A few days ago my family and I were out for an evening walk. As we headed home, dark 1 started rolling in and we knew we probably wouldn't make it back without getting wet. 2 enough, the rain started falling just as we3our neighborhood. We all 4 down the street and into the house but when we got there I noticed that one of my sons was5I went back out in the rain and found him  6 in an irregular pattern in front of the house. His face was one of 7as he seemed to be going in circles. This is my child that usually hates getting 8.

    I shouted to him, “What are you doing?!!”

    “I hate getting wet!” he 9 back.

    “Then why are you running around in the 10 ? Hurry inside!”

    “I'm trying to but I have to 11 the rain drops!”

    He was getting more wet than any of the rest of us12 he was trying to avoid the raindrops. As I went and put him 13 my arm and walked him inside, I realized that there is a good14in this story.

    How often do you15life “avoiding the raindrops”? How often do you get so worried about the little 16that might happen, the failures that you miss out on the great 17 that you could be having? We can spend all of our time running around in circles trying not to fail or we can accept that failure is going to come and 18forward anyway. Any happy and successful person will tell you that the road to success is 19with failures.

    But every time you fail, you learn. Every time you learn, you improve. The more you improve, the more20 you will be.

    I still remember an old lady, a customer on the paper route in my hometown when I was 12 years old. She taught me a lesson in1that I shall never forget.

On a(n)2afternoon, a friend and I were throwing stones onto the 3of the old lady's house. The stone that I found was too smooth,4it slipped from my hand as I let it go and5straight not for the covering on top of the house but for a small window on the house's back porch. At the sound of broken glass, we knew we were6.We turned and7.

    I was too 8 about getting caught that first night to be concerned about the old lady with the broken window in the freezing weather. However, a few days later, when I was sure that I hadn't been9, I started to feel guilty about her10.She still greeted me with a smile each day11I gave her the paper , but I was no longer able to act comfortably in her 12.

    I13my mind that I would save my paper delivering money , and in three weeks I had the seven dollars that I calculated would pay for her window . I put the money in an envelope with a note14that I was sorry for breaking her window and15that the seven dollars would cover the cost of repairing it.

    I waited until it was dark , moved16to the old lady ' s house and put the letter I didn ' t sign through the letter slot in her door . I felt 17 and could have the freedom of , once again , looking straight into the old lady's kind eyes .

    The next day, I handed the old lady her paper and was able to 18 the warm smile that I was receiving from her. She thanked me for the paper and gave me a bag of cookies she had made herself. I thanked her and proceeded(开始) to eat the cookies as I continued my19.

After several cookies . I felt an envelope and pulled it out of the bag. When I opened the envelope , I was 20. Inside were the seven dollars and a short note that said , " I'm proud of you.”

    When I was a little girl, I remember that when my dad was repairing something, every time he asked me to 1 the hammer, just so we would have a time for a 2 with each other. I 3 saw my dad drinking or taking a night out with the boys, all he did after 4 was taking care of his family.

    I 5 and left home for college and since then, my dad had been calling me every Sunday morning, no matter what. And when several 6 later I bought a house, my dad was 7 it by himself for three days in the 80°F summer heat. All he 8 was to hold his paint brush and talk to him. But I was too 9 in those days, I did not find any time for a conversation with my dad.

    One Sunday 10 we had a telephone talk as usual, I noticed that my dad had 11 some things that we discussed 12. I was in a hurry, so our conversation was 13. Few hours later that day came a call. My father was in a hospital with an aneurysm(动脉瘤). 14 I bought a ticket for a flight and 15 I was thinking about all 16 occasions(场合) to have a talk with my dad.

    By the time I17 at the hospital, my father had passed away. Now it was he who did not have 18 for a conversation with me. After his death I19 much more about him, and even more about myself. All he ever asked me was my time. And now he has all my20every single day.

    When I first met my new parrot, Chico, his wings had been cut short and he was stuck on the earth just like us humans. When the weather turned nice, I would take Chico outside. I 1 him on a branch of a tree, hoping to make him happier. At first he seemed confused. He walked back and forth on the branch looking 2. He didn't even flap his wings in an /a 3 to fly. Somehow he knew he was incapable.

    One day Chico got especially excited. He paced back and forth and made an 4 amount of noise. Then all of a sudden he stopped and let out an even louder scream. He started 5 flapping his wings for the first time ever—then he lifted off the 6 like a space shuttle! I was amazed and 7. Little did I know his feathers had been growing back, and Chico had been waiting until the moment was ripe for 8!

    Two days later Chico returned. First I tried to 9 him back with food, but he would not come near me. Then I took his 10 and put it away—still he would not come. Finally, I made him a firm promise that I would let him out every day if the weather was nice as long as he did come back. 11, he flew onto my shoulder.

    From that day on, whenever the weather was good I would let him 12 early and he would fly around and be back before dark. The routine lasted for two months 13 suddenly Chico became 14. The vet said that he had been infected with a disease from the pigeons in the 15. Within a few days he died.

    I was very sad. The 16 crossed my mind that if I had not set him free to fly, he would be still alive. But what 17 is there in being a bird if you can't fly?

    Chico made his first 18 for freedom on a late Monday afternoon in April. When will you make yours? You too can take a 19 when the conditions are right, knowing you too, in your own way, were built to fly. If you don't set yourself free, what will be the 20 of your life?

The weather in Texas may have cooled since the recent extreme heat, but the temperature will be high at the State Board of Education meeting in Austin this month as officials debate how climate change is taught in Texas schools.

Pat Hardy, who agrees with the views of the energy department, is resisting proposed changes to science standards for pre-teen pupils. These would emphasize the significance of human activity in recent climate change and encourage discussion of reduction measures.

Most scientists and experts sharply argue against Hardy's views. "They casually view the career work of scholars and scientists as just another misguided opinion," says Dan Quinn, senior communications strategist at the Texas Freedom Network, a non-profit group that monitors public education. Such debates reflect fierce discussions across the US and around the world, as researchers, policymakers, teachers and students step up demands for a greater focus on teaching about the facts of climate change in schools.

A study, looking at how state public schools across the country address climate change in science classes, gave barely half of US states a grade B+ or higher. Among the 10 worst performers were some of the most populous states, including Texas, which was given the lowest grade (F) and has a huge influence because its textbooks are widely sold elsewhere.

Glenn Branch, the center's deputy director, cautions that setting state-level science standards is only one limited norm in a country that decentralizes (使分权)decisions to local school boards. Even if a state is considered a high performer in its science standards, "that does not mean it will be taught", he says.

Branch points out that, even if a growing number of official guidelines and textbooks reflect scientific consensus (共识) on climate change, unofficial educational materials that convey more biased(带有偏见的) perspectives are being distributed to teachers. They include materials sponsored by libertarian think-tanks(智库) and energy industry associations. 

Andy Kong has worked very hard to get to where he is today. He credits becoming a millionaire by 20 to his strict Asian parents who tutored him at a young age by working for the family.

Kong, of Danville, Virginia, started working when he was only nine. English wasn't a strong suit for Andy's parents, and that's where he was able to assist his family the most. After school and on weekends he would help out at their family-owned restaurant and nail salons. Not only did he do the labor work, but he was also involved in creating online ads. This was his introduction to the world of online business.

Andy started his Amazon business in the eighth grade. When he learned about Amazon Dropshipping (代发货模式) from a kid he saw on Instagram, he got inspired and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, the store eventually got shut down because he was impatient with the growth. Instead of considering it a failure, he viewed this experience as a life lesson and learned from his mistakes. Meanwhile, his parents never stopped trying to talk him into focusing on school and their retail business.

"The biggest challenge when starting a business is getting someone to believe in you," Andy says. He pushed through and did things for himself even when his loved ones discouraged it.

In 2019, Andy met his now business partners, and together, they created an Amazon management company called Project WiFi. This Project has proven to be extremely successful. They currently help over 55 clients run their online businesses, and plan to help many more in the future.

When asked about the secret to his success, Andy says, "Learning to sacrifice whether that's family, friends, or soccer game for a single goal is the only way to succeed, rather than attempting multiple things. If it's worth doing then it's worth doing well with no shortcuts."