My grandmother is over eighty years old. She always complains about how greatly things have changed, and she often says that life used to be better.

    Families aren't families the way they used to be. If a husband and wife are having problem with their marriage, they don't stay together any more. They choose to divorce. Mothers used to stay at home and take care of their children, but now everyone is busy working; no one has time to look after children at home.

    And the cars! No one walk any more; people get richer and richer, and more and more people buy cars and drive. We used to walk five miles to school every day, even in winter. But now children don't.

    And in school, children don't have to think any more. When I was at school, I used to add, subtract, multiply and divide using my head in math class, but now, children use calculators instead.

    Most families have computers and TVs now. In the past we didn't have computers or TVs, we spent a lot of time talking with our family members. But now, people are too busy to talk to each other. If they have time, they'd watch TV or surf the Internet rather than talk to family members. They are even too busy to eat and think.

    Life used to be simple, but it isn't any more.

Information Card

    Everyone strongly wants to be a success. What is important for success? Most people think that confidence, hard work and enemies are main factors(因素) leading to success. Ronaldo said he believed he was a better player than Messi in an interview published in Spanish sports paper on Sunday.

    Talking about his achievements of his career, Ronaldo showed pride. Ronaldo was also asked about Messi, who was seen as his biggest enemy to be considered the best player in the world. “Whether you are No. 1 or not is not so important. Although some people may think Messi to be the best,I think that I am.” Ronaldo said that boos(喝倒彩的嘘声) didn't make him sad, but encouraged him to practice harder.

    Ronaldo insisted that hard work was important to be a top player, though at times he felt a great pain for his training, saying a body “was not used” to training hard and playing twice a week. But no pain, no gain. He said he had changed his life to make sure he was in top condition, saying that when in the past he usually went out to relax, but now he “goes home to rest for tomorrow.”

    “Football is my life. It's what I love most.” he explained.

    Once, a student complained to his teacher about his unhappy life. The teacher decided to teach him a lesson.

    One day, he asked the student to get some salt and a glass of water.

The student returned with a glass of clean water and a handful of salt. The teacher asked the young man to put the salt into the glass and drink it.

    "How does it taste?" the teacher asked.

    "It tastes bitter (味苦的)," the student replied.

    The teacher didn't say anything else, but asked the young man to get the same amount (数量) of salt and follow the teacher to a nearby lake.

    "Put the salt into the lake," the teacher said. The young man did what the teacher said.

    "Now, taste the water from the lake," the teacher said.

    As the water dropped down the young man's chin, the teacher asked, "How does it taste?"

    "Fresh and a bit sweet," the student said.

    "Do you taste the salt?" the teacher asked.

    "No," the young man shook his head.

    The teacher sat beside the young man and said, "The pain of life is like salt — no more, no less. However, the amount of bitterness you taste depends on the container (容器) you put the pain in." The amount of pain in life stays exactly the same. So when you are in pain, the only thing to do is to open up the mind. Stop being a glass, become a lake.