Three young men got bored with their jobs in the factory. They felt _______, so they got together to visit their old master worker (师傅) for _______.

When they saw their master worker, they began to _______ about their factory and their jobs. The old master worker listened to them without _______ a word. About twenty minutes later, he gave the three guests green tea, black and milk tea in _______ cups. Some cups are old, some are new, some are expensive and some are cheap. The old man told them to _______ what they like.

When all the three young men had a cup of _______ in hand, the old man said: “Look at the cups in your hands! You _______ chose the good-looking, expensive cups. What would you like to choose, tea or _______? You should choose what you need. Stop complaining about anybody or anything. And use your head and choose what you really need for yourself. Fall in love ________ your job and this is what you really need now.”

Life is serious. Jobs and life are just like cups and tea. Jobs are just ways of making a living. If we understand this, we won’t complain about our jobs. Try to choose what you need, and you’ll enjoy yourself and your life.

How do you make friends? Some students are sharing their ideas with us:

Tom: Although we are quite different, Adam and I have been close friends for 5 years. We have a lot to talk. We play basketball together after school. We go for a picnic at weekends. It’s always a pleasure to be with him.

Yumi: I spend my spare time mostly with people from other countries. When I’m with them, I really get to know what they’re like and how easy they are to get along with. They help me to improve my English.

Anna: I’ve made some good friends at the gym I go to. People there are very friendly. Talking to them. I think exercise is a good way for us to get to know each other.

Peter: I can make more friends on the Internet because it keeps me in touch with the whole world. I can get worldwide stories from my friends all over the world.

Yuan Longping, a great scientist, is the first person to develop a kind of hybrid rice(杂交水稻) which helps fight hunger in China.

Food was a big problem in China in the past. This was because China had 22 percent of the world’s population, but only 7 percent of its farmland. In the 1960s, China suffered(遭受) serious hunger. Millions of people died because they had no food. As an agronomy(农学) teacher, Yuan was very sad to see this. “How can I help them have enough food?” he thought. He decided to work on a kind of hybrid rice. It has a high output(产量).

At that time, other scientists didn’t think hybrid rice was worth studying. But Yuan and his team worked on it every day. They took very good care of their rice seeds. At last, in 1973, they grew a new kind of hybrid rice. This rice is strong. Farmers can grow it in many different kinds of farmland and also in bad weather. It can also fight disease. Its output was much greater than common kinds of rice. With the new kind, about 70, 000, 000 people could have food every year!

Yuan solved the food problem in China. But he is still working on rice. Before he retires, he hopes to grow rice in the sea!

Fights at school sometimes happen. But how can you keep away from a fight? Here’s something you can do.

Be calm(冷静). Sometimes, you feel so angry that you really want to teach somebody a lesson. But being angry can't solve problems. Neither can a fight. Instead, it may bring you more problems. In the school, everyone involved(卷入) in a fight will be punished, no matter who started it. There are winners in a fight.

Shout loudly. If you know someone is coming up behind you to attack, turn toward the person with your hands up in front of your body and loudly say “stop” before walking away. Loud voice can usually make the attacker calm down. If the person doesn’t stop, cry for help by calling out the name of a teacher whose office is nearby.

____ Your friend may ask you to join in a fight. Learn to say no. Helping him fight is not really helpful to him. If you really want to give him a hand, try to ask him to give it up. Also, you can tell him if he gets involved in a fight, he may get hurt and be punished. Then, try to learn why he wants a fight and help him find a right way to deal with the problem.

The well-known “new great inventions” of modern China have made our daily lives more convenient.

High-speed trains

China created its first high-speed railway line in 2008. Since then, the number of passenger trips has grown by over 30 percent every year. By 2016, more than 5 billion trips had been taken on the trains. By 2020, one-fifth of the country’s 150, 000-km railway network will be used by the trains. This network will link more than 80 percent of the major cities across China.

Mobile payment

Mobile payment is turning China into a “cashless society”. Instead of paying by cash, customers now pay for their goods and some kinds of bills simply by typing a short password into the Alipay or Wechat app on their mobile phones.

Shared bikes

China has surprised the world with how quickly shared bikes are widely used. Nowadays, bike users can simply pick up or park the bikes on the street through GPS and smartphone apps. China’s two leading bike-sharing companies, Mobike and Ofo, have been opening their overseas markets in Singapore, the UK and the USA.

Online shopping

With around 751 million Internet users, China has been the world’s largest and fastest-growing online shopping market. Because of lower costs and fewer licensing requirements, it’s easier for sellers to open an online shop in China. In 2016, more than 20 million jobs in rural areas were created, with over 8.1 million running their own online shops.