When Ariel Cordova-Rojas rode her bike to the Wildlife Park, she planned to go hiking and bird-watching. A mile into her walk, she saw a swan in the grass. Ariel, who had worked at the Wild Bird Aid(援助)Center, knew that swans can be fierce(凶猛的). But as she got close to this one, it didn’t move.

She was certain that the bird needed help. Ariel covered her jacket over the bird’s head to keep it calm(镇静), carefully picked it up, and held it in her arms. She made the decision to send it to the aid center. But the center was across the East River on the other side of town. She didn’t know how to carry the swan there. Luckily, some strangers driving by offered her, her bike, and the swan a lift to a nearby subway station.

On the subway, no one seemed surprised by the unusual passenger. Ariel called the center on the way, and Higginbotham, an animal-care manager, picked her up at the subway station and drove them to the center. There, doctors found that the swan was poisoned(中毒), caused by eating weights used on fishing lines.

The swan was carefully treated at the center. She even made a friend-another wounded swan. People all expected good news from her. But sadly, she died two months later, because of too much poison in her body.

“It’s a sad story, but the real story is just how far some people would go to save swan in the big city. In all, Ariel travelled two hours,” says Higginbotham. That’s the spirit we want in everyone.   

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Tim Cook gets up at 3: 45 a.m. Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi gets up at 4 a.m. Disney CEO Bob Iger is a 4: 30 guy. Jack Dorsey sleeps in until 5: 30. So does Sir Richard. It seems successful people wake up early. Well, at least some of them do.

As Adam Grand says, “The world’s most successful people aren’t worried about what time others wake up. They wake and work on the schedule that works for them.

Scientist agrees. Studies show most early birds are born to be early birds, and most night owls are naturally night owls.

Look at people’s sleep-wake cycles. On average, our body clocks run on a 24. 2-hour cycle. But some people have body clocks that run longer than 24. 2 hours-which means, over time, they naturally fall asleep later and get up later. These people are called night owls. Oppositely, those whose body clocks run shorter than 24. 2 hours are early birds.

While studies show that early birds are probably more persistent (坚持的), self-directed and are better planners, night owls perform better in tests on memory and are more creative.

So stop trying to be an early bird or a night owl. Just be who you are. Successful people who are early birds aren’t successful as a result of waking up early. They’re successful because their body clocks back their schedules. So they can easily work better than others.

When you start working doesn’t matter. What matters is what you get done in the hours at work. Success is all about what you achieve. Not the time of day you do it.

The traditional Chinese skill of turning thick bamboo into beautiful pieces achieved fame on the short video platform(平台)Tik Tok.     16    

Skilled bamboo weavers(编织工人)are recording the producing process of their works-cutting, weaving, burning and boiling.     17    

“That’s amazing,” A Tik Tok user from America wrote in her video after watching the whole process.

    18     Pan Yunfeng, 51, from Lin’an in Zhejiang Province, makes pot brushes and bamboo umbrellas on Tik Tok.     19     With over 5 million followers on Douyin, he has become popular among netizens(网民)abroad.

Bamboo weaving art began 2, 000 years ago.     20     In 2008, it was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage(非物质文化遗产). Now, the popularity of bamboo art on Tik Tok has opened a window for foreign netizens to better understand Chinese culture.

My name is Arthur Hankins. The first fourteen years of my life were nearly perfect until my parents told me some terrible ___________ that would change my life forever. But before I tell you the bad news, let me tell you about a ___________ day in my life. Every morning, my mom wakes me up softly and takes time to listen to my ___________ . She laughs at the strange ones and pretends(假装) to be afraid when I ___________ her the scary ones. Then the ___________ of breakfast carries me downstairs. During the drive to school, I choose the music we listen to. Mom, Dad, and I sing along ___________. At dinner, we eat and tell stories about our day happily. Well, it’s the time for me to tell you the ___________ news. A few months ago, my parents told me that soon I’m going to ___________ a little sister. Ugh! For fourteen years, I have been the center of ___________. I haven’t had to share my parents with anybody. One more person will make our house too ____________. I will have to share my room with the baby. Mom won’t have time to listen to my dreams anymore.

Today, Mom and Dad are coming home from the hospital with my new sister, and I’ve decided to tell them they should just ____________ Well, here they are, Suddenly, Mom hugs ____________ and kisses the top of my head. ____________ I know it, Dad puts the baby in my lap(大腿部). My baby sister ____________ out and grabs(抓) my finger. I think she knows that I’m her big brother and she likes me ____________ Hey, maybe having a little sister won’t be so bad. I believe Mom and Dad have enough love for both of us.

Bill Evans was a professional baseball player. Before every game, his wife would tell him     36     was going to happen. She made predictions many times in the past and those predictions were always     37    .

One day, on the eve of an important game, he asked his wife again.

His wife thought for a few     38    . Then she said, “I see a man wearing a white coat.”   

“Do you see anything else?” Bill asked.

“Yes. I see you     39     on a stretcher (担架).”

This really worried Bill. There were often injuries (损伤) during a game,     40     they were hardly serious enough for the player to be carried off on stretcher.

“Then I won’t play tomorrow,” he thought.

The boss of Bill’s team was not pleased when Bill told him that he was not going to play. Bill was one of the     41     players on the team. However, there was     42     he could say to make Bill change his mind.

Bill decided not to watch the game, but to go to the     43     and visit his teammate who had had injuries a few weeks before.

As he was walking into the hospital, a doctor wearing a white coat ran out of the door. Not seeing Bill, the doctor     44     him down.

Bill hit his head hard on the ground.

Within a few seconds, he was     45     into the hospital on a stretcher.