Tea Cottage Wants You!

Tea Cottage is the best Chinese restaurant in town. We are now looking for some people who are interested in working with us.

Everybody makes decisions in daily life. They can be as important as what you will do in the future or as simple as what you will eat for breakfast. Any decision could be the turning point of your life.

I made an important decision when I was in Grade 9.

Before I made that decision I was one of the boys who tried too hard to act as an adult（成年人）. I didn’t know that only kids want to show themselves as adults.

I didn’t listen to my parents and teachers, and my grades became poor. Then came the high school entrance exam.

At the turning point of my life, my mom wanted to have a conversation with me. I wanted to turn it down but when I looked at her eyes. I felt I couldn’t refuse. Instead of asking me to study hard, to my surprise, Mom just asked what I wanted to do in the future. Without thinking too much, I just said I would like to study hard.

Mom smiled and asked again, “What do you want to do?”

I never seriously thought about the question. So I kept silent（沉默的）.

“Whether you want to go on studying or enter society（社会）,” she went on, “it is your own decision. Your life ought to be decided by you, not by anyone else, including me.” After saying that, she had tears（眼泪）in her eyes.

For the first time in my life I was asked to make my own decision. I sat in my chair and thought about myself, my life and what kind of person I wanted to become.

It took me what seemed to be ages to make the biggest decision so far in my life—I wanted to be a man who makes a difference to the world. To achieve that, I needed to study hard.

The path（道路）to my future became clear to me. I didn’t act rebelliously（叛逆地）any more. With passion（激情）in my heart, I studied hard.

Now, I’m 17. I’m in one of the best schools in my city, and in one of the best classes at the school and I am one of the best students in the class.

Thanks to that decision, I have become what I am today.

Computers are widely used in the world. As students, we can not only use them to relax, but also study online. Do you have any online classes? It is possible to take classes at home. All you need is a computer and an earphone.

However, most students don’t seem to like online classes. Recently, over 2000 students from 10 cities took part in a survey. According to the survey, only about 35 percent of the students like taking such classes.

Many students said it was hard to focus on studying while taking online classes. This was true for Li Jing, 15, at No. 1 High School. “There are no classmates and no real teachers watching me. I can surf the Internet or do other things if I want to. It’s harder to always stay focused,” she said.

Li Jing prepares a lot before taking her classes to make sure she will keep her attention. She also pushes herself to communicate with teachers. Students can come up with or answer questions while taking online classes.

Tian Lishan, 14, at No. 7 High School, thinks online interaction（互动）isn’t enough. “The online teachers don’t really get to know me. When I don’t hand in homework, all I get is a short message instead of real concern,” she said.

However, online classes still have advantages. “It saves time and money compared with taking offline classes. Also, if I don’t understand some parts of a lesson, I can watch it over again,” Li Jing said.

You may feel comfortable with some people. You spend an hour with them and feel as if you have known them half a life. These people have something in common. And once we know what it is, we can try to do it ourselves.

How is it done?     32     If you follow the skills, you’ll make friends with people quickly.

First of all, good talkers ask questions.     33     One well－known businesswoman says, “At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning. It’s a common question, but it will get things going.” From there you can move on to some other questions. And how he answers will let you know how far you can go.

    34     This point seems clear, but it isn’t. Your question should have a point and help to tell what kind of person you are talking to. And to find out, you really have to listen carefully and attentively (聚精会神地).

Real listening at least means some things.     35     If someone sticks to (坚持) one topic, it means he’s really interested in it. Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones (声调) of voice. If the voice sounds boring, then, it’s time for you to change the subject.

Finally, good talkers know well when to say goodbye. Remember to give him a handshake and say, “I’ve really enjoyed meeting you.”     36     Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away feeling as if they’ve known you half their life.

Aunt Sara is a smart woman. If you have a problem, you can always turn to her for _________. Sometimes, she tells a story to show her idea.

This summer, I wanted to find a job _________ I could make some money to buy things for the coming school year. _________, with long nights of playing outside with friends, by the time I began to _________ jobs, they were all taken. That left _________ one of the few kids with no summer job. My summer ended up being long and _________.

When Aunt Sara heard about this, she told me a _________. There were three _________ living in a river. They were Make Plans, Fast Thinker, and Wait and See. One day, they heard a fisherman saying that he would cast (投) a net into the river the next _________. Make Plans immediately (迅速地) decided to swim up river in order not to be __________. Fast Thinker was not worried. He said, “I will have a __________ when the man casts his net.” Wait and See was not worried, either. “I will decide __________ to do tomorrow morning,” he said.

The next morning, the fisherman cast his net. By this time, Make Plans was far away, but the other __________ fish were caught. Fast Thinker pretended (假装) to be __________. Of course, the fisherman did not want a dead fish, __________ he threw him back into the river. But Wait and See was taken away and sold in the market.

I still remember that day. It was Friday. I had the     52     but I didn’t go to the doctor. I went to school     53     usual. It was quiet in the classroom. All of us were busy     54     for a test. We didn’t see our English teacher Mr. Smith come into the classroom     55     he started to talk.

“Who can describe what stress (压力) is like?” No one tried to     56     to his question. Mr. Smith looked a little     57    . But he still     58     for our answers. Five minutes later, Mr. Smith still didn’t get an answer. Mr. Smith looked not only sad but also     59    . He raised a book and asked, “How heavy is this book?” He     60     Jason to answer the question. Jason said, “I think it is 100g.” Another student said, “It is 200g.” At last, Mr. Smith said, “Its real weight is not important. The important thing is how long you hold it up. This book is like stress. If you have stress, stop and take a break. Don’t     61     my advice, boys and girls! You should learn to take time to relax. If you do, I am sure you will enjoy your school life.” I’ll never forget Mr. Smith and that meaningful lesson.