Hopelessly I was being with a class of wild senior year girls as they threw paper and shouted loudly with laughter. No one seemed to care about who would step into the classroom, let alone listen to me. And being a teacher was the last choice of my occupations. I wanted to be a writer. But when I arrived in London, teachers in this community were badly needed.

However hard I tried to manage a normal teaching , their facial expressions told me that it was in vain. For the previous 2 months, as soon as the bell finally rang, I rushed to the staff room, red with anger. The other teachers weren't surprised. "That's Top Naughty, the most difficult class in the whole school."

But I was reluctant to give up. I decided to abandon formal teaching and lessons. Instead, I brought topics for class discussions. Two of the liveliest talks were: the arguments they had with their parents and their choices when being in dilemma. For the first time in my memory they were serious, sharing about their lives and behaving as a mature adult. I was fascinated. Therefore, I had them write about themselves. As time went on, their essays became a bridge between us. I admired their humor, determination and perspective, and meanwhile I thought they appreciated my interest in their lives.

The musical My Fair Lady (窈窕淑女) was playing in the West End, I asked if they'd like to see the musical. They thought I was joking and did not take it seriously, since no teacher had ever suggested taking them out. A few weeks later, Top Naughty and I were sitting in a theatre. They loved the music and the main character who changed herself from the wildest to the most elegant. It was the highlight of their year, and they talked about it for the rest of their last year.

Near the end of their senior year, someone knocked on the door of the staff room

After a 3-month summer vacation, an letter send by the school arrived when I was packing my luggage.

Have you noticed how some lucky people just aren’t the worrying type? Take my friend Olline, for example. Living on the same block, we’ve known each other since we were babies, and I’ve seen him act worried maybe five times total. I, on the other hand, am pretty much the exact opposite.

I could find something to worry about every day.

At my karate(空手道) school, there’s a group of kids that gives karate lessons to younger kids, and I recently tried out to be one of the teachers.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t that nervous for the tryouts(选拔). But when I didn’t get the call saying if I was in or out, I started feeling more and more nervous. Before long, my nervousness turned into worrying, and when it came to thinking about anything else or getting anything done, I was useless! So after lunch yesterday, when my little brother Tex asked me to play basketball with him, I could only say, “I can’t. I’m busy!” “Busy with what?” my little sister, Indi, asked. “Busy waiting for the phone to ring!” I grumbled.

“You’re reminding me of that old saying,” said our mom. “A watched pot never boils!” “The more you focus on the thing you’re waiting for, the longer it seems to take,” she explained when seeing my brother’s puzzling eyes.

Just then, the phone rang, and I raced to grab it. “Hello?” “Hey,” said Ollie. “Oh, it’s just you,”

I said. “Wow, you sure know how to make a friend feel special!” said Ollie. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been waiting for a call telling me if I made it into this karate group, and it’s stressing me out.” “I get it,” said Ollie. “I remember being so stressed waiting to find out if I’d made it onto the select soccer team last year. The best cure was distracting(使分心) myself.”

I was surprised. “It thought you never worried.” “I’m pretty sure that’s part of being human,” said Ollie. “And I’m also pretty sure I have just the thing to distract you. Want me to bring it over?” he asked.

“Hmm,” I said suspiciously. “What exactly is this thing?”

By the end of the day, we were all worn out and Daisy the dog even fell sound asleep, when suddenly my mom called from the kitchen, “Zona! Telephone.”

Tom could communicate well with other people through the computer or even on the phone, but when it came to making public presentations, he was hopeless. He was aware that people at conferences would count up the times he said such things as “what I really meant to say was” when he got nervous.

Tom was an expert in Reality Robotics Company. His boss had asked him to do something that he was absolutely scared about. The next month he would be presenting on behalf of his company, and there would be a lot of people, and his boss, who had never attended Tom’s presentations, wanted to impress the audience with the innovative work that the company was doing. Tom knew his boss’s respect for him would plummet (坠落) if he said that he could not do it. So, he worked like crazy on the task.

One day, he felt a great need to relax. He turned on the TV. He laughed, and smiled through the first show, making him feel a little better. But it was the second show that really got to him, where the ventriloquist (腹语术者) Arthur worked with his dummy (假人) . This really provided him with an inspiration for how he was going to make his much-feared presentation a success.

The next day, he organized a meeting of the people that had the skills he needed, and, of course, his boss. When he explained what he wanted to do, he could sense that everyone was with him on this plan. But a lot of work had to be done for the object of the plan to be completed.

It was the day of the presentation. Tom was somewhat nervous, but nowhere near to the extent that he usually was for just such a situation. And they had to get to their destination early, for what needed to be done had to be completed before the audience knew what was going on.

Paragraph 1: The much-anticipated presentation started.

Paragraph 2: Tom walked onto the stage, looking exactly the same as the presenter.

Kevin was a member of a well-known family—well respected and industrious. However, a crisis left their family penniless.

Kevin decided to leave home city and make a living by himself because his family was too poor. Before leaving, he told his father, “I want to learn the circus (马戏) performance.”

His father was confused and wondered why he had such a strange idea.

What his father didn’t know was that Kevin loved the circus since childhood. Every time there was news of a circus performance, he hurried home on his bicycle. He ran through the front door. “Mum, Dad,” he shouted. “The circus has come to town.

He was very excited when his father took him and his sister to the circus the next day. At the circus, the audience always burst out laughing when the clowns (小丑) appeared. The attraction of the circus was endless.

He clearly remembered once they went and sat down, a lady in a shiny costume walked a tightrope. When a boy of Kevin’s age rode a unicycle (独轮脚踏车), he asked for a volunteer. Kevin raised his hand and he was picked. The boy taught Kevin to ride a unicycle. The audience clapped. He had a great time at the circus!

His father was unhappy with his answer, “What? No, you can’t do that. A circus is the place for clowns. Our family will be ashamed of you.”

But Kevin insisted (坚持). “Our family is so poor now. Which is more important to you, dignity (尊严) or food? I will give you some money every month from the circus. It probably will be a huge fortune. ” His father was very stubborn (固执的). “If you go there, somebody will know about it very soon and I’ll be very embarrassed, and it must be really tough to be skilled at performing such tricks.”

However, Kevin still left home and found a circus to stay regardless. He worked very hard studying magic and lived with animals. Every month, his parents would get a check from him.

But they never knew Kevin’s address.

Kevin’s father went to the show.

The Achievement Gap in the United States

The achievement gap in the United States refers to the observed, persistent disparity(差异)in measures of educational performance among subgroups of U. S. students, especially groups defined by socio-economic status, race and gender. The achievement gap can be observed on a variety of measures including standardized test scores, grade point average, dropout rates, and college enrollment and completion rates.

Research into the causes of the disparity in academic achievement between students has been ongoing since 1966. Many experts argue that achievement gaps are the result of more subtle environmental factors and “opportunity gaps” in the resources available to poor versus wealthy children.

Home environments have a stronger impact on school achievement than in-school factors, in part, because children spend more time outside of school than in school. Studies have found that children in poverty whose parents provide engaging learning environments at home do not start school with the same academic readiness gaps seen among poor children generally.

In addition, the out-of-school factors influencing academic performance differ significantly between children living in poverty and children from middle-income households. Being raised in a low-income family, for example, often means having fewer educational resources at home, in addition to poor health care and nutrition.

The achievement gap has become a focal point of education reform efforts by a number of non-profit organizations and advocacy groups. Attempts to minimize the achievement gap by improving equality of access to educational opportunities have been numerous, such as multicultural education, finance equalization, and interventions to improve school testing, teacher quality and responsibility.