Nine years ago, after Leo had died, people said to me. "I never knew he was your stepfather." You see, I never called him that. At first, he was no one special in my life. Then he became my friend. In time, I felt he was also my father.

    Leo married my mother when I was eleven. Two years later we moved into a house in a new suburban development, where we put down roots. At first our lawn was just a mud with wild grass, but Leo saw bright possibilities. "We'll plant trees there to give us shade as well as some flowers," he said. And just these little touches made our house different from all the others. More important, a real family was forming. Leo was becoming a full-time parent, and I was learning what it meant to have a father.

    Weekday mornings when the weather was bad, Leo often drove me to school. Having a father drop you off may have been something my classmates took for granted, but I always thought it was wonderful. Saturday mornings, we went to the hardware (计算机硬件) shop, then stepped into the five-and-ten, buying a sports magazine or something else. Some people might think that doing shopping together is nothing special, but I, who had ever before spent my childhood watching other families do their everyday activities, experienced them now with extreme delight. Looking back, I realized that Leo gave me what I needed most—the experience of doing ordinary things together as a family.

    Soon after we moved to the suburbs, one of our new neighbors introduced herself to me. She had already met my mother and Leo. "You know," she said, "you look just like your father." I knew she was just making a conversation--but even so... "Thank you", I said. Why tell her anything different?

    If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.

    Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz（奔驰）with a fare of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.

    The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.

    The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate（价钱）. From then on they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly（相应地）.

    With so many loopholes（漏洞）in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.

    In a society of such high moral practice, what need is there for people to be on guard against others? 

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    A student walks into his first class and realizes he forgot all about the midterm exam. He knows he needs to bring his grades up, and getting a zero will make it nearly impossible. He quickly jots down some notes and shoves them under his lap hoping it will help him pass. Cheating is a major concern in all academic environments. Students are creating new and more outrageous(令人吃惊的）ways of cheating every day: some claim that certain accounts of cheating can be justified, but overall it can always be prevented.

    Cheating has been around forever, and millions of ways to cheat have been fashioned. Copying homework and cheat sheets are some of the most basic ways students in all education levels have cheated. Some students think nothing about writing a few answers on their hand, in a gum wrapper, or boldly using a study guide to cheat. Desperate students have even gone as far as to steal the test or scan in bottle wrappers and put answers into the nutrition label. The internet has now become available in almost every location. Computers can be accessed at school, at home, and now even on cell phones. This opens a doorway for even more methods of cheating to be born.

    There are countless opinions on whether or not cheating can be justified. The truth is this behavior will always be a matter of opinion with each scenario of cheating. Students often rationalize their cheating by claiming they forgot to look over the material or did not understand what the teacher or professor was saying. Some may counter these arguments by saying that the student could have set reminders or asked the teacher to explain the material before the day of the test. Some other reasons students believe cheating is justified are their heavy workloads and trying to find time for school, sports, friends, and family. This may be true in certain instances, however, all students have these problems, and it is unfair to the students refrain(制止) from cheating when the student who is dishonest receives a better grade. The majority of students who think cheating is acceptable may believe the reason for this is that sometimes students are unaware they are cheating, there is not enough time given for assignments, or that the information is too much for the course.

    It may be difficult to accomplish, hut cheating can be prevented. 1'eachers and professors have tried many options to stop cheating. These options can range anywhere from simply spreading test-takers out in a room, to expelling（驱逐）a student, which will most likely hinder their plans of getting into another college. One simple way to fix the problem is to scold the student when caught. They may be so scared or embarrassed that they never do it again. This is a risky way to prevent cheating in some cases, however, because it can possibly damage self-esteem. Another simple way 10 avoid cheating is to create many different kinds of the same test. This prohibits students from getting the answers off of a neighbor's test, but students still have the option of using other cheating tactics.

    There may be a million ways to cheat and get away with it, but there are few times, if any, that it is justified. Cheating never has to be a necessity and is never worth compromising morals and losing years worth of working towards a degree. This problem is spreading throughout America; with everyone's help, it can be stopped.

    I wandered into the small store where I usually buy milk, when the store owner received a call from a customer. The customer and his wife had shopped there several months earlier. He noticed that his wife really liked one thing in the store, so he wanted to buy it as a surprise.

    But the customer was in Tennessee, far away from the store which was in Maine. What was more, he had been to the store several months earlier, and it was difficult to believe that the store owner would remember him, or what he was looking for.

    The store owner took a few close-up photos with her camera, and e-mailed them to the customer on the computer. The customer looked at the photos, and decided which one he wanted. They talked and discussed a price over the phone. She took care of the credit card transaction (交易) online, and promised the gift would be shipped out that afternoon.

    The store owner was really smart. She was willing to push herself to find new ways to make the transaction actually happen. And it did work. However, it was the first time she had ever done it.

    I was amazed that the store owner discovered a creative solution that could lead to a new way of doing business. I was impressed by what she did—so easily, but how difficult it is for many of us to make that leap(飞跃). I'm not just talking about technology, but about learning how to adapt to change. Most people hate or fear change unless they get to know exactly what change needs to be made. However, we should realize that challenge and opportunity go hand in hand.

                                                                                          Educational Programs for Kids

    Are you interested in helping your child continue his or her education beyond the typical school day? If so, then educational programs for kids may be what you're looking for.

    Where to Find Educational Programs?

    Many kids who are struggling in school may benefit from an after-school tutoring session or homework club. Check with your child's school, your local library or the park district for a list of available programs. You can also check with the local Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, church or youth center. Depending on your child's interests and strengths, consider art, community service, drama, music, creative writing, sports, cooking or environmental programs.

    What Educational Programs Are Provided by Organizations?

    The organizations mentioned above provide educational programs for kids, such as a community your child can be a part of and programs that focus on education, health, leadership, recreation and fitness.

   Another possibility is the Boy Scouts of America or the Girl Scouts. These are two separate organizations that can potentially provide your child with a sense of accomplishment, self-confidence and belonging. Both organizations will provide your child with many learning experiences and activities both indoors and outdoors.

    What Kind of Program Is Best for My Child?

    The type of educational program that's best for your child is subjective and based on many factors, including your child's age. If your child is in primary school, educational programs can help him or her develop as a person and gain leadership skills, a sense of self-worth and the ability to cooperate with others. By the time your child is in high school, his or her involvement with educational programs and other extracurricular activates can be key elements when your child is applying to college.

    When you help your child to pick an educational program, carefully consider what your child needs and what every option offers.

    Little Women is the best-known work of author Louisa May Alcott. Published after the end of the Civil War, the book is about the lives of the author and her sisters. Although it was her most successful work, it was not her first.

    Alcott began writing at the age of 20, when she published her poem “Sunlight”. Throughout her early career, she wrote many poems and short stories for magazines. At the age of 22, she began to write fairy tales, romantic thrillers, and other novels, mostly to earn money. At a time when few opportunities were open to women, Alcott supported women's right to work. With her small income, she had long provided for her family.

    When the Civil War broke out, Alcott, at the age of 30, joined the war effort to fight against slavery. She had originally wished to serve as a soldier. However, women were not allowed in battle at that time. As a result, she became a Civil War nurse. Alcott's work as a nurse served as a milestone (里程碑) in her writing career.

    In December of 1862, she left New England to work in the Union Hotel Hospital in Washington, DC. There were few supplies, and doctors performed operations without painkillers. The conditions for patients and doctors were terrible. Within a few weeks, Alcott herself became so ill that she nearly died. She returned home and recovered slowly over a period of months.

    As soon as her health improved, Alcott started a new project. The letters she had sent home became the basis of a newspaper series about her experience as a Civil War nurse. She wrote about her tasks, the wounded soldiers she looked after, and the difficulties they faced. The series, Hospital Sketches, was a success, which received praise from readers and critics (批评) at the same time. Although her best-known work was yet to come, the success of Hospital Sketches marked the achievement of her dream to become a popular author.