4 . Love your parents

Even if you think that your parents are mean-spirited at times, loving your parents is a normal and fulfilling （满意的）part of life. You love them for the fact that they created you, raised you, and are in part a source of who you are. Here are some ways to love your parents.

    1     A gentle "good morning" and "I love you" will warm a coldest heart. Remember that they brought you into this world. Without your parents, you might sill wander at an unknown corner in an unknown world.

Respect them more and cherish（珍惜）these moments. You can use these moments to learn from them when you're off on your own. It's OK to get angry but angry actions don't help you or your parents. Act calmly, cool off, journal about your feelings, or talk to a friend.     2    

Obey their requests. It will make your attitude better and earn you more respect from them. It may seem like you are going through hell when you don't get what you want or you have to clean. However, you had better remember they keep a roof over your head when it's cold, raining, snowing, or too hot. Understand that parents are human beings and make mistakes.     3     Since you can forgive your friends, why not forgive your parents?

Keep company with them. Do things with your parents like watching TV, or go somewhere with them.       4     Listen to their old stories and learn from them. You will find they are your teachers in this way or another.

Some people simply may not be able to love their parents. .    5     Look for help if you are being abused violently. Parents do not have a right to harm you.

I used to frequently visit an old age home    1    (manage) by the little sisters of the poor in our city Hyderabad. A. P., India. There I met a gentleman by the name of Kurien in his late    2    (eighty). He served the Indian army and retired. He has one son who is well educated and also married.

Mr. Kurien felt down with the life in his house    3    decided to move into this old age home here in Hyderabad. We both began to share a lot of thoughts whenever we met and slowly it was a    4    (day) affair that I used to spend some time with him discussing what he was doing in the army, camp fun etc. ,    5    he used to share with lots of joy.

I used to carry with me some snacks which we both used to sit under a tree and eat. I saw him really very happy in my    6    (present). One day he told me with tears in his eyes “I really found a very good friend in you. I feel like    7    (live) some more years to spend happy time with you.

As we departed, I told him, “Do not worry. We will have enough time together in the future. ” I had an official meeting and could not go to the old age home the next day. The day after when I reached the home, his room    8    (lock). I enquired and found that he was no more. He died    9    very night we both met last.

I really miss him. I have not given him anything worthwhile except    10    I used to listen to his words and share his thoughts.

6 . My six-year-old granddaughter stared at me as if she was seeing me for the first time. “Grandma, you are an antique (古董),” she said. “You are old. Antiques are old. You are my antique.”

I was not satisfied to let the matter rest there. I took out the Webster’s Dictionary and read the definition to Jenny. I explained, “An antique is not only old, it’s an object existing since or belonging to earlier times...a work of art... a piece of furniture. Antiques are treasured,” I told Jenny as I put away the dictionary. “They have to be handled carefully because they sometimes are very valuable. In order to qualify as an antique, the object has to be at least 100 years old.”

“I’m only 67,” I reminded Jenny.

We looked around the house for other antiques, besides me. There was a desk that was handed down from Rone aunt to another and finally to our family. “It’s very old,” I told Jenny. “I try to keep it polished and I show it off whenever I can. You do that with antiques."

There was a picture on the wall bought at a garage sale. It was dated 1867. “Now that’s an antique,” I said with pride. “Over 100 years old.” Of course it was marked up and scratched (刮坏) and not in very good condition. “Sometimes age does that,” I told Jenny. “But the marks are good marks. They show living, or being around. That’s something to display with pride. In fact, sometimes, the more an object shows age, the more valuable it can become.” I believed this was important for my own self-worth.

Our tour of antiques continued. There was a vase on the floor. It had been in my house for a long time. I was not certain where it came from but I didn’t buy it new. One thing about antiques, I explained to Jenny, was that they usually had a story. They’d been in one home and then another, handed down from one family to another, traveling all over the place. They’d lasted through years and years. They could have been thrown away, or ignored, or destroyed, or lost. But instead, they survived.

For a moment, Jenny looked thoughtful. “l don’t have any antiques but you,” she said. Then her face brightened,“Could I take you to school for show and tell?”

“Only if I fit into your backpack,” I answered. And then Jenny’s antique lifted her up and embraced her in a hug that would last through the years.

7 . Ne Zha, the most successful film in the summer of 2019, has become the all-time highest-grossing (票房之冠) animation (动画) film in China. After the box-office success of Ne Zha, Yang Yu, the director of the film has risen to fame overnight.

Yang, who has himself struggled for more than 10 years in his career is somewhat of a real-life model for the main role in the film. Yang was born in a doctor’s family. As his parents thought a hospital job would be stable, Yang studied medicine in college. But his interest in animation changed his life. When most of his classmates chose to work as medical professionals after graduation, Yang stayed at home for three and a half years to make a short animation film. Yang recalls that period was like “living in a space station”, as his routine activities were limited in their small family apartment.

A turning point came in 2009, when Yang’s directorial debut (处女作), See Through, was quite a hit after it was released. The film got more than 30 awards at home and abroad.

The success inspired him to establish an animation studio in Chengdu, but in the following six years. Yang struggled to get help to fund an animation film. In 2014, Coloroom Pictures reached out to him for a film on the mythological (神话的) figure Ne Zha.

Hiring around 1,600 members from over 20 animation companies, the film took five years for production, with Ne Zha’s new screen image—a boy with ugly teeth and dark circles around his eyes. It was a big change because over the past 40 years, Ne Zha had been played by handsome actors in TV dramas and movies. “We wanted a breakthrough and wished to convey a message that it’s the inside personality that decides who you are.” Yang explains.

8 . You can’t choose friends for your child, but you can help him learn to choose friends wisely.     1     Here are a few ways to help your child make friends.

Build your child's self-confidence.

When he succeeds or has made a great choice, tell him you are proud of him.     2    Your middle school student is going through many changes and may feel like he isn't “good enough”. Building his self-confidence will help him feel more confident and will make it easier for him to form healthy friendships.

    3    

Give him your full attention when he talks, and really listen to what he has to say.

Discuss the qualities in a friend with your child.

Discuss with your child the qualities that matter most, such as being reliable and kind, and making good choices when it comes to avoiding alcohol and cigarettes.

Get to know your child's friends.

    4     It’s more important to talk with them and find out what they like to do. Allow your child to invite his friends over and get to know them better.

    5    

After-school clubs and sports programs are good places for meeting new people. Be open to exploring different activities with your child to find something that he enjoys.