1 . How to Be Creative

Most of us think that creativity is a quality (品质) belonging only to artists, writers, or dancers, rather than ourselves.     1     The following tips are a great beginning for developing our creativity.

Get out of your comfort zone

We eagerly accept the familiar and fear the unknown. Break out of your usual patterns and welcome creativity into your life. As said earlier, the human brain was designed to recognize patterns.     2     In fact, our comfort zone is nothing more than a collection of patterns. As we become more efficient at recognizing and using patterns, we rely less on creativity to find new paths. We should force ourselves out of our comfort zones and open up new possibilities.

Try different things

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. We are creatures of habits and routines, and creativity hates routines (常规). If you usually drive to work, take the subway for a few days.     3       Break your routine, experiment and try something new. New things are often creative, but the same old thing never is.

    4    

Having a great idea is not enough, you must work to make it a reality. Have you ever seen a new product and realized that you thought of the same thing long ago? Yet someone else is making money with “your” idea.     5     The difference between a dreamer and a doer is action. Do whatever it takes to bring your ideas to life. If you can put them into practice, you are well on your way to improving your creativity in all areas of your life.

2 . The Price of a Dream

I grew up poor. We had little money, but plenty of love and attention. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, they could still afford a dream. My dream was athletics.

By the time I was sixteen, I was good at baseball and football. My high school coach was Ollie Jarvis. He not only believed in me, but taught me the difference between having a dream and showing conviction (信念).

One summer a friend recommended me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket — cash for dates with girls, certainly, money for a new bike and new clothes, and the start of savings for a house for my mother.

Then I realized I would have to give up summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell Coach Jarvis I wouldn’t be playing. I was afraid of this, but my mother said, “If you make your bed, you have to lie in it.” 

When I told Coach Jarvis, he was as mad as I expected him to be. “Your playing days are limited. You can’t afford to waste them,” he said.

I stood before him with my head hanging, trying to think of the words that would explain to him why I dream of buying my mom a house.

“How much are you going to make at this job, son?” he demanded.

“Three point twenty-five an hour,” I replied.

“Well,” he asked, “is $3. 25 an hour the price of a dream?”

That question exposed the difference between wanting something right now and having a goal. I devoted myself to sports that summer, and within the year I was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play rookie-league ball, and offered a $20, 000 contract. I signed with the Denver Broncos in 1984 for $1.7 million, and bought my mother my dream house.

3 . I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled (给贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. So we both got tired of each other.

War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened,I saw my shoes flying at me.I jumped to my feet and started yelling (叫喊). She yelled back louder.

The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled (爬行) under her covers (被子), sobbing (哭啼). Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart. Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t notice Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression was such disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me, “Thanks.”

Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the meaning of living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.

Yours,

Li Hua

7 . Teen Summer Camps Abroad

Educational Travel for High School Students and Groups

Celebrating 26 years of community-service-based adventure travel programs for high school Educational Travel for High School Students and Groups students and groups! Choose from Community Service, Global Action and Adventure travel opportunities.

Location: Worldwide

Dates:1-4week programs: June through August

Cost: $1,950 per week (10%off book before May 10th)

Tel: 403-545-2202

ARCC Programs: Meaningful Service. Real Connections. True Adventure.

ARCC provides international adventure programs in 20 countries and 4 western states. With over 30 years of experience, ARCC has remained a pioneer of adventure travel and teen summer programs for young people.

Dates:2-5week programs: June through August

Cost: $1,900-$2,200 per week

Tel: To get more information or request a catalog, call our headquarters at 415-332-5075.

French Summer Camp in the French Alps

High-quality Teenage French Summer program in Morzine in the French Alps, just an hour’s drive from Geneva. Combine language learning with great cultural and outdoor activities in a fun, safe mountain village environment.

Dates: July 8th-August 19th

Cost: $2,412 for 2 weeks

Tel.:450-790-0838

Abbey Road High School Summer Program in Florence, Italy

Spend this summer learning about Italian art history, language, cuisine, film, and fashion in the beautiful and historic city of Florence Enjoy delicious authentic pastas, and go on weekly trips to discover Italy.

Dates:2-5week programs: June 1st-August 30th

Costs: $4,095(2 weeks)/$6,295(3 weeks)/$7,095(4 weeks)

Tel.:888-462-2239

8 . Ways to make a great first impression

You’ve heard it a million times already. But it really does take but a few seconds to make that all-important first impression（印象）. Here are some easy ways for you to impress your classmates or teachers.

*    1    

Before you shake hands with somebody, make sure that your hands are clean. The hand-shake should not be too strong or weak. Most people use their right hands, unless they have a reason to use the left.     2    

*Be on time

When meeting someone for the first time, arriving on time is as important as breathing. You may have an excuse, but that will leave the person who hardly knows you with a bad impression.     3     It’s better to be hanging around the place than be stuck in traffic.

*Introduce yourself and ask for names

Make sure you properly introduce yourself. Ask for their name in a polite way.     4    . This will increase the chances of their remembering your name in the future. Always remember to stand up when greeting someone and be sure to introduce them to anyone you’re with.

*Make good conversation

To get the most out of your discussion, try to find something common between the two of you.     5    . A person will feel more comfortable with someone they can relate to（产生共鸣）.

9 . An old car, a few dollars in the pocket, and a sense of adventure. That’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the _________ of a lifetime. They met on a park bench in Regent’s Park and

_________ a year later. For their honeymoon, they decided to try what few people thought _________—crossing Europe and Asia overland, all the way to Australia. It took them several months and all the money they could earn or borrow, but they _________.

It was too amazing an experience to _________ themselves. _________ by their friends, they stayed up nights writing their very first travel guide “Across Asia on the Cheap”. Within a week they’d _________ 1,500 copies and Lonely Planet was born. The name _________ a misheard line in the song “Space Captain”. The _________ words are “lovely planet”, but Tony Wheeler heard “lonely planet” and liked it.

Lonely Planet has gone on to __________ the world’s largest and most successful travel publisher, __________ over 100 million books. Lonely Planet enables curious __________ to experience the world and get to the heart of a place through guidebooks and almost every place on the planet.

“There’s a whole world of amazing sights, hotels and travel companies out there—and we want to tell you which ones we __________ are best. But we never use our opinions for money. If you __________ something written by a Lonely Planet author, you can be __________ they’ve been there, had a look themselves and are __________ you what they really think. It’s trusted advice from a __________ source,” says Tony.

Tony and Maureen are continuing to travel and devote much of their spare time to __________ projects, providing support for people in need. And the __________ is still driven by the idea in “Across Asia on the Cheap”: “What you’ve got to __________ is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!”

10 . On September 2nd, BUAA (北京航空航天大学) welcomed its first 2021 student. His name is Xing Yifan, coming together with his parents ahead of time.

"Yifan is 18 years old, but he weighs only 18 kilograms. When 6 months old, he suffered from LAMA2 (渐冻症), a type of disease that no more than a hundred people have got in the country. However, with his strong will, he made one amazing achievement after another in learning. In this year's college entrance exam, he entered BUAA with a score of 645.

Because of the illness, Yifan can only sit alone for a while, unable to stand and walk like other children. In class, he could only put his head on the table and his eyes can only scan half the pages of the book. He couldn't turn over the book with one hand. And he could only sit and listen to a class for up to 30 minutes, with the remaining 15 minutes to lie down to listen to his teacher.

But these did not scare Yifan, with only a little muscle strength left in his hands, he finished one test paper after another, more than 20 a day, often till one or two o'clock in the morning. Finally, he successfully completed the 2021 college entrance examination.

To live is much more difficult than others. Why does he have to learn? The family said because of the serious disease, he was deprived (剥夺) of the right to walk, run, jump, but he can no longer be deprived of the right to education. Xing Yifan decided to let himself be Hawking of China, and change his life with knowledge.

He came to BUAA and stayed in the love dormitory on the first floor. Xing Yifan said he was feeling particularly warm with all the help. He was expecting new college life and hoped to know more students, and take part in lots of activities. Life kisses him with pain, but he sings.