Misunderstandings

    A man, wearing dirty clothes, with dirty hair and only 35 cents in his pocket, got on a bus and headed straight for the restroom. He thought that if he hid in the restroom, he could ride to New York without paying. But a passenger at the back of the bus saw him. She tapped(拍)the person in front of her on the shoulder and said, "There's a bum in the restroom. Tell the bus driver. "That passenger tapped the person sitting in front of him. "Tell the bus driver there's a bum in the restroom," he said.

    The message was passed from person to person until it reached the front of the bus. But somewhere along the way, the message changed. By the time it reached the bus driver, it was not "There's a bum in the restroom" but "There's a bomb(炸弹)in the restroom. "The driver pulled over to the side of the highway(高速公路)at once and called the police. When the police arrived, they told the passengers to get off the bus and stay far away. Then they closed the highway. That soon caused a 15-mile-long traffic jam. With the help of a dog, the police searched the bus for two hours. Of course, they found no bomb.

    Two similar-sounding English words also caused trouble for a man who wanted to fly from Los Angeles to Oakland, California. His problems began at the airport in Los Angeles. He thought he heard his flight announced, so he walked to the gate, showed his ticket, and got on the plane. Twenty minutes after take-off, the man began to worry. Oakland was north of Los Angeles, but the plane seemed to be heading west, and when he looked out his window all he could see was ocean. "Is this plane going to Oakland? "he asked the flight attendant. "No, "she said. "We're going to Auckland-Auckland, New Zealand."

    Because so many English words sound similar, misunderstandings among English-speaking people are not uncommon. Most misunderstandings are much less serious. Every day, people speaking English ask one another questions like these: "Did you say seventy or seventeen?" "Did you say that you can come or that you can't?"

    Similar-sounding words can be especially confusing（混淆）for people who speak English as a second language. When a Korean woman who lives in the United States arrived at work one morning, her boss asked her, "Did you get a plate?" "No." she answered, wondering what in the world he meant. She worked in an office. Why did the boss ask her about a plate? All day she wondered about her boss's strange question, but she was too embarrassed to ask him about it. At five o'clock, when she was getting ready to go home, her boss said, "Please be on time tomorrow.

You were 15 minutes late this morning." "Sorry," she said. "My car wouldn't start, and…"

    Suddenly she stopped talking and began to smile. Now she understood. Her boss hadn't asked her, "Did you get a plate?" He had asked her, "Did you get up late?"

    Auckland and Oakland. "A plate" and" up late". When similar-sounding words cause a misunderstanding, probably the best thing to do is just to laugh and learn from the mistake. Of course, sometimes it's hard to laugh. The man who traveled to Auckland instead of Oakland didn't feel like laughing. But even that misunderstanding turned out all right in the end. The airline paid for the man's hotel room and meals in New Zealand and for his flight back to California. "Oh well, "the man later said. "I always wanted to see New Zealand."

 When we think of paper, we think of newspapers and books. But there are many other uses. Only half of the world's paper is used for books and newspapers.

 Paper is very good for keeping you warm. You have perhaps seen homeless men sleep on large number of newspapers. In Finland, it is sometimes -40℃ in winter. The farmers wear paper boots(靴子) in the snow. Nothing could be warmer.

 Each year, more and more things are made of paper. We have had paper cups and plates for a long time. But now we hear that chairs, tables, and even beds can be made of paper. Besides paper boots and shoes, you can wear paper hats, paper dresses, and paper raincoats. When you have use them once, you may throw them away and buy new ones.

 The latest use of paper seems to be paper houses. These are not small houses for children to play in, but real, big houses for people to live in. You can buy a house with three rooms for about 500 dollars. You can put it up by yourself in a few hours, and you can use it for about five years.

Imagine you are going to give a speech the next day.The night before, you spend a lot of time thinking about the possible mistakes you might make and whether you're prepared enough. Well, you might be overthinking. 

Overthinking means going over the same thought again and again, analyzing( 分 析 ) the simplest situations or events too much. 

According to The Conversation, overthinking comes from one of our primitive instincts(原始 本能). The primitive mind will always see things in the worst possible light.Our brains are always looking for threats(威胁), to make a plan to deal with those threats and keep us safe. 

Some people believe that overthinking may be helpful because it helps us look at a problem from every possible angle(角度) and get ready for what might happen. However, research suggests that overthinking can make us stressed, anxious(焦虑的) and depressed (忧郁的). 

What's more, overthinking might create problems with how you get along with others.As you think the worst, make incorrect guesses, or worry about every little thing others do and say, you might misunderstand their intentions(意图). 

So, instead of sitting and thinking about a problem again and again, you can distract(转移注意 力）yourself for a bit. Your brain might find better ways to solve the problem while you're doing something fun, like gardening(园艺), or even while you're sleeping. 

Also, when you find yourself overthinking, challenge these thoughts. Ask yourself if they make sense and think about other possibilities.It can be hard at first,but recognizing that you are overthinking can help you make a change. 

When most kids go to the beach, they're always busy playing with sand. But for Cash Daniels, the plastic straws(吸管) on the beach made him start a lifelong career(事业) in saving the planet.

Now Cash is 14 years old,and he has had a really positive influence(积极的影 响) on his hometown. Besides organizing river cleanups, he has written a children's book about river pollution. He has also raised enough money to put 17 recycling bins(回收箱) along the Tennessee River.

Cash has always loved nature. Once he learned that 80% of waste from land and rivers ends up in the ocean, he couldn't sit back and do nothing.

With the help of his family, Cash took the first step — cleaning up the river. It quickly went from a family act to a community(社区) activity with hundreds of volunteers and neighbours.

"I started The Cleanup Kids with my friend Ella," Cash said. "We want to make a difference first in the place where we live. We also want to teach kids how their actions are influencing the water and the ocean."

"The ocean is important. Everyone should take care of it. If you love the ocean and love what lives in it — you'll want to protect it," Cash continued. "We have only one Earth. Every little action matters. One person can make a positive change if he simply stands up and joins in."

 My love of inventing began when I was a kid. It wasn't until I 1 about Thomas Edison that I really became excited about it. 

 When I was in fourth grade, our teacher gave us a2 . We had to write to a company and learn about the products it made. Each student would then give a report in front of the class. I 3 the Thomas A. Edison Company. 

 Soon after I wrote to the company, our postman 4 a package to me. It had a book about the life of Thomas Edison. How I 5 reading and rereading about his inventions! The ones that6 me most were movies, recorded sound, and the electric light. Edison became my hero. 

 My dad noticed my interest in inventing and 7 me. He showed me how to turn my ideas into plans and, finally, into new things. 

 Together, my dad and I repaired radios and televisions. Once, I made a 8 to fix the brakes(刹车片) of our car. This surprised my dad so much. The next Sunday, we saw a similar tool. That's9 I learnt that inventors often invent similar things. It is not 10 for this to happen. I also learnt that not all great ideas work.11 is a common part of the inventing. 

 As my father and I worked together more, I began to 12 that my dad was quite an inventor13 . Clearly, his guiding hands, together with my 14 in inventing, led me to become an engineer and inventor. I am15 to Thomas Edison, too, for first lighting the bulb(电灯泡) inside me.