【推荐2】

On a day in Arkansas, some fishermen saw a bear cub (幼兽) in a tree. As hours went by, its mother didn't return. So they called wildlife biologist (生物学家) Eastridge.

The bear cub was sick and hungry, weighing only 5 pounds and with his eyes not completely open. Eastridge called Lisa Stewart, who works at Appalachian Bear Rescue in Tennessee. Stewart always makes room for a new cub.

She named the bear Miracle because she thought it was a miracle that he had survived! As soon as she could, she stopped having contact with the cub so he would not become too used to humans. When the cub arrived, Stewart cleaned his eyes and put him in a house alone. Since Miracle was already 5 months old, Stewart gave him bowls of food and another bowl of a special formula (配方奶粉), similar to a bear mother's milk. Sometimes, Miracle would reach his head out of his house and take some formula or food. But he wasn't eating too much.

Miracle was too weak to be with other bears. So Stewart gave him a toy bear named Buddy. He took it into his house and covered it with straw (稻草). He fed Buddy, too. Stewart often found the toy covered in formula and berries and its ears full of apple chunks. Now that Miracle had Buddy, he came out of his house more often and wanted to eat.

After two months, Stewart introduced Miracle to other bears so they could learn from one another. She avoided any direct contact with Miracle and the other bears. Stewart wanted to make sure they stayed afraid of humans so they could go back into the wild again. She always hid behind a fence (栅栏) and threw food over the top secretly. The bears hunted for this food as they would soon do in the wild.

Five months later, Rick Eastridge returned to pick up a healthy 90­pound Miracle and another bear from Arkansas named Rocky. Eastridge loaded the bears into boxes on his truck and transported them back to the wild. As soon as the bear boxes were opened, the two cubs ran for the woods—where they belonged.

【推荐3】Owning a lovable pet can unquestionably make one’s home life better and apparently, it can affect pet owners’ professional lives as well. In fact, according to a new survey, people who have owned pets may be more professionally successful, and this is definitely good news for ambitious pet parents.

The survey was conducted by Kelton Global Research for Banfield Pet Hospital, according to Fast Company. The researchers surveyed 857 adults in the United States with a variety of careers, as explained in the survey summary on Banfield’s website.

Among the C-suite executives (CEOs, etc.) surveyed, 93 percent grew with a pet in their home, with 78 percent claiming that growing up with a pet helped cause their career success as an adult. Interestingly, 83 percent of C-suite executives who participated said they grew up with a dog, 59 percent of them said they grew up with a cat, and 37 percent of them said they grew up with another kind of pet.

So, how exactly does pet ownership cause career success? Well, according to Banfield’s research, executives reported that their pet helped teach them lessons like doing their duty, thinking of good ideas, and planning things well, which have all been invaluable in the business world.

At Banfield Pet Hospital, we’ve long recognized the special bond between people and their pets, as well as the positive influence pets have on our society, Brian Garish, president of Banfield Pet Hospital, said in a statement on Banfield’s website.

From the pet ownership lessons we learned as children, to the ways our four-legged friends currently help us evolve, connect with others, and stay grounded, our latest research supports the idea we’ve had all along that there may be a link between pets and their ability to help shape us as people.

But what about people who grew up pet-less, but have adopted pets as adults? Luckily for those, the survey showed that current pet ownership can also help with professional success. According to the research, 86 percent of current pet parents surveyed said owning pets helps them stick to a routine, better manage their time, and more efficiently multitask. But even if you don’t think your pet has directly helped you, your coworkers’ knowledge that you have a pet may actually be beneficial to your career.

【推荐1】Located a few blocks away from the White House, Sakina Halal Grill in Washington DC is a restaurant with a difference. Enter during the busy lunch time and you will find businessmen and women eating side by side with the homeless. The owner Kazi Mannan, who is from Pakistan, would not run it in any other way.

Growing up in a village with no electricity, running water or even a building for a school, Kazi is familiar with poverty and hunger. Even in those hard days, whenever his mother Sakina cooked for her own children, she would provide some for her neighbours as well.

When Kazi reached America, he only had three dollars in his hand With the help of a Pakistani bus driver, he finally earned a down payment (首付款)on a restaurant.

The first thing he did was to change the name of the restaurant. He named it after his mother Sakina Halal Grill, whom he lost 26 years ago. But he did not stop there. Keeping his mother's teachings in mind, he not only used her old recipes (菜谱)but also decided to let the homeless eat at his restaurant for free. On the opening day of the restaurant, Kazi personally walked to the nearby park and invited the homeless there to have food at his restaurant.

Many friends said, “Don't let homeless people come inside your restaurant. They will ruin your business.” “But I don't care. If I fail, I fail!” said Kazi Mannan.

In less than 5 years, Sakina Halal Grill has risen to such popularity that Kazi is able to feed over 16,000 people for free every year. He also prepares extra food on Sundays for nearly 50 homeless people at the Georgetown Ministry Center. His deeds (事迹)encourage locals to volunteer there as well.

【推荐2】Kristin Schell is the founder of The Turquoise Table, a movement of ordinary people who want to create community right in their own front yards. Ten years ago, she and her husband and their four children moved to a new home in Austin, Texas.

One day, Kristin needed backyard furniture for a party and bought a few picnic tables from Lowe’s. The delivery driver set one table down in her front yard by mistake. After the party, Kristin painted the table turquoise, her favorite color, and put it in the front yard, just a few feet from the sidewalk. Kristin invited people to join her at the table for coffee or iced tea.   Neighbors began to stop by for a chat. Construction workers on jobs in the neighborhood took their lunch breaks at the table. Then neighbors asked Kristin if their family could put another picnic table in their front yard. A movement was born.

People often hesitate to invite others into their homes. They think their houses are too messy; they’re not big enough or they don’t have enough time. “Our perfectionism can cause us to miss out on the joy of connecting with others,” Kristin says. “My picnic tables take away the excuses and the pressure. Compared to entertaining people with a meal or a big party, all I have to do at the picnic table is show up.”

To advance the movement, Kristin traveled the country speaking at conferences and events with an encouraging word on how to open our lives and homes to others. Today, thousands of Turquoise Tables exist in all 50 states and in 13 countries around the world. Not all of them are actually turquoise. “No matter what color it is, it’s a friendship table,” Kristin says.

【推荐3】When I was seven years old, my family made me an ant farm. First, we put clean sand in a thin glass box. Then we waited for the ants to arrive. After the ants were in the glass farm, they started to make tunnels (地道). I was amazed that each one knew exactly what to do. Each had its own job.

On the fifth day a tragedy (悲剧) happened. I put my face so close to the glass farm that I knocked it over. All the tunnels fell down. Although the ants remained alive after their earthquake, one by one they began to die. I was scared as I watched them give up building their tunnels to carry the bodies to a corner of the farm. My mother said that the ants were dying of sadness. They simply could not stand that their tunnels were gone.

Although much time has passed, I still think of that ant farm. Mom had hoped it would teach me about the natural world, but it taught me much more.

Over the years, I came to realize the importance of teamwork. Working together, the ants were able to make an amazing world for themselves. I also learned that they should be admired for their hard work.

But there was an even larger lesson that I did not realize until recently: Adversity (逆境) is a natural part of life, and must be accepted. Unlike the ants, we cannot give up when we are sad. We have to realize that if a tunnel is gone, we must build another.

Giving up, I say, is not a good choice.