2 . Have you ever paid for educational podcasts (播客) or live videos? Ask some people and most of them will say yes. “Pay-for-knowledge” has been more and more fashionable these years. The contents of these “pay-for-knowledge” products are from language learning to gardening or baby-caring. Everything you think of can be found online at this moment. “Pay-for-knowledge” is on the rise(兴起).

Why is “pay-for-knowledge” industry developing so rapidly? First, its development is based on the Internet. With a fast network and a smartphone, anyone who has passed the identity (身份) check can be an online teacher, and anyone with an online account (帐户) can buy “pay-for-knowledge” products. Second, people are afraid to miss any information. On one hand, people hope for more useful information. On the other hand, such information is usually at the hands of experts who serve famous companies and universities. Moreover, the need to learn new skills in today’s job market also pushes people to learn on such educational podcasts.

The industry of “pay-for-knowledge” has proved to be lucrative. It promises possibilities of turning information into money. It is good for the development of our country and it can help sellers make lots of money. Besides, buyers can enjoy self-growth from it. What’s more, this is a reflection(反映)of respect for knowledge and talents.

However, the rapid rise of “pay-for-knowledge” has a few problems. For one thing, the market is full of eye-catching words such as “How to be an Industry’s Expert in 5 Hours” and “15 Classes to Be a Master of Appreciating(欣赏) Classical Music”, which sound like if you pay for it, you are sure to succeed. For another, a large number of customers buy them just for showing off. In fact, those who have really had self-growth after buying online courses may be the kind of people who need them least. In other words, with or without these courses, they can make it anyway, because they are those who have the ability to learn by themselves.

In general, the best is the one that suits you most. “Pay-for-knowledge” may be used as a good start for self-growth. Be careful! Otherwise, your dream of success may not come true.

3 . Once my father asked me to hold his hammer while he repaired something, so we could have some time to talk to each other. For 22 years, after I left home for college, he called me every Sunday at 9 a.m. He was always interested in my life and how my family was doing, and I never once heard him complain about his own life.

Nine years ago when I bought my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day painting it for three days. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked for was a glass of iced tea and for me to hold a paint brush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy. Five years ago, at age 71, my father spent five hours putting together a swing set (秋千组) for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea and talk to him. But again, I was too busy.

Four years ago, my father drove all the way from Denver to Topeka, with an eight-foot Colorado blue spruce (蓝叶云杉) in his trunk, so that my husband and I could have a part of Colorado growing on our land. I was preparing for a trip that weekend and couldn’t spend much time with him.

Then, one day, my father telephoned me as usual, this time from my sister’s home in Florida. We talked about the tree he had brought me, “Fat Albert”, but that morning he called it “Fat Oscar”. How could he have such a poor memory! Things seemed to get worse for him, but I had to get to church and I cut the conversation short.

The call came at 4:40 p. m. that day, my father was in hospital in Florida with an aneurysm (动脉瘤). I got on a plane immediately, and on the way I thought of all the times I had not taken the time to talk to my father. I realized that I had no idea who he was or what his deepest thoughts were. I promised that when I arrived, I would make up for lost time.

I arrived in Florida at 1 a.m. My father had passed away at 9:12 p.m. This time it was he who did not have time to talk to me.

4 . My dear boys and girls, good morning. Today I’m going to talk to you, about my understanding of learning history. Many of you may think it is a terrible thing to study history. You may often wonder why we students should study something that has nothing to do with our own lives. If you think that way, I should say you are far from the truth.

In fact, if we study history, we can learn quite a lot about personal stories and events of people just like us. The people who came before us helped build and develop the country we are living in. Their ideas often solved many of our problems and troubles. Studying the past helps us to understand what our ancestors’(祖先) lives were like. And it also helps us to see how their experiences have shaped our own life.

To be honest, not everything that happened in the past is good. Some of what we study in history helps us understand the mistakes of the past. And these mistakes will help people not to do the same wrong things. People often learn from the past to have a better future.

Whether we like the subject of history or not, we must understand the importance of the events and the people who came before us. Our ancestors’ decisions have influenced our own life. Similarly, the decisions of our own generation(一代人) will finally influence those who come after us. In this only way, the world is truly connected.

History is not just a study of the past. History is the study of people, places, and events that can influence the future.

Now do you still think studying history is a sad thing? Or do you have any doubt about learning history? If you have any question, just feel free to ask.

6 . China is a nation of etiquette (礼仪). Chinese people are among the most hospitable (好客的) people in the world. If foreigners visit a Chinese family, they would be surprised at the warmth that they would receive as guests.

When you visit a Chinese family, the host usually makes tea for you. Then he will serve you snacks like biscuits or candy. Someone in the family will also chat with you, never letting you feel lonely.

At the same time, other family members will prepare a meal for you. Chinese people treat their guests with a big meal. They always present more food than the guest can eat. At table, guests are supposed to start eating first. Perhaps one of the things that surprises a Western guest most is that the Chinese host likes to pick up food for visitors, which won’t happen at Western tables. The Chinese family go out of their way to make you feel at home. As you are done eating, the host usually says, “It seems that you didn’t eat much. Please have more.”

Being warm and hospitable has long been an important part of Chinese culture and tradition. As Confucius (孔子) said thousands of years ago: To meet friends from afar. How happy we are!

7 . As Kasara and her brother, Darryl, walked to school, Kasara stopped to pick up a feather, and a few minutes later, a leaf from an oak tree.

“What are you doing, Kasara” Darryl asked.

“I’m collecting objects to create a collage (拼贴画),” Kasara explained

“What’s a collage?” Darryl asked.

“Collage is a kind of art in which you arrange (安排) a lot of different kinds of objects and scraps on a piece of paper or cardboard, and then you glue them in place,” Kasara explained. “What you get is a special collection of colours and textures. My class has made collages a couple of times already this year.”

“Other than feathers and leaves and scraps, what kinds of objects do you user?” Darryl asked.

“You can use just about anything you want. Caps of soda bottles, plastic packaging, old postage stamps, and greeting cards are something I’ve used, and this time, I’m also going to cut words and pictures out of old magazines and newspapers. You can even draw or paint on a collage if you want,” said Kasara.

“That sounds like fun. Can I make a collage too?” Darryl asked.

“Sure. We can work on it together after we finish our homework tonight,” answered Kasara.

During the rest of the walk to school, Darryl looked for objects he could use to create his collage, and he continued to look for more things as he walked home that afternoon.

He found a piece of string, some shiny, colourful paper, and even some bark from a tree.

Kasara laughed as she watched him. “You’re excited about this project, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Yeah! I have lots of ideas about how I want my collage to look,” Darryl said.

The children arrived at home and first did their homework. Then they gathered the art supplies they would need to make the collage, including scissors, glue, markers, and a stack of old magazines and newspapers. Both children placed on the table all the objects they had found during their walk, and then Kasara unrolled a large piece of poster board and cut it in half; half for herself and half for her brother.

“I like to arrange the objects before I glue anything down,” Karasa explained to Darryl. “That way. I can make changes if I want to, but once the object are glued on, the collage is pretty permanent.”

The children worked together for the rest of the evening. After a few hours, they had glued everything in place and set the collages aside for the glue to dry thoroughly. The next morning, they each went to check on their completed projects.

Darryl looked at his sister and grinned (露齿而笑) “You’re the art instructor (指导) of the family now. What will tomorrow’s art project be?” He asked. She Laughed and ruffled (弄乱) his hair.

8 . When Shanghai introduced a new rubbish sorting policy(政策) in July last year, the people in this city took some time to get used to it. They joked that every time they took out their litter, the aunt standing by the bins would ask, "What kind of litter are you?"

Starting on May 1, Beijing joined many Chinese cities by introducing a new rubbish sorting policy. People should sort their litter into four groups: kitchen, recyclable, harmful and other waste.   These groups are represented(代表) by four different colors of rubbish bins-green, blue, red and gray. Those who fail to sort their litter correctly may face fines of up to 200 yuan.

The way Beijing sorts its rubbish sounds different from cities like Shanghai and Qingdao. These cities use four different groups: wet, recyclable, harmful and dry. Although their names are different, the groups are actually the same. Wet rubbish in Shanghai is, in fact, kitchen rubbish. And dry rubbish is the same as other waste.

Many people don't know how to sort their litter correctly, so Beijing government is offering online guidelines. If people don’t know how to throw away rubbish, they can search for it on the WeChat account Guanchenglishi(管城理市) to find out. By searching a key word or taking a photo, people can find out which group their waste belongs to at once.

9 . I was walking around in a store. I saw a cashier(收银员) hand a little boy his money back, saying, "I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll." I walked towards him and asked him who the doll was for.       

"It's the doll that my sister wanted most for Christmas," he said. I told him that maybe Father Christmas would bring it to her and that he shouldn't worry. He sadly replied, "No. Father Christmas can't bring it to her. I have to give the doll to my mom so that she can give it to my sister when she joins her."

His eyes were so sad while saying this. "My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mom is going to see God very soon too, so I think that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister."

My heart nearly stopped. I quickly reached for my wallet and suggested that we count the money again. "Okay," he said. "I hope that I have enough." I added some of my money to his without letting him see and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money left. "Thank you, God, for giving me enough money!" the little boy said.

I left the store, feeling as if my life had been changed forever.

10 . New payment Ways for online

Payment ways
Appearing（出现）time	Dec.12, 2004	Sep.9, 2005	Aug.8, 2003	Jan.12, 2011
Companies	Taobao	Tencent	Yeepay	Tencent
Description	A transfer（中转）station（a third account（账户） between sellers and buyers）			Buyers' money goes directly the sellers
Ways	Through computers or mobile phones			Mobile phones
The number of cooperative（合作）banks	180	5	9	11
The number of users	30,000,000	3,000,000	100,000	30,000,000