RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY

    When I arrived in Hamburg Germany, my colleague who worked there arranged a welcome party for me in a 1. We noticed a few customers including several old ladies, were having their meal. When a dish is  2, the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would 3every bit of the food on their plates.

    As I was hungry, my local colleague 4much food for me. Since there were other things to do, we did not  5 much time dining. When we planned to leave, there was still about one third of  6food left. When we were leaving the restaurant, we 7someone calling us. When the old ladies spoke to us in English, we understood that they were 8about us wasting so much food.

    “We  9for our food; it is none of your  10no matter how much food we left behind”, my colleague told the old ladies. They got angry, and one of them  11made a call to someone. After a while, an officer in  12arrived. Upon finding what had happened, he issued us a 50-euro  13. The officer told us in a stern（严厉的）voice: “order 14 you can consume. Money is yours, 15the resources belong to the society. You have no  16 for wasting them.” Our face turned red.

    We all agreed with him in our 17. My colleague took out a 50-euro note and repeatedly  18to the officer.

    My colleague copied the fine ticket and gave a copy to each of us as a souvenir. We all 19it to remind us that we should never be 20.

    I moved to a new neighborhood two months ago. In the house with a large 1 across the road lived a taxi driver, a single parent with two school-aged children. At the end of the day, he would2 his taxi on the road. I3 why he did not park it in the garage.

    Then one day I learnt that he had another car in his garage. In the afternoon he would come home 4work, leave his taxi and go out for his 5 affairs in his other car, not in his taxi. I felt it was6.

    I was curious to see his personal car but did not make it until I 7 to be outside one evening two weeks later, when the garage door was8 and he drove out in his “own” car: a Rolls-Royce（劳斯莱斯）! It shook me completely 9 I realized what that meant. You see, he was a taxi driver. But deep inside, he saw himself as something else: a Rolls-Royce owner and a（n）10 . He drove others in his taxi but himself and his children in his Rolls-Royce. For him, a taxi was just something he drove for a living. Rolls-Royce was something he drove for a (n）11.

    We go to bed every night and 12 every morning as parents or children, not as bankers, CEOs or professors. We go for a party as close friends or go for a vacation as a 13. We love life as it is. Yet often, we base our entire happiness and success on how high we 14 the social ladder（梯子）And we never use our Rolls-Royce, by keeping it dusty in our garage. We should focus more on 15we are than what we do!

    Mr. White had to travel somewhere on business, and as he was in a hurry, he decided to go 1 He liked sitting2 a window when he was flying, so when he got onto the plane, he looked for a window seat. He3 all of them taken but one. There was a young man 4 beside it, and White was surprised that he had not taken the one 5 the window. Anyhow, he went towards it.When he 6 it, however, he saw that there was a notice on it, written 7 large letters,8“This seat is kept for proper balance. Thank you.” Mr. White had never seen such a notice before, but he thought the plane must 9 something especially heavy in its room10 makes it necessary to have the passengers properly11, So he walked on and found 12 empty seat, not beside the window  13 .

    Two or three other people 14  to sit near the window 15 the young man, but they also read the notice and went on. Then when the plane was nearly 16 , a very beautiful girl 17  into the plane. The young man, who was watching the passengers coming in, 18 took the notice 19the seat beside him, and20 succeeded in having a pretty companion during the whole trip.

    Vandna loved sports and did well in her lessons at her high school in California. When a headache disturbed the 15-year-old girl's walk to class, she 1 it.

    “It was 2.” she thought, “Just a headache—harmless”

But when walking to her next class, she was 3 and collapsed to the floor. 4 she could hear other talking, she couldn't speak. She was 5 to the hospital in an ambulance. Tests indicated Vandna had a stroke affecting the right side of her brain, thus affecting the 6 side of her body.

    What was worse, the stroke caused her brain to began to swell, and she needed operation to 7 the pressure the swelling was putting 8 her brain. The doctors 9part of her skull（头骨）to make room for the swelling. 10 the swelling went down（消退）, her skull was placed back again.

    While the doctors predicted that she would never live a normal life, Vandna 11 improved. She was in a rehab center（康复中心）for about 3 months and began to realize how 12 her daily life might be. She had to wear a brace（支架）on her left leg to support her 13. Her left arm 14 lightly, and she often became tired. Though 15 on a campus wasn't easy, she finished high school and 16 a degree in speech therapy at University of Redlands.

    After the stroke, Vandna became 17 with the American Heart Association. She shared her 18 at public events and urged others to stay 19. She said if you 20 a tough time, remember tough times don't last, but tough people do.

British rower Helen Glover is preparing for her fourth Olympic Games, pushing herself to the limit. Despite resisting bloodied and blistered hands and pale skin, Glover knows that physical 1 are just one aspect of the intense training required for the Olympics.

For Glover, the real challenge 2 the day-to-day tiredness and the constant 3 of waking up and training. With two gold medals from the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, her fourth-place finish in Tokyo was remarkable considering her 4 preparation. Just a year after giving birth to twins and four years after 5 , Glover made the bold decision to 6 in the Olympics with only six months of serious training. Juggling（尽量兼顾）childcare with her 7 schedule, she managed to reach the starting line and 8 miss out on a medal.

After Tokyo, Glover initially 9 her retirement but later changed her mind and decided to compete in the coxless four（四人单桨无舵手）at Paris 

2024.This time, her preparation is more straightforward, and her racing experience gives her an 10 .

11 on her journey, Glover acknowledges that in the past, her happiness seemed dependent on results and success. However, becoming a 12 has shifted her perspective. Now, even on 13 training days, as long as her children are happy, she finds contentment.

Glover understands that her decision to continue rowing is a personal 14 . Her growing success does not 15 her whole life, but she is determined to excel in the sport she loves and give her best.

For the first time in Hong Kong's history, an entertainer has been written into middle school textbooks. He is considered one of the best actors in Hong Kong. Yes, he is Chow Yunfat.(周润发）

The example of his long hard struggle for success has been used in a chapter in a Hong Kong middle school textbook. Using his experience, students can learn to make the most of their time and to grab every opportunity to succeed.

On hearing about this, Chow said joyfully, "I really hope that my experiences can make young people understand that one should not be afraid of difficulties and setbacks(挫折), for they are the only way to success."

Indeed, Chow has travelled a long and difficult path to reach his success. In 1955, he was born into a poor family in Hong Kong. When he was 17, he had to leave school. He worked in a number of jobs—as a postman, camera salesman and taxi driver. These experiences paved the way for him to play all kinds of roles later in life.

Chow broke into the film industry in the late 1970s. He was one of the hardest working actors and starred in a number of popular TV dramas and films including "Shanghai Bund" (《上海滩》)and "A Better Tomorrow". Since 1985, he has won many awards including Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards.

In 1995, he went to Hollywood. Although he was already in his 40s, he had to learn English. He even put chopsticks （筷子）in his mouth to practise pronouncing（发音） certain sounds. His film, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", began to gain him more fame and recognition around the world. In 1998, the mayor of Chicago set aside January 12 as "Chow Yunfat Day."