The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so that the audiences could see his hero and heroine in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other forever. He sent his camera crew out one evening to film the sunset for him.

    The next morning he said to the men, “Have you provided me with that sunset?”

    “No, sir,” the men answered.

    The director was angry. “Why not?”  he asked.

    “Well, sir,” one of the men answered, “we're on the east coast here, and the sun sets in the west. We can get you a sunrise over the sea, if necessary, but not a sunset.”

    “But I want a sunset!” the director shouted. “Go to the airport, take the next flight to the west coast, and get one.”

    But then a young secretary had an idea. “Why don't you photograph a sunrise,” she suggested, “and then play it backwards? Then it'll look like a sunset.”

    “That's a very good idea!” the director said. Then he turned to the camera crew and said, “Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea.”

    The camera crew went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay. Then at nine o'clock they took it to the director. “Here it is, sir,” they said, and gave it to him. He was very pleased.

    They all went into the studio. “All right,” the director explained, “now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye. Run the film backwards so that we can see the ‘sunset' behind them.”

    The “sunset” began, but after a quarter of a minute, the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera crew to stop.

    The birds in the film were flying backwards, and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach.

    My dad is the kind of parent that expects my best. He would never be angry if I failed at something as long as I tired. He never changes his mind after he makes it, which sometimes makes him seem too stubborn. My dad's strictness comes from the way he was raised. He grew up working long hours on his family farm. His dad was bad-tempered, and he would get angry enough to throw wooden boards at my dad when he did something wrong. In high school, my dad woke up at four in the morning to get his chores(家务杂事)done and walk to school so that he would make it to basketball practice by five.

    Through all of the duties my dad had at home, he played three sports and went to school on top of it. school would have been easy, but my dad had dyslexia(读写困难)which made it nearly impossible for him to read. Since dyslexia wasn't recognized back then, every teacher my dad had passed along thinking that he was just unable to learn. My dad struggled in school until one teacher took the time to sit down and teach him how to read and write.

    The best part about my dad is his attitude toward daily life. even though he likes things once right, he also knows how go to with the flow and have a good time. My dad doesn't worry about things he can't control. When he comes home from a terrible day at work, he always puts on a smile on his face because he knows family is a lot more important than any other tings.

    I know that I get my best qualities from my parents and the way they raised me. My dad has shown me that with discipline and hard work I can achieve anything, and have fun while doing it.

Hobbies Help Cure Addiction to the Internet

    While some parents have expressed concerns about the amount of time their children spent surfing the Internet during the summer break from school, it wasn't a problem for Yin Qiming.

    Instead, the 37-year-old Shanghai resident and his daughter divided their vacation between cyberspace and the 8-year-old's other interests.

    “My daughter has many hobbies and I and her mother respect her choices, so we accompany her to classes she enjoys, such as learning to play the drums and drawing,” he said.

    “She loves to play outside with her friends, so she doesn't think the Internet is a must-have thing in her life.”

    Yin added that he rarely imposes a time limit on his daughter's online activity.

    “She sometimes uses WeChat (a popular instant-messaging tool) on my mobile phone, but only to contact her mother,” he said. “Once she has her own plans every day and realizes that the internet is just a part of life, she won't become addicted to it.”

    Li Lin, a primary school teacher from Liaoning province, expressed a similar opinion.

    “We do some homework online, including reciting stories, and the children use the Internet frequently every day of their lives,” she said, noting that the children's online activity is limited to 30 minutes a day at school.

    “We should make better use of the Internet to provide children with more knowledge and help them to grow up,” said Li, who has a 10-year-old son.

    The key to preventing children, especially those at primary and middle schools, from becoming addicted to the Internet is to limit the time they spend online and to ensure that they know cyberspace cannot replace traditional forms of communication, she said.

    Mao Feizhu, a psychologist from Fujian province in southeast China, said people overestimate the influence of the internet.

    “Many people, even some parents, believe the Internet plays a big role in our daily lives, and many things can be completed online, but that's not completely right,” she said.

    “We can use social applications to talk or play basketball games, and even share what we are thinking about, but sometimes it's impossible for our emotions to be accurately reflected in this way. What children need is emotional communication and real physical exercise. After all, love cannot be bought on the net,” she said.

    Perhaps, the best way to stop young netizens spending too much time online is to encourage their other interests but also accompany them when they go online: “We should use the Internet, not become its slaves.

    Children often suffer pain and insecurity when their parents separate.When my ex-husband and I split up after 10 years of marriage,our daughter was 5 years old and my son only 3.We decided to consult a psychologist about the best way to explain this new situation to the children.

    She shared with us this special story about a land turtle and a sea turtle,which we then used to help them better comprehend. Once upon a time,a land turtle (Mommy) met a sea turtle (Daddy) close to a beautiful shore.Soon they fell deeply in love and decided to get married.For a time,they continued to live at the water's edge so that Mommy could sit on the sand and keep dry and warm,while Daddy sat in the shallow water to keep cool.A few years later two baby turtles arrived (you both!).They were very special indeed and looked a little like each of their parents.

    But as the years went by,Daddy sea turtle started spending more and more time in the ocean as he traveled deeper and deeper to look for pearls.Mommy land turtle also started wandering up into the sands to hunt for food in the woods.Little by little,Daddy and Mommy turtle started to drift further and further apart.Finally one day,Mommy and Daddy turtle decided they didn't want to live together anymore.The little turtles continued to spend time with each of their parents.They made lots of friends with all the fish,dolphins and whales in the ocean and also many friends with the rabbits,deer,and foxes in the woods.In fact they grew up to be a new kind of turtle that could live both in the ocean and on the land.

    Over the years,this tale of the land and sea turtle has helped my children cope with and accept the fact that my marriage to their father was over.They know that we once loved each other very much and they were born out of true love.

    You may have heard of the American Dream, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations.

    It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. The dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last for a long time.

    Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Tune magazine pointed out, quite different from the older generation, many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility, flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine.

    Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority for this generation. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of them choose travel as part of their dream. And running their own business is a rising favorite, as nearly 26% of Millennials consider self-employment as part of their dream.

    So what has led to this huge change?

    Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Modern young Americans seem bound to face a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity,” noted The Daily Beast.

    “The rate of 16-to-24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15%. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don't require a degree,” Time reported.

    The magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporation's ladder”.

    Dan Kadlec, a reporter of Time, sees Millennials as resetting their expectations. “This situation is different for young adults today,” he wrote. “A true American dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennials are feeling they can only attain a day-to-day lifestyle that suits them.”

Tips for Foreign Students in China

China is a very popular destination for foreign students today. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} At this point, the most popular choices for study are management and technical courses, though the interest in other disciplines is growing every minute. Here is a short list of some great tips for you if you want to study in China.

Learn the culture

China has a history of over 5,000 years. Depending on where you come from, you might find it hard to fit in. This is the rule that applies to any transfer you make in the world. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}The more you learn, the sooner you'll make friends.

Learn the language

Even when travelling for a short time, it's always wise to learn the basic phrases of the language people speak in your target country. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This will help you connect better with the people and show that you've made an effort.

Know your budget

Wherever you go, you need to set your budget before you depart. This is extremely important if you plan to live on a budget for a certain period of time. Before you leave for China to study, check the costs in your selected city or area and plan your budget accordingly. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Don't limit yourself

Moving across the world to study in a place you don't know with people you have never seen can seem daunting. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Don't limit yourself. Go all in.

A. Get a Chinese phrasebook and learn the must-knows.

B. Then, make sure to keep track of it and follow your plan.

C. Once you choose the program, arrange the rest of the details.

D. If you're moving to a place with a different culture, learn a bit before you go.

E. The colleges and universities are known for their excellence and high standards.

F. Studying abroad is a big step, but also one of the best experiences students get to live today.

G. However, students who have gone to China to study always regret not spending more time there.