished his work and the employer came to inspect the house, he handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.”

    What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in a home he hadn't built very well.

    It is the same with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up with less than the best. At important points, we don't give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that, we would have done it differently.

    Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall, build wisely. It is the only life you ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plague (牌匾) on the wall says, “Life is a do-it-yourself project.”

    Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn't a good student,I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as  could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

    He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn't you ever wonder what you're really like? Well, you now have that girl's opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn't change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.

    I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That's just for you,” he said. “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When some thing said about you is true, you'll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don't shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.” Daddy's advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I've never had a better piece of advice.

    If you choose a hot tourist spot for your holiday, you are likely to be drowned by a great number of tourists, noise and long lines. At this point you might wonder why you ever left home. Here are some tips to deal with crowds and avoid the trouble that might ruin your trip.

Book Tickets In Advance 

    Buy tickets online before you leave home, and skip the crowds and endless lines at your destination(目的地). Smart travelers can avoid the queue when visiting abroad with online ticket sales.

Talk To People

    You can ask the travel agency and the hotel for help. Ask questions, get maps, ask about taxis, restaurants and the sites you wish to visit. These people are experts and can save you lots of time trying to find things out for yourself.

Sign Up For Special Tours

    If there are any special events or tours being offered for your vacation, buy them in advance. Firstly they are usually cheaper bought in advance and secondly it makes sure you get booked in before they are sold out.

Visit During the Weekdays

    We all know that most sites and events are less crowded during the week than on weekends when people are off work and the kids are out of school. Flights are also usually cheaper on weekdays than they are on weekends.

Watch The Weather

    Mother nature controls a lot of what we do especially for outdoor activities. Check the weather forecasts and plan your indoor and outdoor activities according to the weather ahead of time.

    Guide Dogs of America, A History is the book that we all have been waiting for. It's a book that tells how and where the guide dog movement really started, with information never before revealed--until now. After reading this 200-page, picture-filled work, you will know about every aspect of Guide Dogs of America(GDA) from its inception to how it has become one of the top guide dog schools in the country.

    Joseph W. Jones, Sr., was refused a guide dog because of his age--he was fifty seven--but he would not accept defeat. He researched the guide dog movement and with the help of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, established his own school, one that would provide guide dogs free of charge to visually impaired people regardless of their age.

    The school graduated 18 guide dog teams the first year with students staying at, GDA's first trainer, Lambert Kreimer's house on South Virginia Avenue in Burbank, and Jones manning the office on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood.

    In 1952, Jones addressed the quadrennial(四周年纪念的) IAM Grand Lodge Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. “I sincerely prayed to God for two things,” Jones said. “After my wife passed away and left me with a ten-year-old boy, I prayed that I would be spared long enough to see this organization well established and that my ten-year-old boy would become a man. Both prayers have been answered. The organization is well established, it is in the hands of the IAM and my boy is a man, and I am proud to say that today he is a member of the IAM.”

    Jones' pray for a successful organization had been answered now, ten years after he was rejected for being too old, his dream of having a guide dog for himself, hundreds of others had already been given the gift of sight because of his drive and determination. That school, now known as Guide Dogs of America, has provided guide dogs to thousands of people free of charge.

    THE WEEK IN READING: THE BEST NEW BOOK RELEASES FOR APRIL, 2017

The Handshake

    I don't remember the exact date I met Marty for the first time. Like a lot of people who want to get through a checkout line, I found my thoughts on speed, nothing more. The line I was standing in wasn't moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier, who was receiving money from customers.

    He was an old man in his sixties. I thought, well, it probably took him a little longer to get the jobs done. For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before he began scanning the goods they were purchasing. Sure, his words were the usual, “How's it going?” But he did something different—he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and talk with them briefly.

    I thought it was strange, but I guessed I had grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of a conversation without thinking. Usually, after a while, you don't give any thought to the question and just say something back quietly.

    This old cashier seemed sincere about wanting to know how people were feeling. Meanwhile, the high-tech cash register rang up their purchases and he announced what they owed. When customers handed money to him, he pushed the appropriate keys, the cash drawer popped open, and he counted out their change.

    Then magic happened.

    He placed the change in his left hand, walked around the counter to the customers, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship. As their hands met, the old cashier looked the customers in the eyes. “I want to thank you for shopping here today,” he told them. “You have a great day. Bye-bye.” The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless.

    Now it was my turn. I glanced down at the name tag on his red waistcoat, the kind experienced Wal-Mart cashier wore. It read, “Marty.”

    Marty told me how much I owed and I handed him some money. The next thing I knew he was standing beside me, offering his right hand and holding my change in his left hand. His kind eyes locked onto mine. Smiling, and with a firm handshake…