"Everything happens for the best." Whenever I faced disappointment, my mother would say this to me.

    After I graduated from college in 2002, I decided to find a job in radio as a sports announcer (播音员 ).I went to Chicago and knocked at the door of every station. But unluckily, I was refused every time.

    At one station, a kind lady told me that big stations wouldn't hire(雇用) an inexperienced person and suggested that I try my luck at smaller stations. Following her advice, I went back to Dixon. There were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, and my father said a newly-opened store wanted a local sportsman to work for it. I applied for the job, but I was refused again.

    "Everything happens for the best," Morn reminded me. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Lowa. The program director, Peter, told me they had already hired an announcer.

    I left his office, and felt totally disappointed. While I was waiting for the elevator, 1 heard someone calling. It was Peter. "What do you know about sports? Do you know anything about football?" Then he asked me to broadcast (播报) an imaginary game. Pleased with my performance, he offered me a chance to work there.

    On my way home, I thought on my mother's words, "If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn't have happened if not for that previous (先前的) disappointment. "

    Many expressions(表达方式) we use in American English come from movies and books. Today we will learn some expressions from Lewis Carol's famous book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This book is better known as Alice in Wonderland.

    The story is about a young girl falling for a long time down a rabbit hole. When she finally lands, she finds herself in a strange world. In this strange world are some of the most popular characters in children's books. Many of the expressions from the book have found their way into American English.

    The first character Alice meets is the White Rabbit. The White Rabbit is not a usual rabbit. Alice chases (追赶) after him, and that is where her adventures begin.

    In English, "chasing a white rabbit" means to chase an impossible dream. "Following the white rabbit" means you are in the middle of an unusual situation. This situation often challenges your thinking and changes your life. Like "chasing a white rabbit", "falling down the rabbit hole" means we get interested in something else and lose ideas about time.

    Later in the story, Alice is the guest at a tea party— a crazy tea party! There she meets the March Hare. The hare seems to be truly crazy. To be "mad as a March hare" means that someone is completely mad or crazy.

Using expressions from popular books can add special flavor(味道). And when used properly, they also show you have a deeper understanding of the English language.

    I'm Marie. I work in a nursing home (养老院) and my job is to look after the old people. Alice is one of them. She's a very nice old woman.

    This year, Alice had a hard time. She went to hospital twice. In November, I finally could get her back to her home.

    Alice hoped that her daughter could come to visit her on Christmas Eve because she wanted to be with her family, like the old days. But her daughter was coming after Christmas, so she was very sad. I also felt sad because she would be alone on the holiday.

    On Christmas Eve, I took her to a candlelight service (烛光礼拜) at a church that night. I didn't take her to my church. Instead, I took her to the church in her old neighborhood. We got there early and I let her sit near the door, so people could see her when they came in. A few minutes later, some of her friends came to the church and they all talked to her and sat with her.

    Alice got a lot of love from her old and new friends there. She said she loved the gift like this. That night, I thought I got the best gift: the smile on Alice's face.

    Born without arms or legs, Nick Vujicic knew from an early age that he was different. There is no medical explanation for Vujicic's physical disability. Though he struggles (挣扎) with some little things of everyday living (brushing teeth, for example), he has become a great speaker.

    Confidence didn't come naturally to Vujicic. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, he struggled with depression (抑郁)and was bullied （欺凌）at school. When he was just 10 years old, he tried to kill himself. Thanks to his family's strong support and selfless love over time, Vujicic chose to be positive towards life. After his mother showed him a newspaper article about a man dealing with a serious disability when he was seventeen, he started to give public talks. The great Australian has visited more than 50 countries and given thousands of talks. No matter where he goes, he communicates the main message﹣that no matter what difficulties you meet, you can overcome ! Here's what he said in one of his powerful speeches：

    "I felt like I was a burden (负担)to those around me and the sooner I go, the better it'd be for everyone. I wanted to end my pain and end my life at a young age, but I am thankful once again, for my parents and family who were always there to comfort me and give me courage.

    Because of my emotional struggles I had experienced with bullying and loneliness, God has given me a passion (激情)of sharing my story and experiences to help others deal with whatever difficulty they have in their life and let God turn it into a blessing. To encourage and inspire others to live to their fullest potential and not let anything get in the way of achieving their hopes and dreams."

When was the last time you gave or received a hug（拥抱）？ Do your parents hug you before you go to school？ In Western countries, it is quite common to greet close friends or relatives with a hug.

You might hug your teammates after winning a basketball game. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Friends who haven't seen each other for a long time will usually hug each other when meeting.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} After coming to China, I've noticed that the Chinese seem unwilling（不愿意）to hug.

My Chinese friends tell me that hugging is considered to be very intimate （亲密的） in their culture. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Chinese people don't usually hug in public. But people's attitudes towards hugging can also change.

I remember watching a video story about a "hugging party" that was held in shanghai.. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The Chinese who took part in the party looked uncomfortable. However, after the party, several of them changed their minds. They found that hugging didn't have to be embarrassing and could actually be quite nice.So next time you see your parents, give them a hug and see how it makes you feel.

Once there is a clever man named Michael Brown. He has a lot of money, so he buys a big, beautiful house with a lot of fruit trees in his garden (花园). Next door lives John Miller. His house is small and old. He often wants to make Michael get into trouble (陷入困境). He throws rubbish (扔垃圾) in Michael's garden and does some other bad things. 

One morning, when Michael gets up and goes outside, he sees lots of rubbish under the apple trees in his garden. He isn't angry, instead, he wants to clean it up. He moves all the rubbish away. After that, he takes a basket to John's door. 

John opens the door and wants to argue with (吵架) Michael. But to his surprise(惊讶), Michael gives him a basket of fresh apples, saying, "Morning, my dear neighbor. Here are some apples for you. They are from my garden. "

Seeing that, John's face turns red and he says, "I'm so sorry for what I did. Thank you very much for your apples. "