When my brother and I were children, we spent a few weeks each summer in the countryside with our uncle. He was a geologist and loved to go on long walks to find stones to add to his collection at the university. More often than not, we followed him.

One day, we left early, and this time, our uncle gave us two backpacks. “You can help me carry the samples (样本),” he explained.

Surely, why not? The whole day, we walked around the countryside, and every now and then, our uncle put stones in our bags. We were a bit surprised that sometimes he also took some stones out from our bags, but thought he had just found better samples.

We reached the house in the late afternoon. The backpacks were so heavy that we were really tired out when we put them on the ground. Yet our uncle’s backpack was half-empty.

“Why did you give us so many stones?” we asked.

“I didn’t. You did,” he said, waiting for a while before continuing. “You did not know it, but I made you go through a little attitude (态度) test today,”

“What do you mean an attitude test?” we wanted to know.

“It is something someone once did to me. You see, I listened to every word you said. And whenever you complained about anyone or anything, I added a stone to your bags. And whenever you talked about something in an attitude of positive thinking, I took out a stone. And now look at your backpacks.”

We did. They were full.

“I hope you remember this little attitude test. You see, your negative thoughts are like stones. You carry them in your mind just like those stones and start paying attention to what you say and how you say things.”

This little lesson was one of the most important lessons I ever had. And I remember my uncle with great love for teaching us one of the most important lessons in life — the power of attitude.

South China Mall Shopping Coupons（优惠券）

Six Hours free parking If you spend 8,100 or more in our stores, you will receive six hours of free parking. Take this coupon to the service desk on the fourth floor to stamp（盖章）!

Buy one, get one free Buy one shirt or tie at Daniel’s Menswear, and get another shirt or tie of the same value free. Hurry! Offer ends November 14. Offer limited to one per customer.

Win a $1,000 CD Collection Win your choice of $1,000 worth of CDs from JB Music Store. Just buy any two CDs and your name will go into the competition. Select（挑选）your own prize from our many kinds of rock, pop, jazz, and classical music.

10% Off Show this coupon at the Book Store to get a 10% off on any books you buy. We have lots of books to choose from, including children’s books, novels and travel guides. You’re sure to find something, that you will enjoy.

Free soft drink Buy any meal for at least $6 at Mike’s Cafe, and receive a free soft drink. We serve the best hamburgers and snacks in the mall. Come in and try our delicious meals and our excellent service. You won’t be disappointed!

Half-price movie tickets Buy any full-price movie ticket on Tuesday or Wednesday, and you can buy a second ticket for a friend for only a half price. The latest movies are all here.

Sheep always follow each other and never really think about where they are going. Perhaps fashion makes us into “sheep”. Maybe we should find our own way and not follow the crowd. Everyone wants to wear top brand clothing. However, we should remember that clothes designers study what ordinary people wear on the street. Then they make clothes like ordinary people’s for everyone. Therefore, fashion really starts with individual finding a new look. Then a company uses that look and then it becomes fashionable! That doesn’t mean you will. That is to say, a model might look perfect in a shirt but that doesn’t mean you will.

The same goes for mobile phones. Young people are always asking me when to change my mobile phones. Mobile phone companies are always putting new functions on their phones but do we really need all these extra functions? I use my phone to call people and to send messages to my friends. I don’t need a camera, Internet surfing or a calendar on my phone. Again, if you buy the latest phone, it will only be the latest phone for a month or so. Then something new will come out and you’ll be unfashionable again. You can’t keep up with fashion all the time, so you don’t need to follow the fashion.

Steve and Yaser first met in their chemistry class at an American university. Yaser was an international student from Jordan. He was excited because he wanted to learn more about American culture. Yaser hoped that he and Steve would become good friends.

At first, Steve seemed very friendly. He always greeted Yaser warmly before class. Sometimes he offered to study with Yaser. He even invited Yaser to eat lunch with him. But after the semester was over, Steve seemed more distant (远的). The two former classmates didn’t see each other very much at school. One day Yaser decided to call Steve. Steve didn’t seem very interested in talking to him. Yaser was hurt by Steve’s change of attitude. “Steve said we were friends,” Yaser complained. “And I thought friends were friends forever.”

Yaser is a little confused. He is an outsider to American culture. He doesn’t understand the way Americans think of friendship. Americans use the word friend in a very general way. They may call both casual acquaintances (点头之交) and close pals “friends”. Americans have school friends, work friends, sports friends and neighborhood friends. These friendships are based on common interests.

When the shared activity ends, the friendship may disappear slowly. Now Steve and Yaser are no longer classmates. Their friendship has changed.

In some cultures friendship means a strong life-long bond between two people. In these cultures friendships develop slowly, since they are built to last. American society is one of rapid change. Studies show that one out of five American families moves every year. American friendships develop quickly,and they may change just as quickly.

People from the United States may at first seem friendly. Americans often chat easily with strangers. They exchange information about their families, hobbies and work. They may smile warmly and say, “Have a nice day” or “See you later.” Schoolmates may say, “Let’s get together sometime.” But American friendliness is not always an offer of true friendship.

After an experience like Yaser’s, outsiders may consider Americans to be changeable. Leaning how Americans view friendship can help non-Americans avoid misunderstandings. It can also help them make friends the American way.

So, people like Yaser shouldn’t give up trying to make American friends. After all, Americans do value strong, life-long friendships, even with non-Americans.

When Charles Lee handed me the small red notebook in 1974, he changed my life. “While traveling, you should keep notes on the things you see and do. Otherwise, you will forget _______ some day,” he explained. I was staying in his house when traveling in England.

I took his _______. I wrote in the notebook every day during the home stay and back to university. I recorded weekend trips, my professors and ideas about my life and future.

When I wrote, I wondered about my _______ and purpose. Who would read this? Was I recording events and ideas just as a reminder to memory, or was there some larger purpose for this _______ exercise?

I got a big picture for the task. I was recording events, thoughts, words that were _______ to my life. I _______ a future me sitting down to read the pages. I wondered what it would feel like to read those words later.

I filled the notebook Charles gave me. I bought a new one and _______ it. Then another and another.

Recently, I decided to look through my notebooks in the past years. Charles had been _______. I remembered the big _______ the central happenings, but on each page were details I had ________. I hadn’t written every day, but I always picked up the ________when it felt important. I often wrote in them at school ________ my students were writing. I wanted to pass on the ________ Charles had given me. These writings formed a continuous ________ between my past, present, and future through events in my life.

It took several long evenings to read through my notebooks. As I read, I suddenly realized they are a gift to the ________ me — I am now the person I was writing to throughout those years.

Beth Jones was only eight years old when she first tried playing the drums. This was during a lunchtime music club at school, which she only went to because it was snowing     36     (heavy). Of all the musical instruments, the drums were     37     (interesting) to Beth. She thought, it was cool that there were many different shapes and sizes of drums, and she wanted to hit     38     (they), to see what they sounded like.

Now, Beth is thirteen and gives concerts around the country. She also has her own YouTube channel and     39     (get) over a million hit a year. What’s amazing is that Beth has never been to     40     drum lesson. “You can learn anything on the Internet,     41     I’ve never felt it was important for me to take classes,” explains Beth.

Giving concerts was not easy for Beth in the beginning because usually she only played drums alone in her bedroom when she came home     42     school. At her first concert, she played in a band with many     43     (adult). She could feel hundreds of pairs of eyes looking at her, and that made her feel afraid.

So, does Beth enjoy being famous now? “I didn’t plan     44     (be) famous,” she says. “All I want is to show others     45     I enjoy doing. I don’t think I’m someone special. I just want everyone to have a great time at my concerts.”