A wise man was on his long journey with a young man. When it got really dark, they finally found _______ small old house. A poor family lived in it. After the meal, the wise man asked how they made a living in such a poor place. In a low voice the husband replied, “We have a cow. We _______ her for five years. We sell her milk to our neighbors and keep some _______ our own needs—make some cheese and cream.”

The next morning, the two visitors continued their journey. After they walked a few miles, the wise man told the young man _______ back and kill the cow. “If they still keep the cow, they will never be rich,” the wise man said. “Why? Without the cow, they will have nothing,” the young man said. “Go back and kill the cow,” the wise man said his order again. The young man was so worried about the family. But he eventually returned to the old house and did as the wise man told him. He ran so fast after killing the cow, because he was scared.

A few years later, the young man who travelled on the same road decided to visit the family. To _______ surprise, he saw a large house with a beautiful garden there. He knocked on the door and a well-dressed man answered it. The man told him _______ his family’s life changed. “You know, we had _______ but a cow to keep us alive years ago. But one day she _______. We had to come up with some new _______ of making a living. You see, we are much _______ than before.” At his words, the young man smiled.

I walked into a crazy second-grade classroom. There was loud music playing. The students were running and dancing wherever they could find _______. I was a mid-year replacement (接替者). The former (先前的) teacher said she could no longer teach these children and left the job during the holiday break. As soon as I walked into the room, I understood _______ she left.

I sat down _______ in my chair and began reading their names softly. I then _______ a mirror on the wall next to the blackboard. Then, I asked the children to come up one by one, tell me their names and what they wanted to learn about. It was a _______ task, because only two children said they wanted to learn anything!

I set rules for the classroom and talked to their parents in the hope that I could _______ these noisy kids. But it was the mirror that saved the day—no, the year!

The mirror allowed me to see my students’ every _______ while I was writing on the blackboard. They soon became puzzled as to how I knew who was misbehaving (举止不当) while I looked at the blackboard. When one student finally asked me, I told him I had a special teacher’s _______ in the back of my head that my hair covered.

At first they did not _______ me. But they did begin to behave better, especially while I wrote on the blackboard. They were starting to believe that I had magical vision (视力). I never told them differently. Why mess up (搞砸) a _______ thing?

THE MOST FAMOUS WEBSITES IN THE WORLD

From different TV dramas or books about the ancient time, we can often hear titles (like quanzi (犬子) and “kaimo (楷模)”. In fact, they are so popular that people regard them as part of ancient Chinese history and culture. What do these Chinese titles refer to? Have you ever wondered what the stories behind these ideas are?

Modesty (谦逊) and respect

Chinese people in the past or even sometimes today call their sons quanzi. They believe that dogs are humble animals. When Chinese parents use quanzi to refer to their sons, they are being modest. Although most parents do want them to be successful, they don’t usually talk about this in front of others. Instead, they try to play it down. This is similar to how even rich Chinese people call their big houses hanshe (寒舍), which means “my humble home”.

Although people are modest about themselves, they respect others a lot. They call their own sons quanzi, but call others’ sons linglang (令郎), a respectful way to say “your son”.

Trees of character

In Chinese, kaimo means “role model”. Both of these Chinese characters have a “木” on their left side. People believe that kai and mo might are two kinds of trees in ancient China. It was said that there were many kai trees growing near Confucius’ tomb (孔子墓). These trees were so straight that they made people think of Confucius’ character—straight and honest people believed that the mo trees grew near the tomb of the Duke of Zhou (周公). The straightness and the leaves’ color of these trees made people think of two sages’ (先贤们) character—integrity. Since the kai and mo trees grew near the tombs of two respected people, kaimo was then used to refer to role models.

This year, Finland (芬兰) came in first in the World Happiness Report (全球幸福指数报告) for the fourth time. This may be surprising to you because Finland is famous for its cold winters and short daylight. Then learn more about the people’s life there and you may find the answer.

In Finland, many people grow up going to the library. “The library is a main part of life for the people here,” Halsas, a tour guide in Finland, said. “They might do schoolwork there or just read. It’s a safe environment.” Maybe the best example of this is the Oodi Helsinki Central Library opened in 2018. With different parts, it is not only a place to work but also to live in.

Finns love their saunas (桑拿浴), and almost every home has one. There are over 2million saunas in the country. “There are more saunas than cars here. In the summertime, I go every day,” Halsas said. Taking saunas is quite good to health, such as making our heart healthier.

The people of Finland also love exploring (探索) the outdoors, like going hiking or biking—the landscape (风景) is fantastic. “There is a lot of nature to enjoy and even private lands are open to everyone,” Halsas said. In winter, life doesn’t change too much because Finns are never afraid of the cold and still get around on bicycles. To them, winter just means more activities, such as ice skating, cross-country skiing, and dog sledding.

A 37-year-old man in Chongqing Yubei District who plans to invite 10,000 strangers to his home for dinner in 10 years has drawn attention recently. Each month, Hao Shuai holds four to six dinners in his 30-square-meter kitchen, serving 10 to 12 people each time. So far, he has invited more than 1,800 people, spending more than 10,000 yuan.

Born in a village in 1986, Hao Shuai was raised with a natural love for food—his father was a cook, and his mother ran a small restaurant for more than 30 years. Hao said he usually felt stressed out in the city, where people seem to be moving fast and have lost the connection with each other. “I believe a dinner table would make a difference,” Hao added. In 2020, Hao’s failure in business made him lose more than 1 million yuan. “Whenever I’m unhappy, I would rather stay in the kitchen and cook food,” said Hao. Then one day he came up with the idea of inviting strangers to cook dinner at home and sharing life experience.

To make it fun and interactive (互动的), he requires the participants (参与者) to bring a dish, cook or wash dishes. Hao will cook three to five dishes, mostly Sichuan cuisine. Hao said, “Any sincere stranger willing to take part in can sign up for dinner through the official WeChat account-Hao Shuai’s Kitchn.” He said that the food cost for each meal is less than 200 yuan, and the real cost is time. “But if you consider cooking a relaxation and enjoyment, it is not a problem at all,” he said.

“My kitchen has seen many people crying” Hao said, adding that he realizes that he was not the unluckiest one. “Nothing feels better than sharing stories and eating up delicious food,” said Hao. “And if possible, we get like-minded friends.”

Hao hopes to link participants from all walks of life in a community, to offer help and warmth, and he is considering to host a story-sharing event. “Those touching, inspiring life stories could heal a lot of people,” he said.

62. 4月23日是“世界读书日”，为了倡导全民阅读，打造“书香校园”，我校英语俱乐部正开展Enjoy Reading主题沙龙，请你写一篇英语发言稿，介绍你的阅读情况并阐述阅读给你带来的好处。

Enjoy reading

April 23rd is World Book Day. We are encouraged to read good books these days. As for me, _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________