As a young boy, I was always a troublemaker and up to no good. I liked playing tricks and enjoyed treating animals in an unfriendly way, like running after cats crazily, making them scared at the sight of me. Besides, I often used a handmade catapult (弹弓) to shoot at birds on the trees.

All this did afford me indescribable pleasure but also got me unkind stares and blames from people around. My parents disapproved of my behavior and were constantly criticizing me for the tricks I played. I was even given a good beating from my father from time to time. Nevertheless, I ignored their warnings and did not correct my ways until an incident occurred.

One summer noon when I was eight, I was alone at home and just finished lunch. Feeling very hot and bored, I decided to hang around the neighborhood, holding my trusty catapult.

Soon, I came to Mr Smith’s house. His pet dog, big and strong, was tied to a post outside his house, lying in the shade lazily. Looking around, I found that no one was in sight. I decided to make good use of my catapult to play tricks on the massive dog. Picking up a few small stones from the ground, I aimed at the dog and fired them one by one. Several stones hit the poor dog and it began to bark (吠) loudly in pain and jump up and down. But I felt so fun that I didn’t stop doing so. Eventually, the dog’s anger was fueled and it barked wildly at me while struggling to break away from the rope. Not realizing anything wrong with my crazy behavior, I was just laughing happily.

Suddenly, the rope that tied the dog loosened and the big dog got free from its bonds. In no time, with a few powerful steps the dog was on me. Its sharp teeth sank into my leg. I screamed with pain and fright and fell to the ground, shouting out for help.

Luckily, my miserable shouts caught Mr Smith’s attention.

His words left me ashamed and I decided to make a change.

4 . My twin sister and I studied in the same school for ten years. The first day we entered the campus, we were ________ by its beauty and bright-colored stone sculptures of fairies (精灵) that ________ there.

As we got older, I discovered the school wasn’t always where beauty was an everyday ________. The weather-beaten stone statues badly needed ________. However, there weren’t enough staff to get everything done.

I decided to do something to give the campus a new ________. My sister had a similar idea and we came up with a plan to secretly ________ the school. Having carefully worked out a project, we got ________ from the administration (管理层) to do it.

We first painted the stone sculptures, refreshing the few remaining fairies. To bring ________   and magic to the campus, we painted on the doors of the boy’s and the girl’s bathrooms the sun and moon representation ________ designed by my sister.

The tree by the school gate was dead and its bare branches were ________, leaving only the trunk. The young schoolmates were ________ by the loss of this tree and the trunk left was a sad ________ to them of the once-living tree. ________ transforming this trunk into a fairy house for visiting fairies to stop by and have a little snack, I put little ________ in the house so that the children could look into the little fairy kitchen while walking by. While cutting and shaping the trunk took many hours, it was well worth it for we ________ a wound in our natural environment.

Everything done, we smiled heartily looking around the fantastic “new” school.

5 . For some people, waking up early just feels natural. But if you’re not naturally a morning person, how much room do you have to change your wake-up schedule?     1     But a few habits can help make waking up earlier less of a challenge. Use external factors to upgrade your body clock.

Light

Sunlight can adjust your internal clock by holding back a sleep-related hormone (激素) that is called melatonin. When you’re exposed to bright sunlight, the production of melatonin shuts off.     2     So the most effective way to get your body feeling refreshed and awake is to expose yourself to light the moment you open your eyes in the morning.

Reward yourself and take it slow

    3     Maybe that’s a mindfulness exercise to remind yourself of who or what you’re waking up early for. Something as simple as promising yourself a strawberry cake as soon as you get out of bed can do the trick.

Another important thing that you must keep in mind is that you should think about waking up early like a skill you’re practicing and do it gradually. You can start by waking up only a few minutes earlier than you need to and then more minutes earlier day by day.     4    

Be patient

Remember not to push yourself too hard. You need to have patience with yourself.     5     Some mornings might be hard for you in the beginning, but if you’re keeping your habits in check most of the time, you’ll end up as a morning person.

6 . A psychologist at Stanford once did an experiment. He assigned preschool children to three groups. The first group watched adults play rudely with an inflatable clown (充气小丑) called Bobo; another watched adults play quietly with a different toy while ignoring Bobo; and the third had no exposure to these adult role models. Next, each of the children was left alone with Bobo.

The results of the study were striking. Only the children in the first group later kicked Bobo, hit it with a stick, and sat on it just as they watched the adults do.

The above study indicates kids may follow suit if they see what others do. That’s why role models matter. When kids are exposed to role models they can relate to, it helps them set ambitious goals. Don’t assume kids know they can be anything they want when they grow up.

Take myself for example. “Angela, do you think the US will elect a female president in your lifetime?” Years ago, this was the last question of the last interview for a scholarship I didn’t win. Without hesitation I shook my head saying “no”. As the interview ended, I sensed I’d given an answer the committee found disappointing. “Of course there will be a female president,” they wanted me to say with a confident smile. “And I hope I have your vote.”

Like most children, my first role models were in my family. My dad had a PhD in chemistry. My uncles and countless cousins were mostly doctors or scientists. So, if you’d asked me in, say, third grade, “Angela, could you become a college professor someday if you tried?” Without a bit of evidence that I’d be any good at such a career, I’d have nodded my head.

So it’s quite necessary that we should go out of our way to expose kids to role models, whether it’s an Olympic athlete or a CEO. Now that we have our first female vice-president, can the first female president be far behind?

8 . In what has become an annual tradition, the staff of National Public Radio bring you a mighty year-end guide of Books We Love. Here are a handful of the most interesting picks. We hope you enjoy the selections and take time to look through for a while!

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Michelle Zauner lays out the complexity and the ongoing sorrow of losing a parent in her 20s, just as her own life is about to start. Zauner writes about how she turned to Korean food to process her sadness when her mother, her only tie to Korean culture, died of cancer. The book reflects on how cooking and eating the food that her mom once prepared gives her a way to connect to her identity.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado

Crystal Maldonado creates a much-needed believable character with teenage and adult readers. Charlie Vega is fat and wears glasses, with a diet-pushing mother and a beautiful, athletic best friend. When her classmate Brian pursues a romantic relationship, Charlie is bothered with self doubt. The book, which tells a well-observed story of fat teenage life, is developed by internal (内在的) and external (外在的) conflicts.       

The Most Fun Thing: Dispatches (快讯) from a Skateboard Life by Kyle Beachy

The year 2021 was the year of skateboarding, which has been transformed into an Olympic sport. And many have picked up skateboards for the first time, so The Most Fun Thing couldn’t have come at a better time. Kyle Beachy, a longtime skater and writing professor, is devoted to exploring the meaning of skateboarding based on related essays of a decade.

The Secret History of Home Economics by Danielle Dreilinger

It’s generally thought that home economics is just a class taken at school, which is appropriately named Mrs Housekeeper. But in reading this book, you can discover that in the early 20th century, the field provided jobs for women in science, companies and governments. Danielle Dreilinger also makes the case that cooking and managing a budget are invaluable lessons for all children and should still be school courses.

While the Majale River in Botswana only flows for a few months of the year, there is plenty of water to be found under the surface. Aware     1     this, the area’s animals frequently visit the dry riverbed     2     (dig) up the water and satisfy their thirst.

In late August, Wildlife filmmaker Kim was searching the area,     3     (hope) to see an elephant herd (群) in action. She had driven a few kilometers along the riverbank when she     4     (notice) an elephant herd making their way up.

Things went smoothly at first. Two team members effortlessly climbed up the riverbank and disappeared. The rest of the family, which     5     (lead) by a female elephant, followed closely behind. They were doing well until a baby elephant, much     6     (thin) than other baby ones, got stuck on the steepest (陡) part. Not realizing     7     (it) trouble, the mother kept moving ahead. Fortunately, the herd’s responsible leader stayed behind to ensure everyone made it up safely. She     8     (gentle) pushed the helpless baby elephant up the tricky place.

    9     happened in front of Kim made her excited. And she was even more excited to have captured the heartwarming video of the scene. She said that elephants are caring animals that deserve human love and     10     (admire).